Advocacy
New Interfaith Alliance Memo Details Trump Admin’s Attacks on Faith Communities
Trump announced at the National Prayer Prayer Breakfast an EO on countering ‘anti Christian bias,’ yet Interfaith Alliance is calling out the Trump administration for “incendiary and unprecedented attacks on faith communities”.
In a new briefing memo available here, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush – president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance and an ordained Baptist minister – points out the numerous ways in which the Trump Administration has openly targeted faith leaders, religious communities and religious freedom.
The memo details numerous attacks to date on faith communities including Lutherans, Catholics, Episcopalians, Jewish Americans and others.
“We are now actually witnessing the federal government marshaling resources to attack individual faith leaders and major religious institutions…These attacks on religious institutions are meant to have a chilling effect on faith leaders’ religious freedom to hold governments accountable.”
Transcript
Department of Education Gets Patriotism Wrong
Interfaith Alliance, together with major religious organizations committed to religious freedom and education, has submitted a formal comment to the U.S. Department of Education opposing the proposed priority and definitions on promoting patriotic education.
Moral Courage in Action: Faith Communities Confront Executive Overreach
This June, the Trump administration deployed the National Guard to California following widespread protests against a series of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the city; protesters stood in solidarity with immigrant communities and voiced opposition to mass deportation. Executive overreach under the guise of making communities “safer” threatens the freedom and safety of protesters and distorts democratic norms. In August, the administration further displayed overreach by deploying National Guard troops and quelling protests in Washington, D.C. In September, the administration announced that Portland, Oregon, would be the next city to have troops mobilized in its community. In response, faith communities, along with their partners, have not relented and are pushing back in defense of immigrant rights and the integrity of our democracy.
Interfaith Solidarity with LDS Communities
These past few weeks have been some of the hardest for our partners in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). On September 27th, LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson passed away at the age of 101. President Nelson served as the Church’s 17th president and was a leader in promoting deep partnerships during a trying time in the Church’s history, including with other faith communities. We extend our deepest condolences to members of the LDS Church and wish them comfort as they mourn the passing of such an important leader.