Bigotry Debunked: Newspaper Investigates AU Chapter, Finds Out Its Members Don’t Hate Christians

Americans United blog
Sarah Jones


Spurred by the American Family Association’s “Bigotry Map,” a Pennsylvania newspaper investigated the supporters of an Americans United chapter and discovered the obvious: They aren’t bigots.

The Philadelphia Weekly’s Josh Kruger interviewed Janice Rael, the president of our Delaware Valley chapter, about her nefarious intentions for Christianity, and found that she didn’t have any. The truth is a bit more mundane than the AFA made it out to be.

“We believe in true religious freedom through a separation between church and state,” Rael told Kruger. “We defend the First Amendment. We host a lot of speakers, such as authors and clergy members, who support separation.”

She proceeded to point out a fact that the AFA ignored by designating AU an “anti-Christian group:” Our executive director, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn is, well, a pastor. He’s an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Lynn, of course, is no stranger to having his faith called into question by Religious Right (see: Rep. Louie Gohmert); nevertheless, he is indeed a Christian.
https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/straight-to-hell-texas-congressman-launches-inquisition-during-religious

But that shouldn’t be a surprise to people actually familiar with AU’s mission and work. “We simply want the government to be neutral [in relation to the various faiths] and not to favor one over another,” Rael said, adding, “I would ask the AFA why they think that government neutrality is hostility to their faith.”
(emphasis added)

Good question.

Kruger also interviewed the Pennsylvania Nonbelievers and the Lehigh Valley Humanists, two regional secular groups. The Pennsylvania Nonbelievers earned a spot on AFA’s map for being atheists; although the Lehigh Valley Humanists escaped AFA’s notice, it’s safe to say fundamentalists wouldn’t be fond of their mission, either.

According to the AFA, atheists are “critical of those who express their faith in public” and humanists “believe science triumphs faith in issues of morality and decision-making.” But there’s more to both philosophies, as representatives of these secular groups pointed out.

Brian Fields of the Pennsylvania Nonbelievers told Kruger that, “What I found interesting about the AFA’s selection [is] it’d be hard to find a less bigoted group of human beings than humanists.”

-snip-

By placing groups like our Delaware Valley chapter on its “Bigotry Map,” the AFA’s tipped its cards. Its goal is not to identify “anti-Christian bigotry” but to eliminate competition in the marketplace of ideas. The AFA likes to tell people that this is officially a Christian country, but the truth is that they know it isn’t. It can’t be as long as groups like ours exist.

The AFA and groups like it aren’t enemies of bigotry. They are enemies of religious pluralism. And we’re pleased to be on the other side of the fight. 

https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bigotry-debunked-newspaper-investigates-au-chapter-finds-out-its-members