If I didn't mishear, Justice
#amyconeybarrett
just said the "Jewish-Palestinian" conflict. I beg your pardon, Justice, but it is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It's unsettling to have a Supreme Court Justice who stereotypes my religious minority.
#SCOTUS
You may be wondering what “deeply rooted history” Justice Alito cites to overrule Roe v Wade. Answer: An English judge who lived from 1609 to 1676 and who sentenced two women to death on the grounds that they were witches.
The 118th Congress opens with a Christian prayer. Taxpayers give the chaplain a salary of $172,500/yr.
There's something like 850 houses of worship in DC, about 12.5 per square mile.
The "freedom of religion" we hear so much about from white Christian Nationalists isn't about freedom or equality, but about privilege and power.
True freedom of religion means freedom without favor and equality without exception—that requires the separation of church and state.
HEADS UP: The Jesus ads you will see at the
#SuperBowl2023
are sponsored by the group supporting the reversal of abortion rights and the refusal rights of businesses not to serve LGBTQ customers.
And lest anyone was unclear that some Supreme Court Justices want to ban abortion, here we have Justice Thomas in his dissent, explicitly stating his disagreement with Roe v Wade.
#MyBodyMyChoice
#SCOTUS
"I don't know what religious requires you to pray at the 50 yard line. What religion requires you to pray at that spot?" Justice Sotomayor for the win!
#nopraytoplay
If you're someone who thinks we have bigger fish to fry than stopping a public school coach from pressuring students to pray, let me remind you: it's a BIG deal for students who are religious minorities, nonreligious, or Christian & don't believe in praying that way. AND (1/2)
Justice Jackson analogy to racial exclusion (for pictures "in sepia color")--and watching the lawyer for 303 Creative fumble to respond--is EVERYTHING. She is bringing phenomenal change to the Court.
#303Creative
#SCOTUS
@maggiesmithpoet
Sub-headline is pretty striking too: "The Trump-appointee who asked not to be judged by his high school year book has a different point of view for kids who aren’t Tobin, Squi, and PJ. "
Justice Kagan: "This case is about COERCION OF STUDENTS and having to join religious activities they do not wish to join and their parents do not wish them to join." Can I get an amen to that?
#nopraytoplay
Justice Amy Coney Barrett: Why do you look so miserable when our President talks about preserving everyone's right to make their own choices about their bodies--based on their own religious or moral dictates? I thought you were a fan of
#ReligiousFreedom
.
#SOTU2022
Awesome work,
@AmericanAtheist
!! Reminder: If you care about religious freedom, if you care about racial justice, if you care about LGBTQ equality, if you care about reproductive freedom, if you care about democracy…you should be an outspoken champion of church-state separation.
Our country was founded on the separation of religion and government, which guarantees all of us religious freedom. If you attack church-state separation, you are attacking a core pillar of our democracy.
#nopraytoplay
Here we go again with the congressional chaplain. Note: all congressional chaplains have been Christian. And I repeat: why do we need taxpayer funded chaplains in Congress anyway? We don’t.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court just invited coercive prayer into public schools by ruling that Bremerton School District--a public school system-- cannot stop a coach from conducting public prayers with his team at team huddle. A huge blow to church-state separation.
It's really messed up (at least for religious minorities like me & the nonreligious) to listen to a song all about Jesus at a National Prayer Breakfast. Just rename it then- the National Christian Prayer Breakfast, k? And then deal with the consequences.
#nationalprayerbreakfast
Saw this great film tonight and National Review gets it wrong. Sigh. Mr. Rogers intentionally did *not* make his show Christian in any way because he wanted it to be inclusive for all kids.
Thank you,
@mehdirhasan
and
@MSNBC
, for that powerful segment highlighting the grave threats of Christian Nationalism today. For all of those who want to read my
@washingtonpost
piece you referenced, link here:
No, Senator Graham, you don't get to impose a religious test on a Supreme Court nominee--or on any public official. As Judge
#KetanjiBrownJackson
explained, Article VI prevents it. It's called democracy.
#KetanjiBrownJacksonHearing
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) begins his questioning with "What faith are you, by the way?"
Then, this: “Can you fairly judge a Catholic?”
Then, this: “How important is your faith to you?”
Judge Jackson says: “There’s no religious test under the Constitution.”
The Do No Harm Act upholds our fundamental value of religious freedom and makes sure your religious views cannot impact the rights of other Americans, says
@RepJoeKennedy
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
In America, you can’t be forced to fund schools that teach creationism instead of science, theocracy instead of democracy and discrimination instead of acceptance of difference. Can you? Read my op-ed about this Wednesday’s oral argument before
#SCOTUS
👇🏼
"In God we Trust" may seem innocuous, but it's not a religious freedom-friendly statement. Not only does it assume everyone believes in God, but its derivation is also Christian Nationalist.
