CHURCH-STATE
A guide to church-state experts and organizations
Church-state issues
are among the most contentious and emotional issues in American life. Dozens
are currently testing the bounds of the First Amendment's Establishment
and Free Exercise clauses: school vouchers; government funding of faith-based
social services; the role of faith in the public lives of judges, elected officials,
legislators, pharmacists, doctors and lawyers; and the role of religion in public
life, from Ten Commandments postings and the Pledge of Allegiance to religious
groups' role in politics and prayers at public meetings. ReligionLink offers
a diverse and extensive guide to individuals and organizations expert in these
issues.
How to use this
guide
This guide divides
sources into two categories - organizations and individuals.
There is overlap
among the categories. Many individual sources are part of groups listed under
organizations, for example. And many advocacy organizations file lawsuits.
Organizations and
experts involved with church-state issues generally define themselves as separationist
(supporting a strong separation of church and state) or accommodationist
(believing that the government should accommodate religion to some extent).
Each category includes a range of opinions. ReligionLink asked the organizations
to define their own stances or used wording from the groups' web sites.
Web sites of organizations
often include helpful resource pages on specific issues, contact information
for chapters around the country and links to like-minded organizations.
ReligionLink asked
each organization to provide the best contact information for journalists.
If you would like
to be added to this source listing or request a change in the information, please
email chstate@religionlink.org.
If you are requesting a change in the wording of your listing, please state
the reason for the change. ReligionLink reserves the right to decide which listings
to include.
• For organizations, include the name, goal, whether it is separationist
or accommodationist, web site and a contact name with phone number and email.
Also include any specific areas of interest and expertise.
• For individuals, include name, title, organization, web site, areas of
expertise, phone number and email.
• The Center
for Church-State Studies at DePaul University School of Law is a nondenominational
entity that promotes debate and discussion about the First Amendment and the
Establishment Clause. It is in Chicago. Contact the acting co-director, the
Rev. Craig Mousin, 312-362-8707, cmousin@depaul.edu.
• The
Center for the Study
of Law and Religion at Emory University in Atlanta focuses on religion and
the law worldwide. It is headed by John
Witte Jr., a professor of law and ethics and an expert on religious liberty.
Contact the center at 404-712-8710 and Witte via April Bogle at 404-712-8713,
abogle@law.emory.edu.
• The
Center
on Religion and Democracy at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville
is a nonpartisan research center. James
Davison Hunter is its executive director. Contact 434-243-5511, jdh6c@virginia.edu.
• The
First Amendment
Center works to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information
and education. A range of scholars
and experts are affiliated with the Center. Its offices are in Nashville,
Tenn., and Arlington, Va. It is affiliated with Vanderbilt University through
the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies and is an operating program
of the Freedom Forum.
It is also associated with the Newseum. Experts may be contacted through information
on the experts page or through press contact Gene Policinski, 615-727-1303,
gpolicinski@fac.org.
• The
International Center for Law
and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, promotes
religious liberty and studies the relationships between governments and religious
institutions. W. Cole Durham Jr. is a law professor and the center's director.
Contact 801-422-2281, durhamc@lawgate.byu.edu.
• The
J.M.
Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas,
works to advance religious liberty in the United States and around the world.
Contact director Derek Davis at Derek_davis@baylor.edu.
Advocacy
organizations
ACCOMMODATIONIST
• The
Acton Institute for the Study
of Religion and Liberty promotes a free and virtuous society characterized
by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles. The institute is
ecumenical and defines itself as conservative. It is based in Grand Rapids,
Mich. Contact John Couretas, director of communications, 616-454-3080 or 616-813-8941
(cell), jcouretas@acton.org.
• The
Alliance for the Separation
of School and State is a nonprofit working to remove government involvement
in public school education. It is based in Fresno, Calif. Founder and president
Marshall Fritz expects school vouchers to continue to be a hotly contentious
issue, especially if they stray from the enrollment lottery approved in Zelman
v. Simmons-Harris. Contact Fritz at 559-499-1776, marshall@honestedu.org.
• The
Austin Fellowship
is an organization of legal professionals who "seek to engage the American
legal culture with orthodox Christian principles." It is based in Alexandria,
Va. Contact chief executive officer Eric Kniffin, ekniffin@alumni.nd.edu.
• The
Catholic League for
Religious and Civil Rights is a Catholic civil rights advocacy group that
responds to religious discrimination issues concerning Catholics and other Americans.
