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Interfaith Alliance

Interfaith Alliance Protecting faith & freedom since 1994
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One year later today, remember Buffalo.Celestine Chaney, 65Roberta A. Drury, 32Andre Mackniel, 53Katherine Massey, 72Mar...
05/14/2023

One year later today, remember Buffalo.

Celestine Chaney, 65
Roberta A. Drury, 32
Andre Mackniel, 53
Katherine Massey, 72
Margus D. Morrison, 52
Heyward Patterson, 67
Aaron Salter, Jr., 55
Geraldine Talley, 62
Ruth Whitfield, 86
Pearl Young, 77

We are proud to be a co-sponsor on this weekend's mobilization in response to Michael Flynn's ReAwaken America Tour, whi...
05/13/2023

We are proud to be a co-sponsor on this weekend's mobilization in response to Michael Flynn's ReAwaken America Tour, which is one of the worst examples of theocratic Christian nationalism in the U.S. today.

We've got a message as they gather at Trump Doral in Miami:

📢 Millions of Christians reject Christian nationalism. Stop twisting faith to attack democracy.

Separation of church & state is under threat in Collier County, Florida public schools. In response, Interfaith Alliance...
05/12/2023
Separation of religion and government a local issue

Separation of church & state is under threat in Collier County, Florida public schools. In response, Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida is calling on the CCPS School Board to challenge any and all efforts to “Christianize” their public schools.

For more on this challenge to religious freedom (and how our movement is pushing back against it), read this powerful piece from Rev. Dr. Sharon Harris-Ewing of Naples, FL on behalf of our Southwest Florida affiliate.

Guest opinion: We call upon the School Board to challenge efforts to 'Christianize' our public schools

This week, Missouri lawmakers passed 2 anti-trans bills: one that would ban gender-affirming care for minors and another...
05/11/2023

This week, Missouri lawmakers passed 2 anti-trans bills: one that would ban gender-affirming care for minors and another that would bar trans athletes from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender.

According to ACLU, more than 474 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced nationwide this legislative session, many of them under the guise of "religious freedom".

As people of faith, we have a responsibility to speak out against any law that denies someone their humanity. That is why we are mobilizing faith communities and congregations throughout June, Pride Month, to fight back against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric.

Please join us at FaithForPride.org by signing on as a co-sponsor or registering an event.
P.S. Maharat Rori Picker Neiss, whose tweet is pictured here, is the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis (JCRC) and the loving mom of a transgender son — be sure to revisit our conversation from this past March on State of Belief: https://stateofbelief.com/segments/rori-picker-neiss-and-nicole-garcia-transgender-faith-and-family/

One of the worst examples of theocratic Christian nationalism in the U.S. today is Michael Flynn's "ReAwaken America Tou...
05/11/2023
Sign: Christians reject "ReAwaken" tour's Christian nationalism

One of the worst examples of theocratic Christian nationalism in the U.S. today is Michael Flynn's "ReAwaken America Tour" — and it's heading to Trump Doral in Miami this weekend. As Christians and allies, we reject this hateful political agenda. Join us.

Michael Flynn and his anti-democracy pastor pals don't speak for us

Our President, Paul Raushenbush, spoke with Brian Kaylor for today's issue of A Public Witness on recent "faith squabble...
05/11/2023

Our President, Paul Raushenbush, spoke with Brian Kaylor for today's issue of A Public Witness on recent "faith squabbles" in statehouses.

Read the full story here: https://publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/spiritual-squabbles-in-statehouses

From 'Spiritual Squabbles in Statehouses', Brian Kaylor, May 11, 2023:

“This is why we’re in the trouble we’re in. Some people are abusing power to force others to live under their understanding of what religion is, what their understanding of private morality,” Rev. Paul Raushenbush, president & CEO of Interfaith Alliance, told me. “They’re using a kind of powerplay to show a preeminence of their own faith tradition. And it’s not just about Christianity, it’s their specific brand of Christianity.”

Raushenbush added that the real problem in these recent cases in statehouses is “a lack of empathy.” He noted that a Christian who has no empathy for others might not think about what it would be like for a lawmaker who is Jewish, Hindu, another religion, or of no faith tradition to “have to sit down on a seat that has a cross blazoned on it.”

“There might be other people who experience the world differently, who have different religious beliefs, who have different ways of going about life, but who deserve equal respect. And if you can’t show empathy to your colleagues, how can you legislate for a diverse America?” he added. “I think a lot of the bad legislation we have right now is rooted in this problem of lack of empathy for the experience of others.”

