Building an inclusive democracy that fulfills America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights for all since 1994
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“I wanted to know what they were saying when no one else was in the room." Journalist and author @swordsjew.bsky.social shares her experiences researching online right-wing extremism and Christian Nationalism with primary sources and undercover investigation on The State of Belief this week!
As we mourn the children murdered and harmed today, we must continue to pray with our feet and call on our leaders to finally step in and do something to stop the crisis of gun violence. ❤️
Our hearts are with the Minneapolis community impacted by today’s horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic School. Once again, faith communities and houses are worship are not immune to the epidemic of mass shootings here in the United States.
We joined a wide range of religious organizations in a friend-of-the-court brief in Chiles v. Salazar, a SCOTUS case regarding the constitutionality of Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for minors by licensed mental health professionals. Oral arguments are October 7th.
In a new legal filing, Interfaith Alliance just told the Supreme Court that banning conversion therapy for minors does NOT violate the free exercise of religion.
“As Dr. King once said, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’ Humbly, I would add, it doesn't bend on its own. History tells us we often have to apply force needed to make sure that the arc gets where it needs to go. This is one of those times.” -Gov. JB Pritzker
This week on The State of Belief: @interfaithamerica.bsky.social CEO, @therevadam.bsky.social!
"We find ourselves at a crossroads.": Interfaith America CEO Adam Nicholas Phillips is the guest on this week's "State of Belief," hosted by Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenush. Learn about IA's work to improve collaboration in classrooms and workplaces. https://bit.ly/4mSzE0O
"James Dobson had a major role in the shaping of American Christianity, not to the benefit either of the faith or the country." -Rev. @raushenbush.bsky.social
"James Dobson had a major role in the shaping of American Christianity, from my perspective, not to the benefit either of the faith or the country” - that about sums it up
"James Dobson had a major role in the shaping of American Christianity, from my perspective, not to the benefit either of the faith or the country. So many of those who have left the church cite the church’s anti-LGBTQ stance as the reason. I do lay the blame of that at the feet of Dobson."
"...for Rev. @raushenbush.bsky.social, president of Interfaith Alliance, a national progressive faith group, the politicization that Dobson brought to his approach to religion drove some people away from the church."
"Patrick, Bondi and Trump continue to shroud their authoritarianism in religiosity, and those of us who believe in religious liberty will continue to call them out."
"It should be easy for all Americans, regardless of their ideological and political persuasions, to agree that the government should not be forcing people to stand for a prayer." - @guthriegf.bsky.social
First they came for trans kids And I did not speak out Because I was not trans Then they came for the immigrants And I did not speak out Because I was not an immigrant Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me
Interfaith Alliance and our partners are proud to be at the forefront of efforts across the U.S. to defend against and defeat similar bills advanced by Christian nationalists — all of which seek to promote religious coercion and break down the boundaries between religion and government. Join us!
BREAKING: In a win for religious freedom and the separation of church & state, a federal judge ruled that Texas's SB10 — requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms across the state — likely violates the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.
Join this call tonight!
TONIGHT: Let’s talk about how we can step up to defend our communities and the rule of law. Join Minnesota AG @keithellison.bsky.social, FL Rep. @annaforflorida.bsky.social, MD Comptroller @brookelierman.bsky.social, NY Rep. @micahlasher.bsky.social, and CA labor activist Héctor (Teto) Huezo.
"It’s just sort of taking a bulldozer to Christian teaching and then sprinkling Bible verses on top." - @guthriegf.bsky.social
Check out our brand new resource on trans rights and religious freedom 🏳️⚧️ cc @aclu.org @keshetlgbtqjews.bsky.social
He has sights set on the fundamental integrity of our elections, and we must do everything in our power to stop him. Join us: interfaithalliance.org
"We're going to stop mail-in-ballots because it's corrupt." 🙃 With his attacks on mail-in voting and voting machines, Trump continues to threaten the core of our democracy — the sacred right to vote.
"How dare you censor the female voice?" Muslim feminist, Ani Zonneveld, talks her new memoir and founding Muslims for Progressive Values on The State of Belief this week!
Reminder: The United States is a religious freedom nation. We can’t and won’t be told by the government how to pray.