It has chapters
throughout the United States. Bill Donohue is its president. Contact 212-371-3191.
• The
Center for Reclaiming
America is a part of Coral
Ridge Ministries. One of the center's main goals is to restore biblical
principles to the U.S. Constitution. It has identified religious liberties as
one of five areas in which it works to educate and mobilize supporters. It is
based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Contact executive director Gary
Cass at cfra@coralridge.org.
• Faith
and Action is a nonprofit that advocates for Christian values in Washington,
D.C., by meeting with policy-makers and politicians. One of its major projects
is presenting politicians with Ten
Commandments plaques and displays. Its founders are Paul and Rob Schenck,
and its chief counsel is David New. Contact 202-546-8329, info@faithandaction.org.
• The
Heritage Foundation is
a nonprofit think tank devoted to conservative public policies. Stuart
Butler is director of its DeVos
Center for Religion and Civil Society. Contact 202-546-4400.
• The
Ethics and Public Policy Center
in Washington, D.C., works to "clarify and reinforce the bond between the
Judeo-Christian moral tradition and the public debate over domestic and foreign
policy issues." M. Edward Whelan III is its president. Contact 202-682-1200,
Ethics@eppc.org.
SEPARATIONIST
• Americans
for Religious Liberty is a separationist organization based in Silver Spring,
Md. Its president is Edd Doerr, and Al Menendez is the research director. Contact
Doerr at 301-260-2988, arlinc@erols.com,
and Menendez at 301-926-4337, amenendez@erols.com.
• The
American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee promotes the civil and religious rights of
Arab-Americans. It has regional
offices across the United States. Contact Laila Al-Qatami, communications
director, laila@adc.org.
• The
Atheist Law Center,
in Montgomery, Ala., advocates for civil rights and the complete separation
of church and state. Contact president Carol Moore at atheistlaw@knology.net.
• The
Coalition for
the Separation of Church and State is a separationist umbrella organization
of five
groups. Their web site contains links to member organizations, with contact
information for each.
• The
Freedom From Religion Foundation,
in Madison, Wis., is a separationist watchdog group that works to educate people
about the separation of church and state. Freedom
From Religion Foundation v. McCallum was the first direct challenge to government
funding of a faith-based social service. Co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor says
she expects to see challenges to faith-based initiatives in the near future,
due to what she describes as "an avalanche" of federal aid going to
proselytizing groups. Contact Gaylor at 608-256-5800, algaylor@ffrf.org.
• The
Interfaith Working
Group works to "inform the public of the diversity of religious opinion
on social issues where it is not widely recognized" by providing a forum
for religious organizations, congregations and clergy who support, among other
things, the separation of church and state. It is based in Philadelphia. Contact
info@iwgonline.org.
• People
for the American Way, based in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit organization
that works to strengthen the separation between church and state. Contact 202-467-4999,
media@pfaw.org.
• The
Institute for
Democracy Studies is a nonprofit research and educational center devoted
to the study of anti-democratic religious and political movements and organizations
in the U.S. and internationally. It is based in New York City. Alfred Ross is
its president. Contact 212-423-9237, alfredross@idsonline.org.
• The
North American
Religious Liberty Association advocates a "broad interpretation"
of the Free Exercise Clause and supports religious freedom. It is based in Silver
Spring, Md. James
Standish is its executive director. Contact 301-680-6683, narla@religiousliberty.info.
Legal
organizations Law firms and nonprofit organizations that litigate church-state cases:
• Rothgerber
Johnson and Lyons is a for-profit law firm whose specialties include religious
issues, including religious liberty and church-state issues. It is based in
Denver. Its web site includes a religious
liberty archive with court cases and many relevant documents. Contact Julie
Rado, director of marketing, 303-623-9000.
ACCOMMODATIONIST
• The Alliance
Defense Fund is a legal alliance based in Scottsdale, Ariz., whose focus
is defending religious liberty. Contact president Alan Sears through media relations,
480-444-0020. See contacts
for the fund's six regional offices.
• The American Center for
Law and Justice is a nonprofit that specializes in cases involving constitutional
liberties. It is based in Washington, D.C. Contact chief counsel Jay Sekulow,
757-575-9520.
• The American Family Association's Center
for Law and Policy litigates religious liberty and other constitutional
issues. It is based in Tupelo, Miss. Contact chief counsel Stephen
Crampton, 662-680-3886.
• The nonprofit Becket
Fund for Religious Liberty, based in Washington, D.C., represents clients
in religious liberty suits. It is headed by attorney Anthony Picarello Jr. Contact
apicarello@becketfund.org.