Christian Nationalism teaches inaccurate history about America’s founding. It distorts the teachings of Jesus. And it privileges one faith expression in ways that wrongly cast others as second-class citizens. But these aren’t just philosophical problems. It all impacts how we treat one another. We shouldn’t hide our light under a bushel, but let’s stick the Christian Nationalism in the back of the fridge with the spoiled milk we don’t want to touch.

Yahoo News' Jon Ward joins Rev. Paul Raushenbush on this week’s State of Belief to discuss his latest book, Testimony: I...
04/30/2023
Page not found – State of Belief

Yahoo News' Jon Ward joins Rev. Paul Raushenbush on this week’s State of Belief to discuss his latest book, Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation, and his experience growing up in the world of Evangelical Christianity.

🎧⬇️:

This week on State of Belief: Rev. Paul Raushenbush speaks with Anisha Singh, Executive Director of The Sikh Coalition, ...
04/30/2023
Page not found – State of Belief

This week on State of Belief: Rev. Paul Raushenbush speaks with Anisha Singh, Executive Director of The Sikh Coalition, to discuss the growing movement to recognize Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month.

Listen here:

"As Christian nationalists take advantage of a moment of political precarity to call for a turn toward authoritarian the...
04/29/2023
Christian nationalists have provoked a pluralist resistance

"As Christian nationalists take advantage of a moment of political precarity to call for a turn toward authoritarian theocracy, the press should be paying attention to those rising up to preserve democracy in America." Read more from Ruth Braunstein via Religion News Service:

(RNS) — Those fighting for our democracy should be making headlines, too.

"They were enacted just five months after a mass shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs." Read more via Associate...
04/29/2023
Colorado governor signs 4 gun control bills after massacre

"They were enacted just five months after a mass shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs." Read more via Associated Press about newly passed control legislation in Colorado. Across faith and place, we all deserve to live free from the fear of gun violence.

Colorado’s governor has signed four gun control bills five months after a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub. The new laws enacted Friday include raising the buying age for all fi****ms from 18 to 21 and installing a three-day waiting period between the purchase and receipt of a gun. A gun rights...

Amid rising attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, elected leaders in Michigan are moving to strengthen LGBTQ+ protections wit...
04/29/2023
Michigan Democrats eye hate crime reform, look to add LGBTQ protections | Bridge Michigan

Amid rising attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, elected leaders in Michigan are moving to strengthen LGBTQ+ protections within the state’s anti-hate crime law. No matter who you are or where you come from, we all deserve to feel safe in our communities.

A trio of Democratic lawmakers are seeking to update the state’s anti-hate crime law with an expanded definition of hate crime and enhanced penalties. The law has not been updated since its establishment in 1988.

Religious extremists are leading a bigoted, anti-American crusade to erase the experiences of our LGBTQ+ siblings. Acros...
04/28/2023
Top challenged books in California focused on LGBTQ themes

Religious extremists are leading a bigoted, anti-American crusade to erase the experiences of our LGBTQ+ siblings. Across faith and place, we must continue showing up for the LGBTQ+ community.

Almost every of the top 10 books targeted for censorship last year included LGBTQ-related content.

"As Christians, we should be screaming from the rooftops about the danger of being knitted together with government auth...
04/28/2023
The stupidity of Christian nationalism

"As Christians, we should be screaming from the rooftops about the danger of being knitted together with government authority. Therefore, it is so important that we have institutions working against that." – Claire Hein Blanton via Baptist News Global

Editor’s note: This is the second opinion piece in a new series on religious liberty authored by BJC Fellows and made possible by a grant from the Prichard Family Foundation.   “Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in 1942 about his oppositio...

04/28/2023
Anisha Singh – State of Belief

As Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month comes to a close, don't miss this weekend's State of Belief with our guest, Anisha Singh, Executive Director of The Sikh Coalition.

Full episode available tomorrow at stateofbelief.com!

“To achieve the social and cultural changes necessary to reduce gun violence, we need individuals and communities of fai...
04/27/2023
Opinion | What Should Christians Do About Guns?

“To achieve the social and cultural changes necessary to reduce gun violence, we need individuals and communities of faith — not just progressive people of faith, but all people of faith — to stand against the idolatry of guns in America.” - Tish Warren via The New York Times

It will take not only policy change but also social change to turn the tide.

Reproductive freedom is religious freedom.Americans of all faiths and none deserve to make personal health decisions led...
04/26/2023
Support for abortion rights has grown in spite of bans and restrictions, poll shows

Reproductive freedom is religious freedom.

