Faith groups express solidarity with Center for American Progress following Trump’s attacks

Interfaith Alliance joined more than 150 civil society organizations in issuing a joint statement defending free expression and expressing solidarity with the Center for American Progress.

Read the full text of the sign on statement below and see the full list of signatories here.

Since our nation’s founding, the rights to free speech, association, and the press have been the bedrock on which American democracy has thrived. We reaffirm, as has each generation before us, our unqualified commitment to the First Amendment and its foundational protections. In so doing, we stand in strong solidarity with the Center for American Progress (CAP), a nonpartisan think tank, and its right to publish expert analysis on the impact of the Trump administration’s—or any administration’s—policies. The free exchange of ideas—including ideas that are inconvenient to those in power—is critical for Americans to understand the nature and impact of the actions of their government.

President Trump’s recent legal attack on CAP takes aim at the heart of these foundational rights, and is the latest salvo in the Administration’s ongoing efforts to suppress the speech of organizations that challenge their policies, defend the rule of law and protect civil rights and vulnerable communities. Independent sources of expert analysis allow Americans to better understand government policy and how it’s affecting them. Experts across or even within think tanks often disagree; it is the right of every American to freely access their findings and form their own opinions. Attempting to silence any of these sources of information degrades our free exchange of ideas, and risks leaving only distortions in the public square.

This is infinitely more damaging to our democratic ideals when done for purely political purposes. There are few issues more fundamental to the First Amendment than the right of an independent organization to publish evidence-based analysis of a government policy and how it is or is not working.

This is not about ideology or partisanship. In a recent editorial, the Washington Post rightly noted that “Think tanks are as American as baseball, jazz and apple pie. They perform an unsung role in holding governments accountable at all levels…Such organizations and their supporters should not fear legal harassment when elected officials dislike their work.” This is true regardless of who is in power, and who is issuing public critiques of that power.

We stand with the Center for American Progress, not in agreement with every view they hold, but in steadfast support for their rights to voice those views freely and without political retribution.

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Many partners in the pro-democracy faith movement signed the letter, including the Center on Faith and Justice, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Faith in Democracy, Faith Leaders for Ending Gun Violence, Florida Council of Churches, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Maine Council of Churches, National Council of Churches USA, National Council of Jewish Women, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, North Carolina Council of Churches, Pax Christi USA, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), Sojourners, The Sikh Coalition, and the United Church of Christ.

Interfaith Alliance’s President and CEO Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush reflected on the importance of joining this solidarity statement. “Interfaith Alliance is dedicated to promoting and defending religious freedom for all, and we recognize the threat that suppressing free expression poses to the freedom of religion.  These foundational freedoms are interlocking and when an administration begins attacking one, you can be assured they will come for the other.”

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