Americans United has launched it 2018 Student Essay Contest.
AU is asking high school juniors and seniors to reflect on what they think has been the greatest threat to church-state separation in the past year. This could be discrimination against the LGBTQ community, women and religious minorities in the name of religion; attempts to change the tax code to allow politicians to pressure nonprofits – including houses of worship – for endorsements; efforts to ban people from entering the country because of their religion; or another threat identified by the writer.
AU would like students to consider what folks in their own communities have done to oppose the identified threat, what barriers are preventing people from working on the issue and what more can be done to promote religious freedom.
Students can reference current events, U.S. history, primary sources, personal experiences and information from AU.org, AU’s Protect Thy Neighbor website at protect thy neighbor.org, or AU’s Project Fair Play website at projectfairplay.org.
The essays should be 750 to 1,200 words, and be well written and well researched. The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2018. The first-place winner will receive a $1,500 prize; $1,000 will go to the second-place winner, and $500 to third place. The winning essay will be printed in Church & State.
For more information or to submit an essay, visit Students for Church/State Separation at www.austudents.org.
