The promise of religious freedom did not extend to Black and Indigenous people at America’s founding. The white Christian nationalists used religion to justify slavery, Jim Crow, and systemic racism. When laws align with one religious belief system, these laws breach the separation of church and state. Without the separation of church and state, such laws advance systemic racism and unduly harm people of color.
White Christian nationalists are an increasing threat to religious freedom and racial equity. Trump’s now-defunct travel ban targeted people from African nations and Muslim-majority countries. And Black churches remain targeted by white Christian nationalists who continue to use religion as an instrument of white supremacy.