American United’s Agenda to Restore & Protect Religious Freedom
The separation of church and state is the cornerstone of religious freedom. Core to our
founding and enshrined in the First Amendment to our Constitution, it is central to who
we are as a nation and why we are recognized around the world as a beacon of religious
freedom. Separation safeguards both religion and government by ensuring that one
institution does not control the other, allowing religious diversity in America to flourish.
That is why Americans United for Separation of Church and State has been safeguarding
this fundamental principle since 1947.
Religious freedom means that everyone should be able to practice their religion or no
religion at all—without government interference, preference, or disfavor—so long as they
don’t harm others. This do-no-harm principle, enshrined in the Establishment Clause of
the First Amendment, ensures that religious freedom is a shield that protects the rights of
everyone to practice their faith or not to practice any faith at all, and not a sword to harm
others or to discriminate.
Read the 10 things the Biden-Harris administration must do to protect religious freedom:
