Americans United for Separation of Church and State (or Americans United for short) is an advocacy group in the United States which promotes the separation of church and state, a legal doctrine derived from the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
The group was founded in 1947 and has both religious and non-religious members. Its current executive director is Rev. Barry W. Lynn, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ [1] [2] [3], and its headquarters are in Washington, DC. [4]
The group opposes:[5]
- "Electioneering" by non-profit churches and religious groups
- The faith-based initiatives of the Bush Administration
- Religious content in official ceremony such as the phrase "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency and the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Religious education, mandatory prayer, and Bible reading in the public schools
- Educational vouchers which may be used to direct government funds to private religious schools
- The Federal Marriage Amendment, because it privileges religious groups that do not sanction same-sex unions over those that do.
- The presence of religious symbols on public property, for example, the posting of the Ten Commandments in government buildings
- The agenda and activites of what it calls the "Religious Right"
The group supports:[6]
- The free exercise of religion
- The right of each religious group to define marriage on its own theological terms.
- Judicial nominees that strongly support separation of church and state
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