Jews for a Secular Democracy Blog - Jews for a Secular Democracy

Communicating Your Jewish and American Values

How to Craft Persuasive Messages About Keeping Religion Out of Government. Seasoned media-relations strategist Michael Shulansky joins Sarah Levin of Jews for a Secular Democracy for a conversation and training on best-practices to bring our values to messaging about the issues we care about. Tactics like writing letters to the editor and op-eds, running educational campaigns on social media, building relationships with and getting covered in state and local press, and staying “on-message” as we advocate for religion out of...

Climate-Change Denial is a Church-State Separation Issue

30 Jul 2020

Paul Golin

Climate Crisis, Environment, Science

By Paul Golin [This article originally appeared in the Fall 2019 issue of Humanistic Judaism Magazine. Reprinted with permission.] There are few existential crises for our species that loom larger than global warming. Climate scientists overwhelmingly agree that human activity has contributed to climate change, and that the growing threat to life on earth is real and significant. This “inconvenient truth” about the environment should have galvanized our country into action long ago. Our current U.S. administration, however, not only...

Download our Advocacy Toolkit and Messaging Guidelines!

17 Jul 2020

Lincoln Dow

JFASD News, Media

The Jews for a Secular Democracy Advocacy Toolkit and Messaging Guidelines are designed to give you the tools and guidance you need to be an effective advocate for the separation of religion and government. Complete the form below and we’ll email you PDF copies of our toolkit and guidelines!

How to Make Change: Advocacy 101 with Morgan Carroll

16 Jul 2020

JFASD

Events

Morgan Carroll, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, former state lawmaker, and author of “Take Back Your Government: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Your Government Work for You,” provides an understanding of how government works, how to influence lawmakers and their staff, how to build coalitions with allied organizations, and how to plan an effective advocacy campaign. Sarah Levin provides an overview of the Jews for a Secular Democracy initiative and volunteer program.

Trump’s Indefensible Bible Stunt

18 Jun 2020

Paul Golin

Secular Democracy

A picture says a thousand words. Our country is literally burning from our unchecked legacy of racism. A hundred thousand of our fellow citizens are dead from a pandemic that the White House first denied, then downplayed, and continues to make unscientific claims about, in the hope it will all just miraculously disappear. And with all this swirling around him, the President felt it necessary to deploy the National Guard to clear the DC streets (escalating the violence to do...

Jews and Church-State Separation: The Issues, Why We Care, and What To Do About It

09 Jun 2020

JFASD

Events

The religious freedoms provided by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution has empowered Jews and other religious minorities to thrive. However, in the last several decades, we’ve seen religious fundamentalists turn the clock back on hard-won gains made for LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive justice, environmental protection, women’s rights, and other issues our community cares deeply about. Join the organizers of a new initiative, Jews for a Secular Democracy, to discuss how these issues directly relate to religious freedom. What is...

Secular Arizona Elected Officials Town Hall

28 May 2020

JFASD

Events

Senator Juan Mendez, Rep. Athena Salman, Osborn School Board Member Katie Paetz, and Sierra Vista Councilmember Carolyn Umphrey share how they are serving Arizonans in a time of crisis and great need in our communities. Moderated by Sarah Levin of the Center for Freethought Equality and Jews for a Secular Democracy, also co-sponsored by Secular AZ, Arizona Faith Network, and AZ Jews for Justice.

Little Sisters of the Poor: The Latest Fight for Religious Liberty at the Supreme Court

15 May 2020

Lincoln Dow

Reproductive Rights, Secular Democracy, Supreme Court

On May 6, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in cases related to contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act, Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania and Trump v. Pennsylvania. When enacted in 2010, the Affordable Care Act mandated that employers offer health insurance that included contraception to employees. Citing their religious objections to providing birth control, the craft store chain Hobby Lobby, owned by a conservative Christian family, sued the Obama Administration, claiming the government mandate violated the company’s...

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