OPINION by Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, vice president of programs and strategy, Interfaith Alliance: “It’s the belief that wives shouldn’t have political opinions distinct from their husbands that’s drawing CREC the most negative attention.” READ MORE: www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
“Pete Hegseth should say if he shares this pastor’s disdain for the 19th Amendment,” argues our own @guthriegf.bsky.social.
Loved talking with the hilarious, spiritual and deeply committed democracy champion @johnfugelsang.bsky.social about his new book Separation of Church and Hate - this is a funny book but also serious - check it out
Happening today at 1pm ET, with our very own Political & Policy Director, Rachel Deitch! ⤵️
TODAY: Join us and @democracyforward.org from 1 - 2:15pm ET for a conversation on how Trump & SCOTUS are dismantling church-state separation — and what we can do about it. Register here: support.interfaithalliance.org/a/brick-bric...
"I wanted to write this book for people who have to live with or work with a Christian Nationalist or fundamentalist in their job, in their family, in their social media feed, if you must." @johnfugelsang.bsky.social talks his new book, Separation of Church and Hate, on The State of Belief.
The NYT published a glowing profile of right-wing evangelicals getting Trump to undermine the Johnson amendment—but failed to mention how most religious Americans don’t want partisan pulpit endorsements. I correct the record in this Letter to the Editor. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/o...
Join @lizrplatt.bsky.social on Monday at 1pm ET for an @interfaithalliance.org panel on how the Trump administration and Supreme Court are breaking down the United States' constitutional separation between church and state. Register here: support.interfaithalliance.org/a/brick-bric...
Trump and SCOTUS are dismantling church-state separation. Learn how to fight back! Join us and @democracyforward.org on Monday, August 11, from 1:00 - 2:15 pm ET: support.interfaithalliance.org/a/brick-bric...
"Texas state Rep. @jamestalarico.bsky.social, a seminarian who has joined dozens of other Democratic state legislators in leaving his state to oppose mid-decade redistricting efforts, said he views their protests as an act of faith, reflecting both his personal beliefs and his faith in democracy."
"DHS’ attempt to cherry-pick Bible verses to justify its policies is a battle it can’t win. Anyone who has a basic understanding of the Bible understands that God’s concern for immigrants and refugees is clear throughout Holy Scripture." - @guthriegf.bsky.social
"Imbuing millions of deportations with a divine mandate acts as a sort of pre-emptive pardon for actions that would otherwise be condemned by basic morality. Nothing girds the conscience like saying you’re on a mission from God." www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
TODAY: Join Texas State Rep. @jamestalarico.bsky.social for a conversation on religion & politics moderated by our own @guthriegf.bsky.social! This event is hosted by @americanprogressaction.org, in partnership with Interfaith Alliance. 🗓️: Today, 1:30 - 2:30pm ET 📍: Free virtual event
Intern with Interfaith Alliance this Fall! We have two positions available: 🟠 Organizing 🟠 Digital Fundraising & Mobilization Learn more and apply here by August 8th: www.interfaithalliance.org/careers
Had a great conversation with @raushenbush.bsky.social at @interfaithalliance.org about LRRP's new report on religious liberty & immigration. Thanks for inviting me! www.interfaithalliance.org/post/from-sa...
Tuesday's conversation is being hosted by our friends @americanprogressaction.org, in partnership with Interfaith Alliance. When: August 5 @ 1:30 - 2:30pm ET RSVP here:
"The staunchest defenders for the separation of church and state throughout American history were Protestant Christians." Join us Tuesday for a chat with @jamestalarico.bsky.social on religion and politics, moderated by our own @guthriegf.bsky.social: www.americanprogressaction.org/events/faith...
“This is a power flex, it’s not about protecting freedom of religion,” the Rev. @raushenbush.bsky.social, CEO and president of Interfaith Alliance and an ordained Baptist minister, said. “This is trying to exercise control and trying to impose your religion on everyone else.”
Tell ICE: Stop misusing the Bible to recruit agents 🛑 Take action here: support.interfaithalliance.org/a/tell-ice-s...
