Church-State Separation Affects Everyone
Tuesday, June 7, 2022 7 p.m. CDT by Zoom
Panel discussion will follow brief annual meeting
Christian nationalists are using the law to force everyone to live according to their beliefs and widen inequality in our communities and country. Separation of church and state guarantees religious freedom, which protects everyone’s right to practice the religion of their choice or no religion at all, as long as they don’t harm others.
Houston leaders will address issues of current concern in which they are deeply engaged, rooted in their personal experiences. They'll explain how religious doctrine is an underlying factor in each, and how—in obvious or subtle form—it often is linked to problematic actions of governments or publicly-funded private organizations.
Reproductive freedom
Rabbi Joshua Fixler
Congregation Emanu El
Board Member, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
LGBTQ equality
Brandon Mack
Higher education nonprofit leader
A lead organizer with Black Lives Matter Houston
Racial justice
Bishop John Ogletree, Jr.
First Metropolitan (Bapt.) Church
NAACP Houston Branch - Executive Committee
Joshua Fixler grew up hearing the story of his grandmother's decision to have an abortion 70 years ago. As a congregational rabbi, he feels a responsibility to tell her story. As a religious leader, he feels obliged to explain that Jewish beliefs about abortion differ from those enshrined in Texas' abortion laws.
Community activist and sociologist dedicated to issues related to the intersections of race, gender and sexual orientation. "My humanity is not up for debate. Without the separation of church and state, many LGBTQ+ people would not even be considered human."
"John Ogletree never imagined he would be unseated from his local school board position amid charges that he is a Black liberal racist. But after 17 years of service, he is out of office — along with two other board colleagues — due to an organized campaign by white Christian nationalists." Baptist News Global,12-14-21
Moderated by Adrianne Spoto Madison Legal Fellow, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
At this critical time in our nation's history, will you help spread the word about AU by inviting your friends and posting the event on social media? Americans United is the only organization dedicated solely to defending the separation of church and state.