Ep. 454 - Interview with Rachel Laser, President of Americans United

Friendly Atheist Podcast

In this solo episode, I spoke with Rachel Laser, who became president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State in February of 2018. She is the organization’s first non-Christian and female leader in its 75 year history. Rachel is a lawyer, advocate and strategist who has dedicated her career to making our country more inclusive.
We spoke about her work with religious organizations, whether the Johnson Amendment will ever be enforced, what people still don't get about church/state separation, and more.
0:00 Intro
2:00 What did you take away from the results of the midterm elections?
5:16 What's the relationship between AU and religious organizations?
10:02 How does your strategy shift given the Supreme Court's right-wing shift?
17:23 How fundamental are lawsuits to AU's mission?
22:18 Are there ways to get Republicans to support church/state separation?
27:04 What misconceptions do Americans have about church/state separation?
32:57 Will new IRS funding lead to enforcement of the Johnson Amendment?
36:03 What are the biggest looming church/state issues we should be concerned about?

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