Americans United for Separation of Church and State - Social Action Fundraiser for July

This month we have decided to raise funds for a social action partner organization in memory of Charles Sumner, dedicated to GNUUC social action for decades. The natural choice is the Nashville Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an organization Charles founded, where he was honored as president emeritus. All funds raised will go to AU.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans. Founded in 1947, Americans United works in the courts, in Congress and state legislatures, at the White House and in the arena of public opinion. AU addresses an array of pressing issues, including school vouchers, religion in public schools, faith-based initiatives, freedom of religion, marriage and sexuality, and much more. Chapters represent AU in the states and are bound to work toward the same goals.

Americans United works across the spectrum of faith groups to ensure that the public are aware of our heritage of religious liberty. They monitor legislation nationally and for all 50 states. They are the lead organization in the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination (more than 60 organizations, including the UUA.) They share the lead of the National Coalition for Public Education (about 50 organizations). Thus they supply much of the information for these groups.
AU’s legal department is involved with nearly every church-state lawsuit in the U.S. They lobby to the extent allowed by law. They have been active on the scene for almost 75 years.

The UUA has suggested that Unitarians support organizations working to uphold separation of church and state. GNUUC was in a sense the incubator for the Nashville Chapter twenty years ago, and Charles was the chapter’s president emeritus, as well as a member of AU’s National Leadership Council. Meetings were held here at GNUUC. Eleven of the 20 founders were from this church.