Americans of all faiths and none deserve to make personal health decisions led by their own beliefs and circumstances.

A growing number of Americans -- 34 percent -- think abortion should be allowed at least up until the first six months of pregnancy, if not throughout the entire pregnancy, according to this latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. That support has more than doubled over less than two decades.

This legislation being pushed in Texas flies in the face of our nation’s proud legacy of religious freedom for all and u...
04/26/2023
In Texas, Republicans push bills aimed at enhancing faith's role in school

This legislation being pushed in Texas flies in the face of our nation’s proud legacy of religious freedom for all and undercuts the vast majority of faithful Americans who are devoted to church-state separation.

(RNS) — Cantor Sheri Allen, co-founder of the Jewish congregation Makom Shelanu, called the bills a “blatant violation of the separation of church and state.”

"We are at a place in the country right now where in many states, the country has shifted, but the composition of our el...
04/26/2023
When Congress is more Christian and religious than the rest of America

"We are at a place in the country right now where in many states, the country has shifted, but the composition of our elected officials has certainly not kept up," –PRRI's Robert P. Jones via Axios on the lack of religious diversity in Congress today.

It's a window into why some policies and debates don't reflect what Americans want.

Pregnant people should be able to make decisions grounded in their own values – not their legislators'. Abortion bans un...
04/25/2023
North Dakota Governor Signs Near-Total Abortion Ban

Pregnant people should be able to make decisions grounded in their own values – not their legislators'.

Abortion bans undermine every American's freedom to make decisions based on their own beliefs and needs.

The governor approved the state’s prohibition on Monday, just a month after the State Supreme Court blocked an earlier ban.

Every American deserves to live free from the fear of gun violence. All of us, regardless of background or belief, shoul...
04/25/2023
'This is scary,': Gun violence incidents could be causing spikes in anxiety and worry

Every American deserves to live free from the fear of gun violence. All of us, regardless of background or belief, should feel safe in their communities.

Police say a parent and an opposing coach got into a fight and then one of them retrieved a gun from their car. Someone yelled "shots fired" after seeing the weapon, causing everyone to panic and run.

04/25/2023
Rev. Joe Larson – State of Belief

"There are young, trans people..in little towns and other faith communities who need to know that there are people of faith who don't believe what these other people believe." – Rev. Joe Larson, the first openly gay ELCA pastor in North Dakota via State of Belief. https://bit.ly/3HcldlN

“This isn’t okay. It’s not acceptable. It never was. And it can never be.” – Tree Of Life Congregation's Rabbi Jeffrey M...
04/24/2023
Faith lifted Pittsburgh Jews in long wait for massacre trial

“This isn’t okay. It’s not acceptable. It never was. And it can never be.” – Tree Of Life Congregation's Rabbi Jeffrey Myers ahead of jury selection in the trial of the shooter that attacked his synagogue in 2018. All of us deserve to feel safe in houses of worship.

Three Jewish congregations in Pittsburgh are still waiting for justice four and a half years after the massacre that changed everything. On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman invaded the Tree of Life synagogue and killed 11 worshippers from three congregations. On Monday, jury selection is scheduled to begin i...

04/24/2023
Barry Nelson – State of Belief

We must “embrace and support this community as part of our larger community and as part of our faith community,” says Barry Nelson, Interim Executive Director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, on the need to support the LGBTQ+ community.

04/24/2023
State of Belief – Dora Muhammad

"I do believe that this is the moment that people of faith are going to be galvanized to stand up for our rights, for the protection of our rights, and for the human dignity of every human being." – Planned Parenthood's Dora Muhammad on the recent judicial attacks against reproductive freedom.

“Religious minorities — Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Seventh-day Adventists — have filed briefs asking the Supreme C...
04/23/2023
Conservative Christians aren’t the only ones asking for accommodation in mailman case

“Religious minorities — Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Seventh-day Adventists — have filed briefs asking the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that gutted a civil rights statute’s protections for religious accommodation.”

Religious minorities — Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Seventh-day Adventists — have filed briefs asking the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that gutted a civil rights statute’s protections for religious accommodation.

Interim Executive Director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coaltion, Barry Nelson, and Rev. Joe Larson, the first openl...
04/23/2023
Interfaith Alliance of North Dakota

Interim Executive Director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coaltion, Barry Nelson, and Rev. Joe Larson, the first openly gay ELCA pastor in North Dakota joined Rev. Paul Raushenbush this week on State of Belief to discuss the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric they’re facing in their state.

