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Thoughts from volunteer leaders and supporters of Jews for a Secular Democracy. If you have something to share, please be in touch, we would welcome your contributions to the blog!

Is It Constitutional? You Be the Judge!

You can watch the full recording on YouTube. Join Jews for a Secular Democracy and NCJW Greater Miami for Is It Constitutional? You Be the Judge™! This webinar is an interactive and thought-provoking program from the National Council of Jewish Women’s You Be the Judge™ series and hosted by JFASD’s Florida initiative which is generously grant-sponsored by the Baugh Foundation.  While this program grows out of our Florida work, it will be relevant to people across the country, because the...
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Public Education and Church State Separation: A Conversation with Randi Weingarten

You can watch the full recording on YouTube here. Join Jews for a Secular Democracy for a powerful and timely evening as we present our Constitutional Defender Award to Randi Weingarten—President of American Federation of Teachers (AFT), national education leader, and a steadfast advocate for public education and democratic values—and hear from her about her experiences defending church-state separation in schools. Register here! The Jews for a Secular Democracy (JFASD) Constitutional Defender Award is presented to outstanding individuals who embody...
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Call With Us: Stop Book Bans and Censorship!

You can watch the full recording on YouTube. ​As book bans accelerate nationwide and federal protections weaken, it’s time to move from conversation to action. April 20 is Right to Read Day, a day of action during National Library Week. Join Jews for a Secular Democracy’s Jewish Women and Religious Freedom in Pittsburgh Project on this important day for a special “Call With Us!”  focused on H.R. 7661, the so-called “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act.”​ This dangerous federal bill...
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Religious favoritism harms both believers and nonbelievers

People of all faiths and the nonreligious are equal under the U.S. Constitution. Vice President of Programs and Strategy Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons participated in webinar discussion about religious liberty sponsored by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. He was joined by Sam McGuire fromAmerican Atheists, Paul Golin from Society for Humanistic Judaism, and Tahil Sharma from theNational LGBTQ Task Force. Together, they challenged the assumption that religious freedom primarily belongs to people of faith, while church-state separation is treated...
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Call With Us! Tell Congress to Support Resolution 773 Recommitting to Church-State Separation

You can watch the full recording of this event on YouTube here. With the implementation of Project 2025 in full swing and Christian nationalist rhetoric and policy in full view under this administration, it is more important than ever that Members of Congress reaffirm their commitment to the separation of church and state.  Congresswoman Ansari has taken the lead on a House Resolution, co-sponsored by Congressman Huffman, Congressman Raskin that honors the foundational principle of separation of church and state,...
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A Conversation with John Fugelsang: Faith, Democracy, and the Separation of Church & State

Across the country, the line between religion and government is being tested in new and urgent ways. From public education to civil rights to national security, religious language and ideology are increasingly shaping public policy and political debate. Join Jews for a Secular Democracy for a national conversation with John Fugelsang, author of the New York Times bestseller Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds. This virtual...
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Banned Book Bingo!

“Banned Book Bingo!” is back by popular demand! After the success of our first Banned Book Bingo event last fall, where participants packed the room, learned about challenged books, and told us how much they loved the format, we’re excited to bring it back. Join us for an engaging and interactive afternoon of “Banned Book Bingo!” where bingo squares feature books that have been challenged or banned in schools and libraries across the country or actions you can take to...
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The Librarians: A Documentary Screening on Book Bans and the Right to Read

Public libraries belong to everyone. That’s why we’re proud to invite you to the second event in the Freedom to Read Without Religious Coercion series—a screening of The Librarians at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main Branch. This powerful documentary follows librarians navigating organized efforts to remove books from public shelves. As book bans accelerate nationwide, many of these challenges are framed through religious claims that seek to shape what everyone else is allowed to read. When public institutions restrict...
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