Americans United for Separation of Church and State facts for kids
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| Founded | January 11, 1948 |
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| Founders | Charles Clayton Morrison, Glenn L. Archer, Edwin McNeill Poteat, G. Bromley Oxnam, Joseph Martin Dawson |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization |
| Purpose | To preserve the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans. |
| Headquarters | 1310 L Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20005 |
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Area served
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United States |
| Method | Litigation, education |
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Members
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Over 75,000 |
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President, CEO
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Rachel Laser |
| Chris Colburn | |
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Revenue (2015)
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$7,142,780 |
| Expenses (2015) | $6,223,371 |
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Employees (2014)
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32 |
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Volunteers (2014)
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15 |
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Formerly called
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Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State |
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (also called Americans United or AU) is a group that works to keep religion and government separate. This idea is known as the separation of church and state in the United States. It comes from the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. This amendment says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." This means the government should not create or favor any religion.
Contents
What is Americans United?
Americans United says it is not linked to any specific religion or political party. It has members from many different backgrounds. These include Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and people who do not follow a religion. Their main office is in Washington, D.C..
How Americans United Started
Americans United for Separation of Church and State began on January 11, 1948. It was first called Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State (POAU). It was started by a group of leaders from different religions, schools, and communities.
They formed the group because of new ideas in the U.S. Congress. These ideas suggested giving government money to private religious schools. At the time, Catholic schools were the largest private school system. The founders of AU believed that government support for religious schools would go against the idea of church-state separation. They also felt it would make taxpayers pay for religious education.
So, they decided to create a national group to protect this point of view. They also spoke out against the U.S. sending an ambassador to the Vatican. They believed the Catholic Church did not support democracy in the U.S. and worldwide.
The group officially became an organization on January 29, 1948. They wanted to influence political leaders. In 1952, they started publishing Church & State magazine. They also created other materials to teach people about the separation of church and state.
The original founders included Charles Clayton Morrison, Glenn L. Archer, Edwin McNeill Poteat, G. Bromley Oxnam, and Joseph Martin Dawson.
Important Work of Americans United
Americans United has been involved in many important cases and projects.
Fighting Against Intelligent Design
Americans United was one of three groups that opposed teaching "intelligent design" in public schools. This happened in Dover, Pennsylvania. In December 2005, a federal judge ruled against teaching it. This case was called Kitzmiller v. Dover.
Supporting Marriage Equality
AU supports the right for people to marry who they choose. They are against laws that would let government workers refuse to issue marriage licenses based on their religious beliefs. AU started a project called "Protect Thy Neighbor" to fight against such laws.
Prayers at Government Meetings
Americans United represented people in Greece, New York. These people were against the town starting its council meetings with mostly Christian prayers. AU lost this case, Town of Greece v. Galloway. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that legislative prayers do not go against the First Amendment. After this decision, Americans United began "Operation Inclusion." This project works to make prayers at public meetings more welcoming to everyone.
Keeping Politics Out of Churches
Americans United has worked to make sure non-profit groups, including churches, do not get involved in political campaigns. In 1992, they reported a church in New York to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This church had run newspaper ads telling people not to vote for a certain politician. The IRS then removed the church's special tax-exempt status. This means the church could still get donations, but its official non-profit status was changed.
Fun Videos
In May 2013, Americans United released a funny video. It starred actors Jane Lynch and Jordan Peele. They played "Church" and "State" having a humorous musical breakup.
See also
In Spanish: Americanos Unidos por la Separación Iglesia-Estado para niños
- Freedom From Religion Foundation
- James C. Corman (1920–2000), California politician, president of Americans United.
- Paul Blanshard (1892–1980), editor, lawyer, special counsel and spokesman for Americans United; author of American Freedom and Catholic Power.