Listen here:

Barry Nelson is the interim executive director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, a statewide, membership-based organization established to increase the visibility of human rights needs across the state. During North Dakota’s current legislative session, a record 21 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have...

The wave of anti-trans legislation nationwide – often in the name of religion – only undermines our nation’s promise of ...
04/23/2023
House passes anti-trans sports bill | CNN Politics

The wave of anti-trans legislation nationwide – often in the name of religion – only undermines our nation’s promise of equality. Across faith and place, we should all feel obligated to speak out.

The House voted on Thursday to pass a GOP-led bill that would ban transgender athletes from women's and girls' sports at federally funded schools and educational institutions.

This week on State of Belief: Rev. Paul Raushenbush is joined by Planned Parenthood's Dora Muhammad to discuss the abort...
04/23/2023
April 22, 2023 – Dora Mohammad: Faith and Planned Parenthood

This week on State of Belief: Rev. Paul Raushenbush is joined by Planned Parenthood's Dora Muhammad to discuss the abortion pill case being case being considered by and the fight for reproductive freedom following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

Listen here:

SegmentsFaith Engagement at Planned ParenthoodInterfaith Alliance of North DakotaFaith should be a bridge not a bludgeon. And yet, the Religious Right continues to weaponize religion to attack our LGBTQ+ siblings, religious minorities, and access to reproductive health care. This week on State of Be...

Read more from Reckon about how the LGBTQ Community Iftar, hosted by The Le***an, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community ...
04/22/2023
4 ways q***r and trans Muslims are transforming Ramadan for themselves

Read more from Reckon about how the LGBTQ Community Iftar, hosted by The Le***an, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, "acts as a haven for Muslims who are LGBTQ to show up fully, with no compromise."

We spoke to organizers, activists, and scholars to hear how they are making space for both their LGBTQ and Muslim identities during Ramadan. Here are four ways they are forging themselves their own paths as LGBTQ Muslims.

Every American deserves to live free from the fear of gun violence. All of us, regardless of background or belief, shoul...
04/22/2023
New data shows gun violence is leading cause of death in Alabama kids

Every American deserves to live free from the fear of gun violence. All of us, regardless of background or belief, should feel safe in their communities.

New CDC data shows that gun violence is now the leading cause of death in children across the country and in Alabama.

“Historically, the tendency to overreach by conservative religious activists in school politics has prompted other citiz...
04/22/2023
School board battles are back with a vengeance

“Historically, the tendency to overreach by conservative religious activists in school politics has prompted other citizens to pay attention and to use their own influence to counter these measures.” Read more from ​​Baptist News Global:

Over the past few years, MAGA politicians and local activists have made education, especially the teaching of history, a hot spot in the culture wars — with the megaphone of Fox News. In the waning days of his presidency, Donald Trump established the widely panned “1776 Project” to promote his...

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Hundreds of people gathered in Des Moines for the Freedom to Believe Rally to push back against discrimination and hate after hate filled letters and anti-Semitic voicemails were left at Islamic centers and a synagogue across the area. These come just weeks after local Black churches received bomb threats and law makers were targeted with hate speech and death threats.

"We're going to have to use our voices, our education and our reasoning skills if we're going to reclaim this state..."

Interfaith Alliance

http://ow.ly/qJLT50HRQ37
I joined Interfaith Alliance’s Connie Ryan & a group of community leaders this week in a public call against extremism in . As The Des Moines Register’s Rekha Basu writes:

“This isn't about Republican or Democratic. It's about a new extremism that's drowning out any other agenda. Democrats and Republicans must work together to stop it.”

Thank you, Connie, for bringing us together for such an important mission.

Full article: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/rekha-basu/2022/02/04/iowa-legislature-extremists-policy-rhetoric-fuel-hatred-critics-say/6647698001/
"Legal and legislative efforts to address hate-based violence are key tools to keep us safe. But equally essential are grassroots efforts that confront bias and bigotry on a local level. Religious congregations and faith groups are uniquely positioned to push back against hateful rhetoric by providing an alternative message of love and inclusion. In accordance with our most sacred values, each one of us has an obligation to act to protect our friends and neighbors."