“It's essential that our houses of worship remain outside the partisan fray, unbeholden to any political figure or group. This decision could open the floodgates to dark money operations that would turn sacred spaces into fronts for shady political schemes." -Rev. @raushenbush.bsky.social
Just the "polite discussion" aka missionizing, proselytizing, and harassing we want at work. I like learning about faith, but not the "mine is the way" approaches.
Last chance to apply or nominate a faith leader in your community to the next cohort of our Interfaith Leadership Network! The deadline is July 31st. Learn more and apply here: www.interfaithalliance.org/interfaith-l...
This is yet another dangerous infringement on healthy boundaries between government and religion — and it undercuts true religious freedom.
"During a break, an employee may engage another in polite discussion of why his faith is correct and why the non-adherent should re-think his religious beliefs." The Trump administration has issued a new memo empowering federal workers to proselytize in the workplace. 🙃
In its season premiere episode titled “Sermon on the 'Mount” (yes, as in Paramount), South Park lampooned the rise of Christian nationalism in our public schools.
“Christianity was used to justify slavery. It was also used by abolitionists to tear it down.” -Texas State Rep. @jamestalarico.bsky.social
Interfaith Alliance's Senior Fellow, Maggie Siddiqi, spoke with WORT-FM 89.9 in Madison, Wisconsin about the role of faith groups in championing democracy. Listen here!
Calling all faith leaders and pro-democracy advocates: There's still time to apply for the upcoming cohort of the Interfaith Leadership Network! Apply or nominate a faith leader in your community by July 31:
I know the AI video was posted as a distraction from the Epstein files AND IT IS UTTERLY VILE
“If there's some relationship between my faith and my comedy it's that no matter what happens you are never defeated. You must understand and see this in the light of eternity and find some way to love and laugh with each other.” -Stephen Colbert
ICYMI: The current president recently posted a fake AI video of President Obama being arrested. Make no mistake: this is an intentional distraction from the Epstein files. Baptist minister and our President & CEO @raushenbush.bsky.social wants to remind us that NONE of this is normal.
Proud to see Interfaith Alliance of the Bluegrass's Zina Merkin repping the interfaith pro-democracy movement at last week’s Good Trouble National Day of Action rally in Lexington, Kentucky!
Theocracy cherry-picks the Bible for verses that create a case for control by a few religious insiders and compliance by everyone else. This is, of course, the goal of Christian Nationalism.
“I’m a Christian and I think there is no more dangerous form of government than theocracy.” - @jamestalarico.bsky.social
“It's deeply offensive to Catholics across this nation and it reeks of anti-Catholicism.” - @reptimkennedy.bsky.social
This is what faith leadership looks like. Four clergy, all from different faith traditions remind the community that US law and scripture demand due process for all @maddow.msnbc.com @ncronline.bsky.social @uusj.bsky.social @interfaithalliance.org
Congressman, civil rights hero, and ordained Baptist minister John Lewis died 5 years ago today. Our national office staff is joining the “Good Trouble Lives on National Day of Action” today on Capitol Hill in D.C. and Interfaith Alliance members are participating in actions across the country.
Happy Good Trouble Day to all who are celebrating! God do I miss Rev. John Lewis - and it is up to us to make sure his joyful spirit lives on!
Amen and congratulations to Meg Stalter on the success of her new show, Too Much. Meg is showing the world that it’s more than okay to be both Christian and gay. 🏳️🌈🙏
So grateful for @jamesmartinsj.bsky.social
Colbert on Christian nationalism: “This is not a Catholic nation because the Catholic Church is not about nations.” 🎙: The Spiritual Life podcast with @jamesmartinsj.bsky.social
“The politicization of houses of worship will open the door to so much harm in our politics, and will inevitably hurt LGBTQ people in particular. The way we’ve had separation of church and state has been critical for LGBTQ rights to flourish," said Interfaith Alliance's @guthriegf.bsky.social.
Our Florida affiliate, Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida, condemns the construction of a detention camp in the Everglades. www.news-press.com/story/opinio...
“The Interfaith Alliance of SWFL condemns the Everglades Detention Camp and calls upon all political and governmental leaders to stop now and take it down.”
So what happened in libraries nationwide during Pride last month? Two library workers were fired over book displays, several drag story hours saw protests, and most glaringly, there was FAR LESS programming for Pride than in any recent memory. That + censorship news. bookriot.com/pride-in-lib...
