Standing Together For The Separation Of Church And State

Rachel Laser, Americans United’s new executive director, introduces herself and her vision for building a coalition of advocates who understand that church-state separation is the foundation of religious freedom for all.

Roy Moore Won’t Be Joining The US Senate. Here’s Why That’s A Good Thing

The people of Alabama did America a favor last night by voting against Roy Moore for a seat in the US Senate. Moore is just what we don’t need right now. His disdain for fundamental American values—from religious freedom to civil rights and equality to the rule of law—makes him a danger to our democracy.

AU Supports Mississippians Challenging Discriminatory HB 1523, A So-called “Religious Freedom” Law

AU Supports Mississippians Challenging Discriminatory HB 1523, A So-called “Religious Freedom” Law

Because our laws should be a shield used to protect religious freedom and not a sword used to harm others, Americans United has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the Mississippians challenging the state’s discriminatory House Bill 1523

Should Religiously Affiliated Hospitals Be Allowed To Ignore A Federal Law That Protects Employee Pensions?

Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a trio of cases that will decide whether religiously affiliated hospital systems must comply with federal pension protections. The large health systems don’t want to; they argue they should get a narrow exemption to the law carved out for houses of worship. But these health systems, with nearly 100,000 employees, are not churches.

Civil Rights Commission Releases Report On Nondiscrimination And Civil Rights

Yesterday, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report focused on religious freedom following a 2013 briefing where AU’s then-Legal Director Ayesha Khan testified.

 

False Martyrdom: Another Religious Right Horror Story Collapses

Litigation Fellow Bradley Girard explains how disingenuous claims of persecution and the misuse of RFRA harm both the people whose religious exercise is actually at risk and the institutions that work hard to protect genuine religious liberty.

Ninth Circuit Agrees: Hospital Pension Plans Are Not “Church Plans”

Three circuit courts have now determined that religious healthcare systems cannot qualify for church retirement plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. This means that employee pensions from religiously affiliated hospitals will be protected from organizations that attempt to shirk the law.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of The 2016 State Sessions, Part 2: The Bad And The Ugly

In part 1, we recapped the good— the harmful bills that were stopped. In today’s post, we cover the bad and the ugly of the 2016 state legislative sessions. 

No-Fly Zone: Muslim Kicked Off Flight For Speaking Arabic Is Another Example Of Real Religious Persecution

The same day a Muslim man was kicked off a flight just for speaking Arabic, Glenn Beck and a show guest whined that Christians are soon going to be locked up for their faith.

Lousy Landlord: RV Park Owner Allegedly Booted Couple Because His Church Opposes Interracial Marriage

In a move that seems straight out of the 1960s, a Mississippi landlord has asked a husband and wife to leave his recreational vehicle (RV) park for no reason other than the fact that they are an interracial couple. And like so many attempts to discriminate in 2016, the owner of the park is relying on an old tactic, reportedly booting the two because his church opposes such marriages.