Way to go,
@americansunited
. I would call our letter to the IRS reporting Pastor Locke’s flagrant Johnson Amendment violation a complete and total success. ��
.
@ChrisCoons
told
@jackmjenkins
of
@RNS
that this year’s National Prayer Breakfast is a 'reset' ().
But here's a reset idea: stop.
We saw what
#ChristianNationalism
did on Jan. 6. Let's not fool ourselves in thinking lighter version of it is good for nation
The Court is gaslighting us. It talks about discrimination only in the context of preventing tax dollars from funding religious education. But separating church and state actually *protects* religion from government interference and favoritism. 1/2
‼️ BREAKING! Supreme Court Forces Taxpayers To Fund Religious Education
"It’s nothing less than gaslighting to cloak this assault on our Constitution in the language of non-discrimination."--
@rachelklaser
👉🏾
White Christian Nationalism is the belief system that America was made for white Christians and that our laws should reflect and perpetuate white Christian power and privilege. It misuses “religious freedom” to harm all marginalized communities.
A new Alabama law would put doctors in prison for up to 10 years for prescribing hormonal treatment for trans kids under 19. Declared Gov. Kay Ivey: "if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl.”
BREAKING:
@americansunited
brought a lawsuit today on behalf of a Jewish couple who were turned away from fostering kids by a TN government-funded foster care agency because they're Jewish. This violates TN's constitutional religious freedom protections.
As the Senator Chaplain opens the National Prayer Breakfast w/a sermon, American flags as his backdrop, I ask again:Why do we have chaplains in Congress? Why do we have a National Prayer Breakfast? Church-state separation protects religion as much as taxpayers’ religious freedom.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court just denied two emergency applications from workers requesting religious exemptions from NY's vaccine mandate.
🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
Pass it on: Religious freedom is meant to be a shield to protect us, not a license to risk lives.
It’s really a new world with this Supreme Court. Things we never thought would or could happen are all not only on the table but likely. It’s the dystopian imposition of far right Christian extremism on all Americans.
No,
@TulsiGabbard
. Asking for the government to treat us all equally no matter what our belief system is not attacking religion. It’s protecting religious freedom for all of us.
Today’s Democrat Party does not believe in our constitutionally protected right to freedom of religion. They are hostile toward people of faith and spirituality, and actively undermine our religious freedom.
Tomorrow the Supreme Court hears a case about whether taxpayers can be forced to fund religious education and discrimination. Scary times. Here is more on what’s at stake 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
"Official-led prayer strikes at the core of our constitutional protections for the religious liberty of students and their parents."
--Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Breyer and Kagan, dissenting.
Right on cue, Justice Kavanaugh asks if UNC considers religion too. Justice Jackson puts the argument back on track for asking about whether UNC considers its history of exclusion. Ultra-conservative Justices need to acquaint themselves with this concept, below.
#SCOTUS
The religious extremist assault on America by people like Michael Flynn should terrify you. They're waging a holy war on our democracy. Great reporting by
@AP
and
@frontlinepbs
.
@AmericansUnited
is on the frontline fighting back. But we need your help.
Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like!
@BradleyWhitford
@AmyLandecker
& Rev. Traci Blackmon talking truth to power about the need to preserve church-state separation on Capitol Hill yesterday at
@americansunited
's lobby day.
#SRF23
The solution? A national recommitment to church-state separation, but also- NO MORE PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS, which divert critical public dollars away from public schools and fund private-- and now by requirement- religious schools.
#novouchers
Christian Nationalism is a muscular Christianity that seeks to "take dominion," as stated explicitly below. Its goal is to seize power by any and all means and to force us all to live as subservient beings, submissive to its oppressive belief system.
Just dropped on Amazon Sept 5th. A “How-To”
#ChristianNationalism
book written by the right-wing, anti-Semitic founder of Gab. Ranked
#15
on Amazon this morning and already has 160 reviews. Blurb on the back cover by Doug Wilson. These people aren’t hiding their goals.
Breaking: AU sues along with
@ACLU
@FFRF
and
@EdLawCenter
to stop nation's first religious public charter school from opening its doors. Public schools are not Sunday Schools.
BREAKING- Our lawsuit has been filed! See you in court, Governor Landry. Forcing public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom is unconstitutional. It flagrantly violates church-state separation and the religious freedom of students and their families.
BREAKING: The 9th Circuit protected students’ religious freedom today by confirming that a public high school football coach cannot lead students in prayer on the football field immediately after games.
Justice Kavanaugh bringing up religion to oppose an anti-racist strategy epitomizes the way religious extremists are using religion to advance an exclusionary, discriminatory agenda.
#SCOTUS
"You're a godless abomination..."