“71% of Americans opposed allowing churches and places of worship to endorse political candidates while retaining their tax-exempt status.”
"By inviting partisan politics into our pews, the Trump administration’s IRS is eroding the healthy boundary between church and state that protects our democracy and the integrity of faith communities." - @guthriegf.bsky.social, VP of programs & strategy, Interfaith Alliance
ICE detained a Cincinnati Children's hospital chaplain, Imam Ayman Soliman. “His supporters, including local clergy, politicians and representatives from Ignite Peace, said he was fleeing persecution in Egypt and feared his life would be in danger if ICE sent him home.”
"Turning houses of worship into outposts of political campaigns will severely inhibit congregations from welcoming all people who seek them out — and from bringing people together instead of tearing them apart." - @guthriegf.bsky.social, VP of programs & strategy at Interfaith Alliance
“This move represents a grave threat to healthy boundaries between government and religion,” said @guthriegf.bsky.social. “It aims to heavily politicize the pulpit and could turn some religious institutions and organizations into thinly veiled fronts for partisan groups and candidates."
Via @bmietana.bsky.social and myself: Churches can endorse politicians, IRS says in court filing. Here's the thing: this is not popular. As of 2023, majorities of *every* major U.S. religious group oppose endorsing from the pulpit — *including* white evangelicals. religionnews.com/2025/07/08/c...
"What makes this so confusing is that if you were to listen to Trump and his allies, you would think they were strong defenders of Jewish communities... What they don’t tell you is that this agenda was developed with little or no Jewish input."
I am firmly opposed to this - endorsement of candidates by a church is way over the line of separation of church and state. Also note this is an IRS policy - the administration is not changing the law - they are just saying they won’t enforce it. ⚓️
Our full statement:
This is an attack on the separation of church and state — and we won’t let it happen on our watch. Watch this space and sign up for action alerts at InterfaithAlliance.org!
Majorities of ALL major religious groups OPPOSE allowing churches and places of worship to endorse political candidates while retaining their tax-exempt status!
Mainstream religious voices are critically important to pushing back against religious extremists in the United States. Join Interfaith Alliance today and sign up for updates on our pro-democracy faith movement here: www.interfaithalliance.org/get-involved
On Monday, Trump’s IRS declared that churches and other houses of worship can endorse political candidates from the pulpit. This move upends a core protection for church-state separation, and it erodes the independence of houses of worship by politicizing them. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...
Glad to be in this Fourth of July conversation with @raushenbush.bsky.social and @interfaithalliance.org . #july4th
Honored to be in this conversation, "Whither America?", with @raushenbush.bsky.social on the State of Belief podcast, as we mark a Independence Day 2025 as our nation's highest values of freedom and equality are under attack. Tune in for a conversation about resilience and resistance.
@interfaithalliance.org www.interfaithalliance.org/post/how-sch...
“I feel it is my duty, my responsibility, as a Baptist minister and as someone who has read the words of Jesus and tries to follow the way of Jesus to offer a litany of condemnation — condemnation of making the poor be poorer as the rich grow wealthy.” -Rev. @raushenbush.bsky.social
"We're still in our adolescence as a country and we can't figure out who we want to be," says @robertpjones.bsky.social, president & founder of @prri.org. stateofbelief.com/2025/june-28...
The U.S. Senate Parliamentarian’s move to strip a national school voucher program from the proposed federal budget is a win for public schools and a loss for the ultra-wealthy and Christian nationalists. Find more @interfaithalliance.org or in the comments. #SavePublicEducation #EndSchoolVouchers
“The book I know says I was hungry and you fed me, I was sick, I was in prison, and you visited me, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” says Rev. @warnock.senate.gov
“The current Administration with its so-called anti-Christian bias task force is relentlessly attacking any Christian group that is not in lockstep with an authoritarian White Christian Nationalist agenda. Our freedom of religion is under attack.” @raushenbush.bsky.social of @interfaithalliance.org
"The church must demonstrate courage, demand dignity and fight for equality as attacks against religious freedom and LGBTQ people spread throughout the nation, Interfaith Alliance President @raushenbush.bsky.social said. #RecommitToPride
“It is an immoral budget.”