• The Christian
Law Association defines itself as a "ministry of legal helps"
to "Bible-believing churches" and Christians who are experiencing
legal difficulty in practicing their religious faith because of governmental
regulation, intrusion or prohibition. It is based in Seminole, Fla., and headed
by David Gibbs Jr. Contact 727-399-8300.
• The Christian Legal
Society is an organization of Christian lawyers and law students committed
to furthering Christianity and religious liberty. They litigate and file amicus
briefs in religious liberty cases. The society is based in Springfield, Va.
Contact 703-642-1070, clshq@clsnet.org.
• Concerned Women
for America tries to bring biblical principles into public policy. The organization
is active in "conscience clause" cases, in which it argues that pharmacists
and other medical professionals should be excused from having to fill prescriptions
or give care that violates their religious principles. Jan
LaRue is chief counsel. Contact 202-498-6571, jlarue@cwfa.org.
• The Liberty Counsel
is a nonprofit litigation and educational organization based in Orlando, Fla.
It is dedicated to advancing religious liberty, "the sanctity of human
life and the traditional family." Mathew
Staver is its president and general counsel. Contact media director Karen
Aytes-Rochester, 407-875-2100, krochester@lc.org.
• Liberty Legal Institute
in Plano, Texas, is a nonprofit law firm that defends religious freedoms and
First Amendment rights. It consists of 120 lawyers across the state of Texas,
and its chief legal counsel is Kelly
Shackelford. Its web site lists
the cases in which it has been involved. Contact Shackelford at 972-423-8889
ext. 5.
• The Pacific
Justice Institute is a nonprofit legal defense organization that specializes
in religious and civil liberties cases. Its president is Brad Dacus. The institute
is based in Sacramento, Calif. Contact 916-857-6900, pji@pacificjustice.org.
• The Rutherford Institute
is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization based in Charlottesville,
Va. It represents clients in religious liberty issues. Contact media liaison
Nisha N. Mohammed, 434-978-3888 ext. 604, nisha@rutherford.org.
• The Southeastern
Legal Foundation is a legal advocacy group based in Atlanta. Its lawyers
have argued in support of prayer in public places and for the public display
of the Ten Commandments. Contact 404-257-9667, info@southeasternlegal.org.
• The Thomas More Law
Center is a public-interest law firm dedicated to the defense and promotion
of the religious freedom of Christians. Contact chief counsel Richard
Thompson in Ann Arbor, Mich., at 734-827-2001.
SEPARATIONIST
• The
American Civil Liberties Union
litigates on behalf of civil liberties, including religious liberties. It is
based in Washington, D.C., and has many chapters
throughout the United States. Anthony
D. Romero is its executive director, and T. Jeremy Gunn is director of the
ACLU's Religious Liberty Project. Contact media@aclu.org.
• Americans
United for Separation of Church and State is a separationist watchdog, nonprofit
organization that works to protect and enforce the Establishment Cause. Rob
Boston, assistant director of communications, says the group expects to see
more cases involving faith-based initiatives, intelligent design and the role
of religion in public education. Barry Lynn, an attorney and United Church of
Christ minister, heads the organization, which is based in Washington, D.C.
Ayesha Khan is the legal director. Contact via Joe Conn, director of communications,
202-466-3234, conn@au.org.
Denominational
organizations
BAPTIST
• Richard
Land is president of the Ethics
and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville,
Tenn. Contact through Jill Martin at 615-782-8417, jmartin@erlc.com.
• The Baptist Joint Committee
for Religious Liberty is an umbrella organization of 14 Baptist bodies that
work to promote religious liberty. They advise member denominations on religious
liberties issues. It is based in Washington, D.C. Its executive director is
J. Brent
Walker, and K. Hollyn Hollman is general counsel. Contact via Jeff Huett,
director of communications, 202-544-4226, jhuett@bjconline.org.
INTERFAITH
• The
National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the USA is an umbrella organization of Protestant, Anglican,
Orthodox, historic African American and Living Peace denominations. The NCCC
frequently files amicus briefs in religious and civil liberties cases. Contact
Wesley M. "Pat" Pattillo, associate general secretary for communication,
212-870-2048, wpattillo@ncccusa.org.
MAINLINE
PROTESTANT
• Brenda
Girton-Mitchell is associate general secretary for public policy for the
National Council of Churches
of Christ in the USA, an ecumenical organization that represents three dozen
member communions from Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, historic African American
and Living Peace church traditions. Contact 202-544-2350, bgirtonm@ncccusa.org.
