Every year at this time Americans United takes a look back at the past 12 months and compiles the Top Ten high points for our organization. We posted the first five highlights yesterday; here are the final five:
When reports surfaced that Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito had flown an “appeal to Heaven” flag at his New Jersey vacation home, Americans United was quick to request a congressional investigation of the matter. AU also provided background and context about the flag, a banner that dates to the American Revolution but that has, in modern times, been adopted by religious extremists.
“The Appeal to Heaven flag that flew at Justice Alito’s vacation home is the flag of the Christian Nationalist movement in America, the endpoint of which is nothing less than the toppling of our democracy,” observed Rachel Laser, AU president and CEO. “Christian Nationalists believe that the United States should be a Christian theocracy. Insurrectionists carried the flag when they attacked the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. … That this partisan Christian Nationalist flag flew at the beach house of a Supreme Court justice raises serious questions about impartiality and the fair administration of justice at the nation’s highest court.”
In April, Americans United and its allies held the second Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF), three days of speeches, workshops and breakout sessions, capped with a Hill Day April 16, during which attendees went to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress and their staffs.
The in-person event drew a capacity crowd of 300, and more than 500 people joined online. Keynote speakers included author and university professor Anthea Butler; transgender rights activist Erin Reed; and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). The event was followed by SRF365, a series of year round online webinars and workshops. (You can sign up for SRF 2025 here.)
Since its founding, Americans United has worked to ensure that America’s public schools remain welcoming to all students. AU opposes coercive forms of religion in public schools and the diversion of tax money to private religious schools. In 2024, AU’s legal team sent dozens of letters to public school officials in several states, urging them to correct church-state violations.
AU opposed private school voucher bills in state legislatures and backed ballot referenda in three states that blocked creation or expansion of voucher plans. All three passed.
Along with our allies, AU filed a lawsuit to stop the creation of a “public religious charter school” in Oklahoma. In June, the Oklahoma Supreme Court barred St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School from operating as a public charter school, responding to separate litigation filed by the state’s Republican attorney general.
Americans United also worked to oppose high-profile Christian Nationalist lawmakers in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana who passed or sought to pass laws promoting Christian Nationalism in public schools. (See more on this below.)
Project 2025, a radical plan to replace America’s democracy with a Christian Nationalist theocracy, became the subject of intense scrutiny and nationwide opposition this year, thanks in part to Americans United’s public education efforts. AU launched an omnichannel awareness campaign and created a special section of its website dedicated to Project 2025 and how to effectively oppose it. We ran a cover story about the alarming plan in Church & State magazine as well as several blog posts about some of its specific proposals.
AU has vowed to fight any planks of Project 2025 that are enacted during the Trump years.
Leading Christian Nationalist lawmakers tried to impose their narrow version of fundamentalism on public school children in 2024, but Americans United had great success is blocking them.
In Louisiana, AU and its allies filed a lawsuit after Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law requiring all public schools to post the Ten Commandments. Last month, a federal judge issued a preliminary ruling blocking the law from taking effect.
In Texas, Americans United reacted swiftly after the state Board of Education approved the use of an elementary school Bible curriculum that critics say is biased, simplistic and inaccurate. Use of the Bluebonnet curriculum is voluntary, and AU has urged Texas districts not to implement it.
Finally, AU had several high-profile clashes with Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters. AU helped block Walters’ attempt to create a “religious public charter school” in the state, and we also are in court to stop a Walters-led effort to force public schools to teach the Bible.
AU and its allies filed a lawsuit representing more than 30 Oklahomans – including parents and children, public school teachers and faith leaders – asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to put a stop to Walters’ crusade. The legal action also asks the court to stop the state from spending millions of taxpayer dollars on Bibles to support the mandate.
Undeterred, Walters ordered every public school in the state to air a video of him praying for Trump. AU and allied organizations wrote to superintendents, urging them not to show the video.
As you can see, 2024 was a busy year for Americans United. We expect 2025 to be even busier. Thank you for your support!
