Interfaith Alliance and SPLC to Host Interfaith Summit on Countering Hate in Montgomery, AL

Interfaith Alliance and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) are collaborating this week to host the Interfaith Summit on Countering Hate in Montgomery, Alabama—an epicenter of civil rights history and activism. 

The summit will bring together a diverse group of over 50 influential faith and community leaders from the Deep South and across the country for discussions, workshops and strategy sessions focused on community-based interfaith responses to the rise of hate and the growing threat of white supremacy and Christian nationalism. 

These leaders have been invited to come together to build on the historic role of faith communities in countering hate and fighting for civil rights, and prepare for the mobilization of voters ahead of the upcoming election. The attendees will hear a keynote address from academic, author and minister Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, whose work on race, religion and justice has helped shape national conversations on equity and civil rights.

“Across the country and particularly in the South, faith communities have long been on the frontlines of the struggle against white supremacy and all forms of hate,” said Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, President & CEO of Interfaith Alliance. “We’re excited to partner with SPLC on a summit that will bring together some of the country’s most inspiring and capable leaders to help understand and defeat the growing threat of Christian nationalism.” 

“Our churches, temples, mosques and synagogues should be safe havens from hate and bigotry,” said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the SPLC. “We cannot allow distortion of faith to perpetuate injustice. This convening is an opportunity for our faith and community leaders—particularly Southern Christian leaders—to unite in support of people who have been targeted by hate violence, including Jewish and Muslim communities. Together, this coalition can advance a multiracial, interfaith society.”

As the SPLC’s Intelligence Project has documented, Christian supremacy and dominionism are animating features of antigovernment conspiracies and movement organizing, with the goal of transforming U.S. culture and politics into an authoritarian state. 

Just this week, annual data released by the FBI found that 2023 had the highest number of hate crimes ever recorded, with significant increases in anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate crimes. 

The summit will bring communities together as part of a broader commitment to combating these threats – including antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, anti-Black racism, anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and all forms of bigotry. 

Sessions over the course of the three-day summit will focus on topics including the New Apostolic Reformation; combating antisemitism; the past present and future of Black civil rights organizing; interfaith organizing and election preparedness; and more. 

Members of the media interested in speaking with organizers and attendees for the Interfaith Summit on Countering Hate should contact Logan Bayroff: lbayroff@westendstrategy.com. 

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.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.