Thank you Interfaith Alliance for creating the "Partnering Against Hate Toolkit." https://www.interfaithalliance.org/partnering-against-hate/

Explore the guide and sign up for our program "Keeping Religious Communities Safe," happening virtually this Thursday in collaboration with Central Reform Congregation. Register at: https://interfaithstl.org/safety2022/
Hope is a thing with...movement. Let's grasp this chance, this moment, to choose how, when, and where we act on our hope. We also invite you to find strength in the good news and in expressing gratitude. If you have only ten minutes, we welcome you to take our top three actions:

Action 1: Keep election administration in your state from being usurped.
Action 3: Help eligible incarcerated people vote.
Action 5: Demand protections for child farmworkers.
VOICE OF A COMMON GOODER

THE COMMON GOOD LEAGUE PHILOSOPHY

The Common Good League is not a formal organization or movement (at least not as-yet), but an idea.

The cornerstone on which the foundation of this idea is built, is a philosophical premise which has served this nation well for most of its existence. It is the philosophical premise that: the United States was not meant to be a purely capitalistic, nor purely theocratic society, but to be a reasonable, compromised balance somewhere in between these two extremes.

-Nor was meant, as-been seen within the last twenty years or so, in becoming an unholy hybrid combination of some of the worst excesses, abuses, and extremes of both capitalism and theocracy.

As such, we the American people in righteous purpose, and in both secular and spiritual justice-loving intent in and against,

the excesses, abuses, and extremes of both capitalism and religious theocracy.

and in and against, what threatens are Democracy and way of life,

-That of those forces of Plutocracy, and religious-sectarian subversion and coercion,

and the use of the engine of government to aid, abet, and force, coerce, and impose them as such on American society.

We the American people shall challenge,
and we shall confront,
and we shall overcome these domestic threats from within,
To protect and preserve our Nation and society.
SO SAY WE ALL!

SO SAY WE ALL!
(May 22, 2018)
VOICE OF A COMMON GOODER

The Klein Case in New York in 1989, was the "smoking gun"

The Klein Case in New York in 1989, was the "smoking gun" that revealed Anti Choicer’s intend to prevent abortion, -EVEN WHEN A WOMAN'S LIFE IS MEDICALLY ENDANGERED!

-So these "Pro-lifers" FOOL NO ONE! So, like the Water Protectors at Standing Rock, PRO-CHOICE PEOPLE MUST STAND FIRM GROUND

SO SAY WE ALL!

(May 17, 2019)
"Each faith that has established itself in our nation has added its own flame to the candelabrum – and the expanding number of communities for whom freedom of conscience exists outside traditional religious frameworks adds to the historically unprecedented affirmation of pluralism."

Thank you Rabbi Jack Moline at Interfaith Alliance for these words and your tireless work.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2021/12/06/hanukkah-ends-spread-freedom/8852048002/?fbclid=IwAR0DWbIk_lY-mFKIMr78HIULJ1Rjlk1ZPthFph5ywgT9d_Q-SEEXjzjXp9A
A great Hanukkah message about religious freedom in America by the president of Interfaith Alliance.
Only 48 short weeks until the midterm elections. It’s important that we support the opportunity to vote for every eligible voter and that we actively encourage those votes. Be a part of the movement. Speak up for democracy and justice with the Americans of Conscience Checklist. Even with only a few minutes you can do one or all of our top 3 actions on the current list: and you can find them and more here:
Action 1: Protect election workers from violent threats. https://americansofconscience.com/12-03-2021/
Contact your senators: Help millions of workers and immigrating people while creating jobs and fighting climate change by passing the Build Back Better Act https://americansofconscience.com/12-03-2021/... .
Action 4: Advocate with Black aspiring Americans for civil and human rights.https://americansofconscience.com/12-03-2021/
On December 1, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments surrounding Mississippi's blatantly unconstitutional 15-week ban in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Equal access to abortion care — everywhere — is essential for social and economic equality, reproductive autonomy, and the right to determine our own lives.

CCAR is proud to join the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Catholics for Choice, Interfaith Alliance, Muslim Advocates, and more faith-based organizations that know that !

Join us in D.C. on Wednesday, December 1 for an Interfaith Gathering for Abortion Access. The event will open with a faith-rooted expression of support for abortion access, honoring the dignity and worth of every person who seeks an abortion, and calling upon the Court to uphold this fundamental right.

• RSVP at https://ccar.co/abortionisessential
We need your voice now to have November 2022 midterms accurately reflect our nation's collective voice. Open the Americans of Conscience Checklist for well-researched, non-partisan actions. Our top ask this week is to contact your senators to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (S. 4) to protect the voting rights of all Americans.
Our Executive Director Rev. Fletcher Harper joined Rev. Welton Gaddy on Interfaith Alliance's State Of Belief to discuss GreenFaith at .
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