How the Left turned our world UPSIDE Down…good is bad and right is wrong…

• Seeks to diminish and/or eliminate conservative religious organizations’ involvement in public policy and political life
• Views the U.S. as a nation in danger of being taken over by politically conservative theocrats
• Seeks to eliminate the presence of religious symbols and practices in public places
• Opposes school vouchers
• Opposes government funding for faith-based initiatives
• Urges the IRS to require that churches and church-affiliate nonprofits pay property taxes and/or income taxes
• Opposes the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman

Americans United (AU) is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization whose mission is to defend the first clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” AU interprets this to mean that “religion and government must stay separate for the benefit of both,” a meaning that bears little resemblance to the actual wording of the First Amendment.

Viewing the U.S. as a nation in danger of being taken over by politically conservative theocrats, AU seeks to diminish and/or eliminate conservative religious organizations’ involvement in public policy and political life….AU has opposed the recitation of prayers at school graduation ceremonies, and has fought to remove displays of the Ten Commandments in public buildings.

…its attention is focused almost entirely on the alleged transgressions of conservative religious groups; liberal and leftist groups can operate without hindrance from Americans United.

“We … oppose efforts by the Religious Right to impose its theological views on the public by governmental action,” says AU….One AU ad likens Christian conservatives in the U.S. to fundamentalist Muslims in Iran. (snip)

Opposition to school vouchers remains a high priority for AU, which declares:

“Americans must be free to contribute only to the religious groups of their choosing. Voucher programs violate this principle by forcing all taxpayers to underwrite religious education. Often, religious schools promote sectarian dogma and take controversial stands on issues such as gay rights, the role of women in society and reproductive freedom. Taxpayers should not be required to subsidize the spread of religious/moral opinions they may strongly disagree with.”

(AU made no mention of the fact that those same taxpayers, by funding teacher’s unions like the National Education Association with their tax dollars, are required, regardless of their preferences, to subsidize such things as sex education, gay and lesbian “sensitivity” programs, busing and other forced integration measures, educational services for illegal aliens, bilingual education, multicultural education, “global warming” curricula, and “peace studies.”)(snip)

AU officially opposes the use of churches for the promotion of political candidates:

“Houses of worship and religious leaders may address political and social issues… It is not the job of religious leaders to tell people which candidates to vote for or not vote for.”

In AU’s estimation, conservative congregations are the primary offenders who violate the prohibition against electioneering in the sanctuary:

“…If some politicians and Religious Right activists have their way, however, people in the pews might soon be doing other things during services — listening to partisan political speeches, being solicited for campaign contributions and getting instructions about whom to vote for on Election Day.”

(snip)

Similarly, AU has condemned the Christian Coalition “Voter’s Guides” that are distributed to churches during election seasons… lest they lose their tax-exempt status like the aforementioned New York church.

AU responds very differently…when restrictions against church electioneering are violated by leftists…the organization chose not to file a complaint with the IRS after presidential candidate Barack Obama had given a speech at the United Church of Christ’s (UCC) 2007 national convention…

Nor did AU complain that candidate Obama had spoken to congregants at Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC) in Chicago, or that TUCC pastor Jeremiah Wright had aggressively supported Obama’s candidacy from the pulpit.

AU opposes government spending for social programs (“faith-based initiatives”) that are established or administered by religious groups. Thus the organization rejected a 2002 legislative proposal titled the “CARE Act of 2002” (which was agreed to by the White House and bipartisan leadership in the Senate) whereby the government would offer some support to faith-based groups whose mission is to help poor people access welfare benefits, job training, emergency shelter, food, clothing, and other basic necessities. AU said the bill was unconstitutional because it gave “special treatment to religious groups.”

AU also seeks to apply non-discrimination laws to currently-exempt religious organizations; these laws would require such groups to hire employees not of their faith or living in a manner entirely contrary to their doctrine. “If a religious group receives public funds,” says Barry Lynn, “they should display an American flag, not a crucifix.” AU elaborates (snip)

In June 2006, AU won a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Iowa Corrections Department’s support for Charles Colson’s InnerChange, a prison program that trains inmates in evangelical Christianity. Said AU:

“The InnerChange program is saturated with evangelical Christianity…. Members of non-evangelical and non-Christian faiths simply do not feel welcome in this program…. We support the right of inmates to have access to worship and spiritual counseling. We believe, however, that such programs must not be sponsored by the government.” (snip)

AU identifies itself as a non-sectarian and non-partisan organization that “refrain[s] from making any statements supporting or opposing any candidate or party, including publishing voter guides about candidate stances on church-state issues.”

Based on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, the AU staff consists of more than 40 employees. The organization has more than 75,000 members distributed across all 50 states. It is funded by donations from members and others who support its objectives, and by grants from such entities as the Deer Creek Foundation, the Foundation for the Carolinas, and the Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund. AU receives no government funding.

URL :http://www.au.org/site/PageServer

Email :AmericansUnited@au.org *** Phone : 202-466-3234

518 C Street NE Washington, DC 20002