A persuasive op-ed appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on July 24, 2023. Its authors are L. Lewis Wall and Douglas Brown, Emeritus Professors in the Washington University School of Medicine. They describe the ways in which the “personhood” claim relative to abortion riights violates the religious liberties of citizens. All of this is relevant to our suit against the state of Missouri. Read (or listen to) the whole essay here.
A staunch defender of church/state separation died on June 7. A beautiful obituary appeared in the June 19 New York Times.
Columnist David French’s editorial content appeared in the June 12, 2023 edition. Click to read.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch republished on June 5, 2023, an editorial from the Kansas City Star that urged Governor Mike Parson not to sign a bill (SB 34) passed in the most recent legislative session. It would allow public schools to offer elective courses on the Bible. We have testified against this bill every time it has been proposed over the last few years, and managed to kill it until 2023. We don’t trust the Christian right nor the legislature to define appropriate boundaries for these courses, which will often be taught in public schools in which a vocal if diminishing Christian majority often dominates. Other religious texts are not included
Our long-time Board member, Rev. Rudy Pulido had his Letter to the Editor published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 1, 2023:
In a fe
w weeks, our nation will celebrate its birthday. America’s foundation is based on the Constitution, which our forefathers refused to accept without the inclusion of the 10 amendments called the Bill of Rights. The first of these rights reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof”. In a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to a church group, Jefferson saw the phrase as a wall that separates church and state.
The wall is a unique contribution to the welfare of our country. Without it, people of faith, even those within the Christian faith, could become subject to a particular expression of faith. Because of deep convictions people of faith have about their particular expression, we can easily imagine the chaos that would result from any law written by and in favor of a specific religious group.
We are grateful our nation’s forefathers knew the history of the sufferings of individuals where the separation of church and state was nonexistent and also knew their Bible. Maybe it’s time for some of our legislators and members of the judiciary to pick up a history book and a Bible and read both.
Rev. Rudy Pulido St. Louis
Click on the underscored bill number to see the text. Contact your legislator or the bill sponsor to register your opposition or support.
HB 136 (Brad Hudson [R]) Prohibits public institutions from discriminating against religious student organizations. [Such organizations often limit leadership to members of “their” religion, in contravention to the institutional rules about discrimination.] Senate General Laws Committee Hearing 4/26 was cancelled.
Josh Hurlbert (R) has a slew of bills to expand the Mo Empowerment Scholarship program, which provides vouchers to the parents of private school students. HB 242 and HB 572 (Sander (R) expand the program to any elementary or secondary student in the state, and requires that all students receive a grant equal to the state adequacy target. HB 243 expands the program to Boone, Cass, Franklin, Greene, Jasper, and Platte counties. (Same as HB 875) Second reading 1/5. HB 244 defines all enrolled students as “qualified” for scholarships. Second reading 1/5. HB 245 allows parents receiving the “scholarships” to forgo the grant for a year, without having losing eligibility or having to requalify. These are Dead – reported “do not pass” by House Rules Committee, and not on calendar. Dead
HB 293 Alex Riley [R] Establishes the so-called Religious Freedom Protection Act. Hearing held 1/25. 6 testifying in support, 4 in opposition, including our Brian Kaylor. Dead. Reported “Do pass” by House Rules Committee, but no action in the Senate.
HB 398 (Keri Ingle [D]) Prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion in the placement of foster children. This is one we can support, but it went nowhere in this legislature. Dead – not assigned to a committee.
HB 484 (Ben Baker [R]) and SB 34 ) Enables public schools to offer elective courses in “the Hebrew Scriptures” and the New Testament. We testified against this two years ago, and it was introduced again last year, too. Sunday School an additional five days per week. The Senate version of this is SB 34. (Karla May [D] 4/18 . Was delivered for the Governor’s signature
HB 485 (Ben Baker [R]) Allows firearms in churches and other places of worship with a concealed carry permit. This actually prevents places of worship from excluding guns. 4/17 reported Do Pass (7-3) by Rules Committee – not on Calendar. Amended onto HB 282 , which allows open carry almost everywhere. Was not sent to the Governor, despite having votes in House and Senate.
HB 632 (Dirk Deaton [R]) Establishment of the “Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Religious Liberty Advocate” for the purpose of strengthening and expanding the role of faith-based organizations in providing social services, information about state grants and other state partnerships, and promoting the fundamental human right to religious liberty. Dead – not assigned to Committee
HB 768 (Herman Morse [R]) Private schools that meet “state requirements” (which ones?) for public school districts can receive public funding. Dead – not assigned to Committee.
Contacts for Missouri legislators can be found at Missouri.gov.
The St. Louis Chapter held its Annual Meeting virtually on April 27, 2023. We were updated by our guest speakers. Michelle Henry (left), is the lead AU attorney in the lawsuits in Missouri and Kentucky challenging abortion bans on the basis that they violate church-state provisions in the state constitutions. Alex Luchenitser (right), Interim AU Legal Director, reported the status of other AU suits and amicus briefs.
We hope you were able to join us on the 27th! If you are on our mailing list, you should have already received a message about this, which was to include the Zoom link. Unfortunately, there was a glitch in that process, and we are not able to provide it.
Rob Boston, Editor of Church and State and AU Senior Advisor appeared in a hybrid presentation at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, 12 Millstone Campus Drive in Maryland Heights, on March 13, 2023. Our own Chapter President, Cynthia Holmes also participated. Details are in the poster below:
Of course, it’s too late to click on “RSVP HERE”.
On Thursday, January 19, AU and the National Women’s Law Center sued the state of Missouri for infringing religious freedom by banning abortions. St. Louis Chapter Board members joined AU President and CEO Rachel Laser and thirteen clergy from six different religious denominations in filing “Rev Blackmon v State of Missouri” in the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis, asking that the court enjoin enforcement of Missouri’s comprehensive ban on abortions. If you are a member of AU, you should have already received an email about this historic action. More information about the basis of the suit and what you can do are available on the AU Website. The 83 page text of the suit can be found here. It requests a permanent injunction against enforcement of the abortion ban, and declaration that the law violates the constitution of Missouri.
On January 23, an informational Zoom Webinar featuring Rachel Laser of AU, Fatima Goss Graves of the Women’s Law Center, and Rev. Dr. Teresa Mithen Danieley of St. Marks Episcopal Church of St. Louis will be online at 6:30 pm CST. It is free, but you have to register,