Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida

Based in Naples, Florida, the Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida is made up of people of many faiths and no faith, clergy, and lay members of diverse faith communities. We come together because of our shared commitment to inclusive religious freedom and democracy.

About the Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida

We believe that religion and government must be separate. True, inclusive religious freedom is a foundation for American democracy, enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution. No one, including the government, has the right to impose religious beliefs on anyone else. Everyone has the right to hold and practice their own religious beliefs, as long as they do not impose those beliefs on or use them to harm others.

We believe that religious and political extremists are a threat to individual liberty and democracy, notably religious nationalists who seek to use the government to impose their distorted view of our nation’s history on others in, for example, public schools; local decision-making by school boards, city councils, and county boards of commissioners; and state regulations.

We believe that religious and cultural diversity is essential in building vibrant communities. We strive to gather together diverse faith voices and to facilitate meaningful communication and collaboration across our differences.

We believe that all people have intrinsic worth and are entitled to equal rights, dignity, and respect within our society. We support actions that promote equal human rights and oppose actions that limit the rights of some people or privilege some people’s rights over others’.

We will work in partnership with others to protect our communities from bigotry, discrimination, prejudice, racism, and all forms of hate against all people regardless of faith, race, gender, creed, sexual orientation, or national origin.

We will work in partnership with others to protect public education from:

  • all formal and informal efforts to ban books from school and public libraries; 
  • all threats to the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ students and parents; 
  • all restrictions to the academic freedom of teachers in K-12 and higher education, including limiting the curriculum and teachers’ ability to teach, for example, the full and accurate history of our nation or the scientific understanding of human sexuality
  • all threats to the full and effective functioning of our public school system, including, for example, the diversion of public monies to support private and religious schools and attempts to make school board elections partisan

The Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida was founded in 2023 in response to growing concern about state and local entanglement between religion and politics, including the pervasive influence of religious nationalism, deep and recurring threats to public education, and increasing levels of hate-based activity targeting Jews, LGBTQ+ persons, Blacks, Asians, and other community members. 

As a local affiliate of Interfaith Alliance, we support national initiatives with particular relevance for our community and seek assistance from the national staff in launching and implementing our own initiatives. We draw upon national resources to challenge bigotry and defend religious freedom on local issues, including candidate education, religion in the public sphere, and interfaith relations. We will seek assistance in tracking the use (and misuse) of religion by candidates for public office.

Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida
Steering Committee

The Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida is led by a Steering Committee consisting of Rev. Tony Fisher, Lisa Freund, Rev. Dr. Sharon Harris-Ewing, and Kristin Muschett.

Tell Congress: Support the Freedom to Vote Act!

People of faith and conscience have for generations worked to advance an inclusive democracy where every person, regardless of background or belief, has the power to exercise their vote. The Freedom to Vote Act is historic legislation to strengthen voter access and prevent efforts to undermine our electoral system.

Take Action

Join Us Each Month

Join us in person or virtually for the next membership meeting of the Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida. For more information or questions, please email swflinterfaith@gmail.com

Please Join Us!

Launching the Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida

Naples organizers are hard at work as the Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida gathers momentum. Learn more about our organizational structure and goals for the coming year.

View Our Organizational Structure

In the News: Interfaith Alliance of SWFL Quoted in Aftermath of Jacksonville Shooting

“Unfettered access to guns, paired with the continuing normalization of white supremacy and extremism, has paved the way for yet another devastating racially motivated mass shooting.”

Read the article in the National Catholic Reporter.

Guest Commentary: School Vouchers are a Threat to Our Democracy

“The separation of church and state, an essential ingredient in the success of our democracy, has been a key guiding principle in the public schools…The motivation behind this massive expansion of the Florida voucher system is a thinly veiled agenda to promote Chrsitian naitonalism.”

This guest commentary in the Naples Daily news was written by Jeanne Goldberg, member of Interfaith Alliance of SWFL.

Read the commentary.

Past Articles:

‘This just isn’t OK’: SWFL anti-hate group upset with Mann Hall for scheduling Roseanne Barr | Quoted in Naples Daily News
Separation of religion and government a local issue | Guest commentary, Naples Daily News
All of us must condemn anti-Semitism | Guest commentary, Naples Daily News and Ft. Myers News-Press

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