Read the latest press releases, blog posts, and State of Belief episodes from our team in Washington, D.C., our network of faith leaders and affiliates across the United States.
New York State Assemblyman Zohran K. Mamdani won the Democratic nomination to become the New York City mayor. Despite his professed claims to the contrary and his repeated commitment to working with Jewish communities in New York, critics are accusing Mamdani of antisemitism and attacking him with a tremendous amount of anti-Muslim hate.
The Senate Parliamentarian just struck a major blow to efforts to undermine public education and erode the separation of religion and government. The proposed national school voucher program, modeled on the so-called Educational Choice for Children Act, has been removed from the Senate’s budget reconciliation package after being ruled in violation of the Byrd Rule.
WASHINGTON, DC – Interfaith Alliance, a national leader in defending religious freedom and multi-faith democracy, is deeply disturbed by the Supreme Court’s ruling today in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor. The decision clears the way for further discrimination against diverse groups and undermines public education. While falsely claiming the mantle of religious freedom, it in fact suppresses diversity and promotes exclusion.
Earlier this month, Giani Surinder Singh, the head granthi of the Gurdwara South Jersey Sikh Society, delivered a prayer on the floor of the House of Representatives. Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-IL) wrote in a since-deleted X post that it was "deeply troubling that a Sikh was allowed to lead prayer."
Texans of all faiths are uniting in filing a lawsuit against Senate Bill No. 10 (S.B. 10), which requires Texas public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. The bill specifically mandates the display must be at least sixteen by twenty inches, hung in a "conspicuous space,” and follow a specific phrasing most commonly aligned with Protestant beliefs.
Recently, the Sure Foundation Baptist Church (SFBC) in Indianapolis held a sermon in which the preacher called for the government to institute the death penalty for the LGBTQ+ community. Despite heavy criticism from the Indianapolis community for its hateful remark, the church has refused to back down, instead celebrating the exposure that the incident has brought.
WASHINGTON – Interfaith Alliance, a national leader in defending religious freedom and inclusive multi-faith democracy, is deeply concerned by a new I.R.S. court filing that says churches and other houses of worship can endorse political candidates to their congregations from the pulpit. This action by the Trump Administration violates the fundamental purpose and spirit of the Johnson Amendment, a decades-old ban on political campaigning and endorsement by non-profits, including houses of worship.
Last Thursday, during a rally to promote their disastrous new budget, President Trump took the stage and said: “No going to the banks and in some cases, borrowing from a fine banker, and in some cases shylocks and bad people.” Trump’s use of the word “shylocks” echoes a hundreds-of-years-old trope about hidden Jewish influences, moneylending and nefarious financial power.