FFRF Action Fund honors Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., as its “Secularist of the Week” for spearheading a resolution that defends state-church separation and opposes the Trump administration’s Christian nationalist vision.
Ansari introduced the resolution alongside Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin, fellow Congressional Freethought Caucus members, to honor “the fundamental American principle of the separation of church and state.” A press release asserted that “the lawmakers are proud to defend the Founders’ vision of a country in which everyone is free to practice or not practice religion in whatever way in which they may so choose.” The release also condemned the Trump administration’s rampant Christian nationalism and its intertangling of religion and all levels of government, from schools to the military.
“My parents fled a theocratic authoritarian regime. They suffered under a state that was ruled by religion instead of by the people,” Ansari said. “I am proudly agnostic, and it is our fundamental democratic right as Americans to choose what we believe in free from government interference. The First Amendment and longstanding practice guarantee these rights, which are under attack by the Trump administration’s extreme right-wing and Christian nationalist agenda.”
The resolution asserts that “the United States was founded upon the principles of religious freedom and the protection of individual conscience” and that the Founders “envisioned a country in which every individual is free to practice any faith, or no faith at all, without fear of discrimination or hostility from the government.”
“The strength and vibrancy of the United States lie in its diverse, multicultural, and religiously pluralistic society, as well as those who identify as nonreligious or agnostic,” the resolution contends. It honors the constitutional principle of the separation of state and church, religious freedom and accurate U.S. history, while vehemently opposing Trump’s extreme right-wing Christian nationalism that contradicts these core American values. The resolution is endorsed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, American Humanist Association, Center for Freethought Equality, Center for Inquiry, Arizona Faith Network, United Church of Christ and the Union for Reform Judaism.
Read the full resolution and view the complete list of co-sponsors here.
FFRF Action Fund sincerely thanks Ansari, alongside Reps. Huffman and Raskin, for the staunch commitment to state-church separation and defense of religious liberty for all Americans.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.