Americans United for Separation of Church and State President and CEO Rachel Laser issued the following statement in response to multiple federal agencies and Trump administration officials using official, government-maintained social media accounts to disseminate explicitly religious Easter messages:
“Members of the Trump administration once again misused public resources to advance their Christian Nationalist agenda. People of all religions and none should not have to sift through proselytizing messages to access government information. It’s divisive and un-American. Our Constitution’s promise of church-state separation has allowed religious diversity – including numerous denominations of Christianity – to flourish in America. The Trump administration should stop proselytizing and start honoring our country’s foundational principle of church-state separation, the guarantee of religious freedom for all.”
Americans United reminds government officials that official government resources maintained by tax dollars – including official government social media accounts and websites – should not be used to proselytize or disseminate religious messages. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison – the architects of the religious freedom protections embedded in the First Amendment – opposed the government making religious proclamations.
Americans United is a religious freedom advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, AU educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
Liz Hayes
Associate Vice President of Communications
[email protected]
