Americans United Orange County, CA Chapter (AU-OC)

Discrimination Rising: Jews and Muslims

Rising Numbers of Americans Say Jews and Muslims Face a Lot of Discrimination 40% of U.S. adults say there’s a lot of discrimination against Jews in society, and 44% say there’s a lot of discrimination against Muslims.

Summit for Religious Freedom will be held April 13-16! Zoom and in person! (Online is free for students)

Summit for Religious Freedom till SRF 2024!

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The fight to move the Catholic Church in America to the right — and the little-known O.C. lawyer behind it As Pope Francis nudges the Roman Catholic Church to the left globally, layman Tim Busch of Irvine is pushing American Catholicism to the right.

Kris Kobach continues his hate-filled rhetoric.

Kansas attorney general sues to prevent transgender people from changing driver's licenses The Republican attorney general in Kansas is asking a state court to block transgender residents from changing their s*x on their driver's licenses.

https://apnews.com/article/united-methodist-churches-exit-lgbtq-clergy-marriage-fc83fd20ad003c6ecaac5ae60ddd5afd

Schism in US churches over LGBTQ rights.

United Methodists lose one-fifth of US churches in schism driven by growing defiance of LGBTQ bans More than 6,000 United Methodist congregations have now received permission to leave the denomination amid a schism over theology and the role of LGBTQ people.

Hopefully, more states will follow suit.

Illinois becomes the first state in the U.S. to ban book bans Citing a “vitriolic strain of white nationalism,” Gov. JB Pritzker signed the measure withholding state grant money from libraries if they ban books.

Saddleback Church in the news:

Southern Baptists refuse to take back megachurch because it has women pastors The Southern Baptist Convention has rejected an appeal by the California megachurch of its ejection for having women pastors.

Dodgers facing backlash over group’s Pride Night removal LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Dodger Stadium has been a rainbow-colored expression of inclusion popular with many fans. At the moment, that won’t include one particular group at the Dodgers’ 10th annual Pride Night on June 16 for a game against the San Francisco Giants.

Anti-Trans Bills in the Red States

Wave of anti-transgender bills in Republican-led states divides US faith leaders As Republican-governed states across the nation advance numerous bills targeting transgender young people, America’s faith leaders are starkly divided in their assessment. Some view the legislation as reflecting God’s will; others voice outrage that Christianity is being invoked to justify laws ...

And Book Banning and more in Florida.

Florida lawmakers restrict pronouns and tackle book objections in sweeping education bill One Democrat said the measure "is about trying to silence any discussion about anything different from heteros*xuality.”

And in Montana...

One Family Has Spearheaded Montana’s Unflinching Conservatism Three members of the Regier family now hold leadership positions in the Montana Legislature as the state’s conservative shift has left even some Republicans wary.

Religion in Public Life - the Texas View.

Conservative Christians want more religion in public life. Texas lawmakers are listening. Opponents of church-state separation have been emboldened by recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the growing acceptance of Christian nationalism on the right.

https://religiondispatches.org/dragged-through-the-mud-this-little-church-backed-support-group-for-lgbtq-teens-suffered-bomb-threats-smears-and-the-cancellation-of-its-drag-show/

Dragged Through the Mud: This Little Church-Backed Support Group for LGBTQ Teens Suffered Bomb Threats, Smears and the Cancellation of its Drag Show “Twenty years ago I thought now would be better. And it’s not.” That’s how Tiffany Vasquez, a longtime resident of Roseville, California, feels after weeks of vicious right-wing attacks on the local LGBTQ community—attacks that are part of an increasingly hostile assault on the rights and ...

From AU's Andrew Seidel.

Christian Nationalist Judge Strikes Down FDA-Approved Abortion Pill for Brazenly Ideological Reasons Mifepristone is safer than aspirin. Much safer. The FDA approved the drug for early abortions in 2000, after fully—and carefully—vetting it over four-and-a-half years (more than triple the time such approvals typically take). On Friday, in a federal court in Texas, a Christian nationalist judge ...

A good short film by students on book banning

Ella Scott's Banned Book Club: How Students Are Fighting Back In The War Over Censorship and Ideas Fan Favorite - Please vote for me at: https://studentcam2023.us.launchpad6.com/fanfavorite/entry/8

The Abortion Crisis:

Poll: Support for abortion rights is strong, even among most religious groups (RNS) — The outliers are white evangelicals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Latter-day Saints and Hispanic Protestants.

Orange County in the religion news!

Southern Baptists oust Rick Warren's Saddleback Church for naming a female pastor (RNS) — Stacie Wood, wife of Andy Wood, who replaced Warren as lead pastor last summer, has the title of ‘teaching pastor.’

And then there's this:

House GOP Chairman Probes State Department Grants to Atheist Groups | National Review Mike McCaul is reviving a GOP investigation into a 2021 State Department grant to atheist and humanist groups in the Middle East and North Africa.

More disgusting stuff...

Christian Nationalist Legislator Introduces Anti-Trans 'Millstone Act' Suggesting Biblical Retribution A biblical death sentence. In America, in 2023, a legislator has proposed The Millstone Act, which he openly confesses “was named in reference to Matthew 18:6, ‘but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his ne...

TOMORROW!! Please join the Orange County Equality Coalition on Thursday, Feb. 2, to learn about CA laws protecting LGBTQ+ students' rights in our schools. This presentation is open to everyone, but we particularly hope school staff, teachers and parents are able to attend! Spread the word!!
To register: shorturl.at/jptMY

We've got our work cut out for us💪💪💪

Fresh Off Victory Against “Roe,” the Religious Right Is Pushing a Record Number of Anti-Trans Bills The attacks on trans people echo the right’s anti-abortion playbook note for note. It’s up to us to recognize what’s really going on here.

https://religionnews.com/2023/01/24/how-southern-california-helped-birth-white-christian-nationalism/
Orange County and the origins of white nationalism...

How Southern California helped birth white Christian nationalism (RNS) — Part memoir, part history of Southern California’s formative role in the rise of the religious right, Bradley Onishi's new book traces his growing estrangement from the faith he once zealously championed.

https://religionnews.com/2023/01/13/federal-court-dismisses-lgbtq-students-class-action-discrimination-lawsuit/

Federal court dismisses LGBTQ students’ class-action discrimination lawsuit (RNS) — The lawsuit claimed that the US Department of Education failed to protect LGBTQ+ students at religious schools from discrimination.

Good question

Why Do Christian Nationalists Sound So Much Like the K*K? It's becoming increasingly obvious: Christian nationalists sound uncannily like the Ku Klux Klan.

Tell Us How Religious Organizations in Your Area Involve Themselves in Elections Federal law bars churches and other nonprofit groups from endorsing candidates or helping to fundraise, but we know they regularly sidestep — or flat-out ignore — these rules. Help us identify examples.

'Lefties want to scrap religion': Pence claims Americans are not protected from forced faiths Mike Pence said yesterday on Fox Business that the First Amendment to the Constitution doesn’t provide “freedom from religion,” the idea that people shouldn’t have other people’s religious beliefs forced on them.Watch the interview below: 'Lefties want to scrap religion': P...

In case you didn't see it when it was first on here is a link to "Dobbs: What's Religion Got to Do with it?"

Dobbs: What's Religion Got to Do with It? This webinar discusses abortion from a religious freedom perspective, particularly from the perspective of religious minority communities.

Interesting article - both scary and hopeful.

Bodily Autonomy, Reproductive Rights, and the Christian Patriarchy Movement — The Revealer Growing up as a “stay-at-home daughter” gave this writer insights into how Christian patriarchy is spreading from the fringes into the mainstream