JEWISH
• The
American
Jewish Committee is a secular Jewish organization that, in part, advocates
for religious liberty for Jews in the United States and abroad. It has filed
amicus briefs opposing the public display of the Ten Commandments and in support
of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Contact Kenneth Bandler, director
of communications, at 202-785-4200, bandlerk@ajc.org.
• The
Religious Action Center of
Reform Judaism is the advocacy arm of the Union for Reform Judaism. Rabbi
David
Saperstein is its director and counsel. Contact 202-387-2800.
• The
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America's Institute
for Public Affairs advocates for the rights and interests of Orthodox Judaism.
The director is Nathan Diament. Contact 202-513-6484.
• The
American Jewish
Congress' partial mission is to promote civil and religious rights of Jews
in the United States and abroad. The organization litigates First Amendment
issues. Marc Stern and Lois Waldman are the co-chairs on the Commission on Law
and Social Action. Contact Stern at 212-360-1545, mstern@ajcongress.org;
Waldman at 212-360-1548, lwaldman@ajcongress.org.
MUSLIM
• The
Council on American-Islamic
Relations is a nonprofit that works to protect the civil rights of Muslims
in the United States. It has chapters
across the nation. Its government affairs director is Corey Saylor, and its
director of communications is Ibrahim Hooper. Contact Saylor at 202-646-6039
or 571-278-4658, csaylor@cair-net.org;
contact Hooper at 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair-net.org.
• The
Muslim Public Affairs Council
is an advocacy group that works to promote and protect the civil rights of American
Muslims. Salam Al-Marayati is its executive director. Contact 202-547-7701 or
213-383-3443, salam@mpac.org.
ATHEIST
• American Atheists
is an organization of people who profess that there is no deity. The organization
advocates for their civil rights and promotes the separation of church and state.
There are chapters
and affiliates around the country. Ellen Johnson is its president. Contact
973-334-5110, info@atheists.org.
PAGAN
• The
Lady Liberty
League is a nonprofit group that advocates for religious freedom and freedom
from religious discrimination for pagans. Its executive director is Selena
Fox, and it is located in Barneveld, Wis. Contact 608-924-2216, liberty@mhtc.net.
Click
the map for interview sources
in your state and region
Individuals
National
sources
• Michael
Cromartie is vice president of the Ethics
and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., where he heads its Evangelicals
in Civic Life program. He is also an expert on religious liberty and Christianity
and politics. Contact 202-682-1200, crom@eppc.org.
• Derek
Davis directs the J.M.
Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas,
where he is editor of the Journal of Church and State. He considers himself
a separationist and says he expects there will be growing interest in the role
religion plays in the backgrounds and decisions of Supreme Court justices. He
has served as an expert witness in some church-state issues and submitted amicus
briefs to the Supreme Court in Santa
Fe ISD v. Doe and Mitchell
v. Helms. Contact 254-710-1510, Derek_davis@baylor.edu.
• Edd
Doerr is president of Americans
for Religious Liberty, a separationist organization based in Silver Spring,
Md. He is not a lawyer but has been involved in developing lawsuits for 40 years.
In 2005, his group filed amicus briefs in Scheidler
v. NOW, Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal and
Aylotte v. Planned Parenthood. Contact 301-260-2988, arlinc@erols.com.
• Richard
Foltin is the legislative director and counsel to the American Jewish Committee's
Office of Government and International Affairs in Washington, D.C. Contact via
public relations, 212-751-4000, PR@ajc.org.
• Steven
Green is associate professor of law at Willamette University in Salem, Ore.,
and special counsel to Americans
United for Separation of Church and State, where he was formerly general
counsel. He has litigated cases involving school prayer, religious school funding,
religious displays and religious discrimination. He was co-counsel on two Supreme
Court cases, Mitchell
v. Helms and Zelman
v. Simmons-Harris. He describes himself as a separationist. He says future
cases will likely involve the limits on legislative accommodation of religious
practices and its "tension" with non-establishment of religion. He expects other
cases will involve questions about faith-based initiatives, such as whether
faith-based organizations can discriminate in their hiring for government-funded
programs. Contact 503-370-6732, sgreen@willamette.edu.
• T.
Jeremy Gunn is director of the American Civil Liberty Union's Program on
Freedom of Religion and Belief in Washington, D.C. Contact media@aclu.org.
