I hope you had a happy Fourth of July!  I love that day – Independence Day.  My most recent Fourth was unusually quiet.  Most of it was celebrated via television, but was nonetheless exceptionally meaningful – enjoying the sounds of the Boston Pops, the National Symphony Orchestra, as well as Reba McEntire and other musicians, and the sights of fireworks exploding over the Potomac and the harbors of New York and Boston.

Throughout the holiday, I kept thinking about a challenging comment from one of our founders. According to reliable historical records, when Benjamin Franklin left Independence Hall on the final day of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, a woman asked aloud, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”  Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

What have I done to help keep it? I asked myself on the anniversary of our nation’s birth.  The question requires careful thought and honest reflection – from all of us.  It sent me on an excursion, which I’d like to share with you:

In a decision that had the potential to drastically alter our religious freedom and the government’s ability to fund religious groups at public universities, the Supreme Court ruled this summer on Christian Legal Society v. Martinez.  The case asked whether a public university may deny school funding and other benefits to a religious student group that welcomes all students to its events but has exclusionary criteria for voting members and officers.

Interfaith Alliance recently launched a new Action Center, our online hub for action and advocacy.  The Action Center is home to friend-of-the-court briefs we submit, publications on our issues and advocacy campaigns you can take part in to make a difference on issues at the intersection of religion and politics in America!

Right now at the Action Center, you can encourage your elected officials to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, ask textbook publishers to protect our children’s educational materials from the influence of the Religious Right and persuade President Obama to make some much-needed changes to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

This section of our website will be updated frequently as new issues arise, so check back often to keep an eye on the actions you can take to help Interfaith Alliance protect religious freedom in America – our first freedom!
 

A number of incidents have occurred over the past few years that have raised serious questions about the state of religion in the military today – biblical passages on missiles used abroad, soldiers handing out Bibles in Muslim countries and proselytization at military academies are just a few examples. Just last month, Interfaith Alliance held a symposium entitled Religious Freedom in the Military: Where do we stand? to delve more comprehensively into this issue of growing concern.

Interfaith Alliance is pleased to welcome our new summer interns.

Sofi Hersher is a senior at the University of Washington in Seattle and joins Interfaith Alliance as the LEADD/Field Intern.

Eliza Blanchard is the new policy intern at Interfaith Alliance. Originally from Vermont, she just finished her sophomore year at Vassar College.

One of the most common complaints any non-profit hears is about its direct mail program – the letters you receive from us with information about the work we’re doing and opportunities to donate. Some people think it’s too much, some think it’s just right and some think we’re going about it the wrong way.

What you may not know is that Interfaith Alliance has several options you can choose when it comes to receiving mail from us, and we’re happy to change your member account to fit your preferences:

• If you want to hear from us occasionally but not as frequently as you are now, we can switch you to our “quarterly” option, which means we’ll send you four letters a year, including your membership renewal in November or December and three updates on the work we’re doing.
• If you don’t like renewal mailings and prefer to only receive our issue-based letters that keep you up to date on our work protecting faith and freedom across the country, you can choose our “no renewals” option.
• If you only want to receive mail from us when your membership comes up for renewal, “renewals only” is the option for you.
• If you’d prefer to only receive one letter from us each year, you can choose from either an annual renewal package (which includes your membership card) or an annual issue-based package (which we’ll mail when a hot-button issue comes up sometime during the year).