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 (often called Americans United or AU) is a group that works to keep religion and government separate. This idea, called the separation of church and state, helps protect religious freedom for everyone in the United States. It comes from the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in the United States Constitution. This part of the Constitution says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." This means the government cannot create an official religion or favor one religion over others.
Contents
What Americans United Does
Americans United says it is a group for everyone, no matter their religion or political views. It has members from many different backgrounds. These include Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and people who do not follow any religion. The main office for Americans United 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 mix of religious, education, and community leaders.
They formed the group because there were plans in the U.S. Congress to give government money to private religious schools. They were especially concerned about Catholic schools, which were (and still are) the largest private school system in the U.S. The founders believed that government support for religious education would go against the idea of church-state separation. They also felt it would make taxpayers pay for religious teaching. So, they decided to create a national group to support this view.
The group officially became a non-profit 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.
Some of the original founders were Charles Clayton Morrison, Glenn L. Archer, Edwin McNeill Poteat, G. Bromley Oxnam, and Joseph Martin Dawson.
Important Work by Americans United
Americans United has been involved in several important cases and projects.
Protecting Science in Schools
Americans United was one of the main groups that opposed teaching "intelligent design" in public schools. This happened in Dover, Pennsylvania. Intelligent design is a belief that life is too complex to have developed through natural selection alone. A federal judge ruled in December 2005 that teaching this idea in public schools was not allowed. This case is known as Kitzmiller v. Dover.
Supporting Marriage Equality
Americans United supports the right for all people to marry, including gay and lesbian couples. They also oppose laws that would let government workers, like county clerks, refuse to issue marriage licenses based on their religious beliefs. Americans United started a project called "Protect Thy Neighbor" to fight against such laws.
Prayers in Government Meetings
Americans United represented people in Greece, New York, who did not agree with the town's practice of starting council meetings with mostly Christian prayers. Americans United lost this case, Town of Greece v. Galloway. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that legislative prayers (prayers said at government meetings) do not go against the Establishment Clause. After this decision, Americans United started "Operation Inclusion." This project works to make sure any prayers said at government meetings are welcoming to everyone.
Keeping Non-Profits Out of Politics
Americans United has worked to make sure that non-profit groups, including churches, follow federal law. This law says these groups cannot get involved in political campaigns. In 1992, the group reported a church in New York to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The church had run newspaper ads telling people not to vote for a certain political candidate. The IRS then removed the church's special tax-exempt status. This means the church could still receive donations, but it was a reminder that non-profit groups must stay out of partisan politics.
See also
In Spanish: Americanos Unidos por la Separación Iglesia-Estado para niños
- Freedom From Religion Foundation
- James C. Corman (1920–2000), a politician from California who was president of Americans United.
- Paul Blanshard (1892–1980), an editor and lawyer who worked for Americans United.
