We need each other: Moving forward after the election

Editor’s note: This blog post by AU President and CEO Rachel Laser originally appeared in the December 2024 issue of AU’s Church & State magazine. 

Holocaust survivor and Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl wrote in his 1946 book Man’s Search for Meaning: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Last month, not yet knowing the results of the election, I wrote about hope. This month, we are keenly aware that we are facing another four years of a president who, in his last term, took every opportunity he could find to undermine church-state separation. We are bracing ourselves for the implementation of Project 2025’s plan to push our democracy toward a theocracy – a plan that we know was designed by many leaders of Donald Trump’s past administration who are part of the billion-dollar Shadow Network of Christian Nationalists that champion Trump.

‘We still can choose hope’

I shared Frankl’s quote above to remind us that no matter how bleak things may feel in a given moment, we still can choose hope. Now is one of many upcoming moments to put that advice into action.

Let’s practice hope as I suggested last month. We could sink into despair and view this election as a reflection of the nation’s rejection of church-state separation, given Trump’s last term combined with the trends we have been fighting across the country. Or we could choose to see the election as an endorsement of church-state separation.

Majority of Americans support church-state separation

Seven of 10 states voted to protect abortion rights (an eighth came in at 58% support, just 2% short of the required 60%). Four of those states (Missouri, Montana, Arizona and Nevada) also voted for Trump. All three measures to expand private (primarily religious) school vouchers failed, including in red Kentucky and mostly red Nebraska.

At worst, this election cycle was mixed on our issue. At best, it reflected resistance to the overreach of zealous Christian Nationalists, including in red states. I am choosing to go with the latter, because it fits with what public opinion research shows: a majority of Americans across the entire country support church-state separation.

Americans United has a plan for Trump administration

Months prior to the election, AU’s staff was planning for various possible outcomes. Since the election, AU’s leadership team and board have both come together in person to fortify our teams and figure out AU’s highest and best role during a second Trump presidency. We already have a plan for the first part of the Trump administration.

We know we will need to focus on keeping public education secular and stopping even more tax dollars from being diverted to private, primarily religious, schools. Trump has supported “school choice” and talked about “returning prayer to schools,” as well as doing away with diversity, equity and inclusion programs (which protect religious minorities among others) and shuttering the Department of Education.

AU has been a watchdog in this sphere since our founding nearly 80 years ago. And we know from this past year’s legal victories in this realm, including a recent win in our challenge to Louisiana’s Ten Commandments mandate, that wins in the courts are still possible.

We are also preparing for Trump to authorize expansive discrimination in the name of “religious freedom,” as he did last time in many ways, including in the realm of birth control access, health care, federal contractor jobs and the government’s provision of social services. We know that our Policy Department can work with a wide group of external allies – including members of the public, like you – to, at a minimum, form a resistance, lay an effective foundation for lawsuits and eventually reverse harmful executive orders. These areas of focus are only a beginning, but they give you a sense of some of AU’s priorities.

Their overreach is our opportunity for progress

The guiding principle behind our plan is this: their overreach is our opportunity for progress. Every attack on public education, LGBTQ+ people, atheists and abortion access is another opportunity for AU to grow our people and organizational power. AU’s skilled and visionary program teams are ready to seize every chance to build our movement and multiply our supporters.

Where do you come in? We would be nothing and nowhere without you. We need your continued generous support. We need you to take action when we send you opportunities to engage – make sure you’re signed up for the AU Action Network and look out for our email alerts. Tell your friends about AU and consider organizing kindred spirits on the ground.

No matter what, please make a practice of choosing hope. We need you to stay strong. We need each other as we move forward.