FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 15, 2024
CONTACT:
Logan Bayroff, West End Strategy Team
lbayroff@westendstrategy.com
Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons Joins Interfaith Alliance As Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy
WASHINGTON, DC – Interfaith Alliance, a leading national organization that advocates for inclusive democracy and healthy boundaries between religion and government, announced today that Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons will join the organization as its new Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy.
Graves-Fitzimmons is one of the country’s top advocates and experts working at the intersection of religion, politics and policy. He most recently worked at the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, where he helped lead its Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign. Graves-Fitzimmons writes regularly about faith communities and social justice and his expertise has been featured in the New York Times, MSNBC, the Washington Post, CNN, NBC News, the Daily Beast, USA TODAY, Religion News Service and more.
At Interfaith Alliance, he will build on his career-long project of helping faith communities advance social justice, uplifting civil rights and confronting theocratic religious extremism.
“It’s an honor to join the Interfaith Alliance team at this critical moment for our democracy,” said Graves-Fitzimmons. “To achieve democracy together and stop authoritarianism, diverse faith communities must come together to defeat Christian nationalism. By embracing and promoting religious pluralism, Interfaith Alliance and its partners are pointing the way toward a vibrant multi-faith future.”
Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, lauded Graves-Fitzimmons as an exciting new addition to the organization at a critical moment.
“Long before most Americans had heard of Christian nationalism or Project 2025, Guthrie was already a major voice warning of and educating about these threats,” Rev. Raushenbush said. “At a pivotal moment in our country’s history, he will be a powerful advocate for our movement on behalf of true religious freedom, reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, and healthy, inclusive democracy.”
Graves-Fitzimmons previously worked at the Center for American Progress, ReThink Media, and the National Immigration Forum. An ordained Baptist deacon, he is the author of Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity (Broadleaf Books, 2020). In 2019, the Center for American Progress (CAP) named him one of its annual list of Faith Leaders to Watch. He co-authored CAP’s groundbreaking report on the Pro-Democracy Faith Movement in 2021.
Graves-Fitzsimmons earned his undergraduate degree from American University in Washington, D.C., and his Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Prophetic Leadership degree from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado.
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Interfaith Alliance is a network of people of diverse faiths and beliefs from across the country working together to build a resilient democracy and fulfill America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights not just for some, but for all. We mobilize powerful coalitions to challenge Christian nationalism and religious extremism while fostering a better understanding of the healthy boundaries between religion and government. We advocate at all levels of government for an equitable and just America where the freedoms of belief and religious practice are protected, and where all persons are treated with dignity and have the opportunity to thrive. For more information visit www.interfaithalliance.org.
Interfaith Alliance is a network of people of diverse faiths and beliefs from across the country working together to build a resilient democracy and fulfill America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights not just for some, but for all. We mobilize powerful coalitions to challenge Christian nationalism and religious extremism, while fostering a better understanding of the healthy boundaries between religion and government. We advocate at all levels of government for an equitable and just America where the freedoms of belief and religious practice are protected, and where all persons are treated with dignity and have the opportunity to thrive. For more information visit interfaithalliance.org.