Events
Talk to Your Sheriff
When local law enforcement becomes an extension of ICE, communities suffer. That is why Jews for a Secular Democracy is cosponsoring the Talk to Your Sheriff Movement Call on Monday, May 11 at 7 PM ET. We’ll join partners from across the country to learn how communities can demand accountability, protect constitutional rights, and push back against policies that endanger immigrant families. This work is part of the broader fight for democracy, pluralism, religious freedom, and church–state separation. RSVP:... Read More
Is It Constitutional? You Be the Judge!
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 federal courts shape... Read More
Public Education and Church State Separation: A Conversation with Randi Weingarten
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 the JFASD mission by... Read More
Call With Us: Stop Book Bans and Censorship!
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.” INSERT GRAPHIC This dangerous federal bill... Read More
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,... Read More
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... Read More
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,... Read More
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... Read More
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 More
An Evening with John Fugelsang: Faith, Democracy, and the Separation of Church & State
Join us for an in-person evening with author, broadcaster, and cultural commentator John Fugelsang at Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center on Sunday, March 15 at 6:30 pm. Doors open at 6:00 pm, location below. Register here. In this timely conversation, Fugelsang will explore the complex and often contentious relationship between religion and American democracy. Drawing on history, constitutional principles, and contemporary politics, he will examine how faith has shaped public life in the United... Read More
Behind The Librarians: Book Bans, Censorship, and Religious Freedom A Conversation with Director/Producer Kim A. Snyder (VIRTUAL)
You can watch the full recording of this event on YouTube here. March is National Reading Month—a time to celebrate books, literacy, and the freedom to explore ideas. At a moment when access to books is increasingly under attack across the country, join us for a timely and urgent conversation with award winning filmmaker Kim A. Snyder, director and producer of the documentary The Librarians. This is a virtual webinar on March 10, and you... Read More
Religious Freedom Isn’t Free! Michigan Fundraiser for Jews for a Secular Democracy
Join us on April 26th to nosh in support of Jews for a Secular Democracy! JFASD is a pluralistic initiative to educate and advocate around the separation of religion and government through Jewish perspectives. We are working hard collaborating with congregations across denominations, other Jewish organizations, and interfaith and nonsectarian social justice activists to protect elections, immigrant rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and educational freedom such as fighting book bans. You can purchase your tickets... Read More
Repro Shabbat
Reproductive freedom is a Jewish value and a religious freedom issue. FULL STOP. That’s why we are partnering with NCJW this #ReproShabbat on Feb. 13-14 to celebrate reproductive freedom and to acknowledge that our fight is far from over. Learn more and join us at ReproShabbat.org!
JFASD Co-Sponsors Jews Against ICE
Jews for a Secular Democracy is proud to co-sponsor Jews Against ICE. This is an in-person protest in Washington, DC, details at: truah.org/jewsagainstice.
Health Under Siege—Sex Ed Erosion in Florida and Beyond
You can watch the full recording of this webinar on YouTube here. Public school health education—particularly sex education—is under sustained attack across the United States, with Florida serving as one of the most influential and instructive battlegrounds. Policies that restrict or distort sex education are increasingly justified through religious or ideological claims, raising serious First Amendment concerns and undermining both religious freedom and students’ access to medically accurate, inclusive health information. Join us to learn... Read More
Call Congress with Us to Support Voting Rights!
You can watch the full recording of this event at the YouTube link here. We will be calling our Congresspeople and Senators in support of the Board of Prisoners Card Release Act, which would mandate federal prisons to provide free ID to people upon their release. Not having an ID makes it very difficult to be able to vote or to access healthcare, housing and employment. This act would help remove some of these barriers. Here... Read More
Call Congress with Us, Hold ICE Accountable!
You can watch the recording of this event on YouTube here. You can find background and sample talking points here. Congress is once again debating funding levels for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—and for many communities, this debate is not abstract. ICE’s tactics have terrorized immigrant communities across the country, using workplace raids, home arrests, surveillance, detention, and family separation to create fear and instability. Join us by registering here. This system of enforcement... Read More
The Face of Christian Nationalism in the US and How Communities of Conscience Can Combat It
You can watch the full webinar on YouTube here. This webinar is part of Jews for a Secular Democracy’s ongoing programming on Christian Nationalism and real religious freedom, continuing and deepening conversations sparked by previous programs, including our recent discussion with Amanda Tyler. Christian Nationalism has taken on a visible and influential role in American public life—shaping legislation, electoral politics, and the national conversation about religion and democracy. In “Christian Nationalism Today and How Communities... Read More
Affirming All of Us: Gender, Religious Freedom, and the Role of the Jewish Community
Join us in-person this December 3rd at 6:30 pm for a dynamic and meaningful conversation on gender, LGBTQIA+ rights, and what it really means to be an ally—through a Jewish lens. Register here! This unique and timely program, Affirming All of Us: Gender, Religious Freedom, and the Role of the Jewish Community, will explore what gender means, what discrimination looks like, how it intersects with religious freedom, civil rights, and public policy—AND why these issues... Read More
Amanda Tyler on Christian Nationalism and Religious Freedom
Watch the recording of this webinar on YouTube here. As we all know, what happens in Florida doesn’t stay in Florida. Christian Nationalist ideology is not only reshaping policy across the Sunshine State — it’s also fueling a broader national movement that threatens democracy, civil liberties, and religious freedom for all. In this second session of our two-part series, we’ll examine the national implications of Christian Nationalism and explore what we can do to fight... Read More