• Philip
Hamburger is the author of Separation of Church and State (Harvard
University Press, 2002) and a professor of law at the University of Chicago
Law School. Contact 773-834-4162, philip_hamburger@law.uchicago.edu.
• Charles
Haynes is a senior scholar at the First
Amendment Center in Arlington, Va., and an expert on the First Amendment
and religious liberty. He expects a test case in the near future involving faith-based
initiatives that could significantly change how the Establishment Clause is
applied, and says future cases could determine a limit on student religious
expression and free exercise in school. He defines himself as a separationist
on some issues, but when free speech and free exercise are involved, he often
considers himself an accommodationist. Contact 703-528-0800, Chaynes@freedomforum.org.
• James
Henderson Sr. is senior counsel of the American
Center for Law and Justice in Washington, D.C. He specializes in First Amendment
law involving the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech. Contact via
Todd Shearer, DeMoss Group, 770-813-0000 ext. 239, tshearer@demossgroup.com.
• Ted
Jelen is a professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las
Vegas, and author of To Serve God and Mammon: Church-State Relations in American
Politics (Westview Press, 2000). Contact 702-895-3355, jelent@unlv.edu.
• David
Koepsell is executive director of the Council
for Secular Humanism, a lawyer and an adjunct assistant professor of philosophy
at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. He considers himself
a strict separationist and frequently speaks on church-state issues on behalf
of the Center for
Inquiry on Campus. He thinks there will be more cases challenging or proposing
the teaching of intelligent design in public school curricula and a number of
challenges to state faith-based initiatives. He helped draft the Council for
Secular Humanism’s amicus briefs in both Newdow
v. U.S. Congress and Van
Orden v. Perry on the side of the parties opposing the Pledge of Allegiance’s
inclusion of "under God" and the display of the Ten Commandments. Contact 716-645-2444,
koepsell@acsu.buffalo.edu or
dkoepsell@centerforinquiry.net.
• Joe
Loconte is a fellow in religion and a free society at the Heritage
Foundation in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-546-4400, joe.loconte@heritage.org.
• Colby
May is senior counsel and director of the Washington, D.C., office of the
American Center for Law and Justice.
Contact 202-564-8890, cmmay@aclj-dc.org.
• Michael
Schutt is director of the Institute
for Christian Legal Studies at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.
The center is a project of the university and the Christian Legal Society. Its
mission is, in part, "to train and encourage Christian law students, law professors
and practicing lawyers to seek and study biblical truth, including the natural
law tradition, as it relates to law and legal institutions." Schutt lives in
Mount Pleasant, Texas. Contact via the Christian Legal Society, 703-642-1070,
clshq@clsnet.org.
Background
GENERAL
• The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life maintains a collection of
resources on Religion
& the Law.
• The Foundation for American Communications (FACS), a nonprofit dedicated
to journalist education, maintains a web
page on church-state issues.
• The Canadian-based Religious Tolerance web site maintains a section on
church-state issues.
• The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division maintains a site
on religious discrimination issues, which includes information on religious
liberty issues.
• The web site The
Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State is dedicated to
combating "history by sound bite." It provides audio links to Supreme
Court oral arguments and speeches by civil rights/constitutional lawyer and
others. It was created and is maintained by Jim Allison, a paralegal and historical-legal
researcher and writer, and Susan Batte, a lawyer and a member of the U.S. Supreme
Court bar who practices in Virginia. Both have been involved in the debate on
separation of church and state, researching and writing extensively on the subject.
LEGAL
• The Legal Information Institute at Cornell University maintains a searchable
online database of Supreme Court decisions involving religion. It maintains
a similar searchable
database for federal appeals courts decisions involving religion.
• Read the text of the Religious
Freedom Restoration Act (1993) as posted on the Rainbow Family of Living
Light's web site.
• The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty maintains a site on the Religious
Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
• The J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies maintain a vast list
of primary
sources on church-state issues available on the Internet. The list ranges
from ancient sources on religious liberty to contemporary Supreme Court rulings.
• The web site maintained by the First
Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., is a lengthy
and comprehensive source on First Amendment issues, cases and history.
RELIGION
IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
• Read
Finding
Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools, a publication
of the Freedom Forum, posted on its web site.
• In
1995, Richard W. Riley, secretary of education under the Clinton administration,
set guidelines
on religious liberty in the public schools for American educators.
• The
First Amendment Center publishes a guide
for parents about religion in public schools.
• The
Christian Legal Society maintains a page
of questions and answers about religion in public schools.