This is the kind of hate mail we're getting for defending the religious freedom of every public school student in the US—for trying to stop public school officials from praying with other people's children. But hate won't stop us.
#nopraytoplay
"Our laws must not allow anyone to use their religious beliefs to harm others. Allowing one person’s religious beliefs to dictate another’s personal medical and moral decisions is the very definition of harm."--
@rachelklaser
Our Constitution promises that there shall be no test for public office and YET Senator Kennedy is asking a nominee whether he believes in God. Outrageous. Religious freedom is the right to believe or not believe. Pass it on.
Wow. These guys are hypocrites. They claimed that asking Amy Coney Barrett questions about the *law* related to church state and other religion issues was an attack on her religion. Yet, Senator Kennedy asks nominees direct questions about their religious beliefs.
"Your personal religious beliefs should not be affecting my child's education either"- YES, Adrienne. We need to give you an honorary membership to
@americansunited
. Interested?
Me speaking at the Granbury ISD school board meeting tonight . Granbury ISD is continuing to purge books. The folks that show up at every meeting demanding books be removed , not a single one is a GISD parent. Yet , the school board seems to be giving them everything they want .
The Supreme Court is not pro-religion, it's pro-one particular religion. This court is on a crusade to privilege conservative white Christians above everyone else, and using "religious freedom" to do so.
When she heard of unaccompanied refugee children arriving in the US, Kelly knew she wanted to open up her home. Bethany Christian turned her down cuz she's a lesbian. We won the case & now she can foster. Proud of
@americansunited
legal team!
Occasionally, I have these moments of realizing what we've all been living through and the collective trauma from this moment. The deaths, sickness and fear from the global pandemic, the racial reckoning, Trump, the threats to democracy and to our planet. It's really A LOT.
BREAKING NEWS: Connecticut becomes the 6th state to end religious exemption from mandatory school childhood vaccination policy. (YES- because religious freedom is not a license to put lives at risk during a deadly and contagious pandemic)
#RBG
didn't mince words:"As I see it, when a cross is displayed on public property, the government may be presumed to endorse its religious content.The venue is surely associated with the State; the symbol & its meaning are just as surely associated exclusively with Christianity"
This morning while walking my dog I bumped into one set of neighbors in an interracial marriage & another set in a same sex marriage. It struck me that with this political Court so wiling to demolish precedent that has expanded rights, none of us (including me as a Jew) are safe.
I came across this image today and it summed up so much of why I’m voting. I would have put the whole image, though, on a backdrop of the American flag, because I’m also voting for the American experiment writ large.
#VOTE
No no no- when religious extremists have just robbed so many people of their freedom by imposing their narrow beliefs on all of us — it’s not the right moment to sing “God Bless America.”
Conservative Justices: Pls stop using Judaism to support undermining church-state separation. Most Jews are *relieved* for states like ME not to fund religious education 'cuz we know we'd otherwise mostly be funding a religion not ours & that may well say negative things about us
Today, the Oklahoma virtual charter school board is likely to vote on whether to establish the first religious charter school in the US.
Public schools are not Sunday schools.Separate church and state.
Thank you, Justice Kagan, for illuminating that Idaho is suggesting it should even be a question whether ensuring women’s health is THE standard of care.
#SCOTUS
#EMTALA
@jackmjenkins
In America, we ban Muslims and say there were good people on both sides in Charlottesville and give extraordinary and unprecedented privilege to white evangelical Christians above all others- and boast about it all.
Wait. I thought this was America! But no-it’s an Orwellian nightmare where the Trump administration vows to go after government officials whose temporary bans on large gatherings include religious services.
#CoronavirusOutbreak
#handmaidstale
Teddy helping with my 14 interviews today to get the word out about the Kennedy v Bremerton case & how it illustrates the attack on church-state separation.
#nopraytoplay
Justice Amy Coney Barrett asking when the end point is for race-conscious admissions. All of the ultra-conservative Justices worrying out loud about whether it “ever” ends. The fear is palpable.
#SCOTUS
Be afraid when our highest Court declares that they will be interpreting who has rights based on a "history and tradition" test. Under that test, all hard-won progress towards our ideals fails and none of us are safe.
#Dobbs
One day you wake up and your kids' public school has the 10 commandments on display and has substituted a chaplain for the school counselor. Welcome to Christian Nationalists' America 2023.
FIGHT BACK! Take the pledge for religious freedom TODAY!
Bills have passed in TX senate that would req. the 10 Commandments to be posted in all public schools & allow religious chaplains to replace school counselors.
PRRI: 73% of Americans express a preference for religious diversity in the U.S.
@TexasTribune
The Asbury United Methodist Church has released this statement in response to the burning of their “Black Lives Matter” banner last night by the Proud Boys.