The Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court means her approval by the full Senate is now a foregone conclusion. And that’s all the more reason to keep fighting.
We are grateful to you and other FFRF supporters who responded to our action alerts in force. Tens of thousands of you contacted your legislators and spent hours on the phone protesting the Barrett nomination and the packing of our courts.
The cherished constitutional principle of separation between state and church is imperiled. Barrett is going to be a disaster for so many of the other issues that FFRF members work for and care about. Roe v. Wade, racial equality, LGBTQ equality — including equal marriage, reproductive justice and even the right to birth control — are at risk. More broadly, health care is in jeopardy in the midst of a pandemic that has so far killed 220,000 Americans.
FFRF’s full report on Barrett, including her desire to put prayer back in public schools and her stated willingness to use governmental power to promote her personal religion, may be found here. Barrett is a member of the Roman Catholic fringe group “People of Praise,” which has been called a “cult” by former members, including Coral Theill, who appeared on FFRF’s “Ask An Atheist” show last week to discuss the group and the misogyny, authoritarianism, toxic male dominance and abuse that Theill experienced.
The fight is far from over, but we need to shift. The high court has already been packed with Christian Nationalists like Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh. By the end of this congressional term, there may be more than 250 President Trump-appointed judges in our federal courts, including 30 percent of all federal circuit judges and about a quarter of all district judges. The courts have been captured. We now need to think about unpacking, rebalancing, correcting and expanding the courts.
It increasingly appears that the struggle to retain and defend the all-American principle of separation between religion and government must encompass a campaign to rebalance and reclaim our courts from zealots like Barrett.
In the meantime, the Freedom From Religion Foundation will continue, with your support, to champion the First Amendment in the court of public opinion and with strategic legal actions. Please consider donating today to help FFRF continue to educate the public about the dangers of theocracy, Christian Nationalism and the mixing of religion with politics.