Tell Congress: Christian Nationalism Is Not Religious Liberty

On June 26, the Trump Administration’s Religious Liberty Commission released a 224-page draft report that reads less like a defense of religious freedom and more like a blueprint for Christian Nationalism. Before it is finalized, our members of Congress should hear — clearly and on the record — that the separation of church and state is not up for negotiation.

Ask your Senators and Representative to publicly oppose the report’s most alarming recommendations:

• Repealing the Johnson Amendment, which would let tax-exempt houses of worship endorse and bankroll political candidates.

• Funneling more public money into religious schools through expanded vouchers.

• Backing state laws that force religious displays into public-school classrooms.

• Creating new federal enforcement schemes that pressure public officials to favor religious expression.

Here is the full text you’ll be sending by texting SIGN PDNQUQ to 50409. Learn how Resistbot works.

As your constituent, I am asking you to stand up for the separation of church and state.

On June 26, the Presidential Religious Liberty Commission released a 224-page draft report. Under friendly language about building “bridges” between church and state, it recommends changes that would move real public money and real government power toward one favored religion. The Department of Justice is collecting public comments before the report is finalized. I want you, as my elected representative, to make Congress’s position unmistakable.

Specifically, I ask you to oppose and speak out against the report’s core recommendations:

• Do not repeal or weaken the Johnson Amendment. Tax-exempt status should not become a channel for dark money and partisan endorsements from the pulpit.

• Do not expand voucher schemes that divert public tax dollars into religious schools with little accountability.

• Do not endorse laws that mandate religious displays in public-school classrooms, where children of every faith and none are required to be.

• Do not create federal enforcement mechanisms that pressure public officials to privilege religious expression over their duty to serve all citizens equally.

The separation of church and state is not hostility toward faith. It is the reason Americans of every religion — and of none — have worshiped freely for 250 years. It protects the Baptist and the Buddhist, the Catholic and the atheist, equally. “Religious liberty” that elevates one faith above the rest is not liberty; it is establishment by another name, and it endangers the very believers it claims to serve.

I support the free exercise of religion for everyone. That is exactly why I oppose turning the machinery of government into an instrument for one faith. Please use your voice and your vote to keep that wall standing.

▶ Created on July 8 by Militant Optimist

Sincerely,
Rodney B. Murray, PhD

Credit & Sources

Background and the original call to action come from the American Humanist Association: americanhumanist.org. Read the draft report at the U.S. Department of Justice, Religious Liberty Commission — justice.gov/religious-liberty-commission/resources.

Note: The AHA also urges submitting a public comment directly to the DOJ at RLC@usdoj.gov by Sunday, July 12 — a separate action from this Resistbot letter to Congress.