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At Salt & Light, we don’t just talk—we do the hard work to defend your freedom to worship.
Several years ago, Professor Wagner crafted a strategic plan to undo the damage of decades of judicial activism and legislative overreach that has so diminished the impact of First Amendment protections of religious liberty. In just a matter of years, with the Lord’s aid and your support, we’ve made tremendous headway towards restoring the Founder’s original intent:
· Five years ago, we sued when Michigan’s governor when she closed more than 18,000 churches, and the freedom to assemble in worship was restored.
· Three years ago, we filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton Schools. Professor Wagner led the charge in asking the Supreme Court to overturn the unconstitutional Lemon Test that limited how Christians could share their faith in the public square. The Supreme Court agreed the practice was unconstitutional, reversed their decision, and today, the Lemon Test is no more.
· Just last month, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a landmark victory for religious liberty and parental rights in Mahmoud v. Taylor, another case where Professor Wagner and our legal team fought hard to uphold the clear meaning of the First Amendment.
· Earlier this week, a federal district court and the IRS agreed to lift a gag order on churches, known as the Johnson Amendment. For 70 years, this unconstitutional legislation has deterred many pastors and congregations from the free exercise of their sincere faith—but praise God for a recent filing by a federal court in Texas. Churches are now free to speak about civic engagement and even endorse candidates based on the values of their faith without fear of reprisal from the government.
As Professor Wagner stated, “Since the beginning, SLG has worked to restore religious liberty, and we have always taken the position that the Johnson Amendment posed an unconstitutional restriction on the free expression of faith. After years working towards restoring this freedom, we are so excited to see this consent judgement from the US District Courts. We are thankful for the excellent work on this case by our brothers in Christ, Dave Kallman, Steve Kallman, Michael Farris, and the rest of the legal team that diligently worked towards this landmark victory for religious liberty.”
But even as we celebrate this huge victory, our work is not done. Professor Wagner and our Wilberforce Fellows are currently working on four U.S. Supreme Court briefs—all of which defend religious liberty.
One brief is of special significance, because we plan to use it to ask the Court to overturn one of the last major acts of judicial activism interfering with First Amendment rights: the general applicability rule from Smith. This rule currently allows government to infringe on the freedom to worship and live out one’s faith, as long as it does so in a neutral, “generally applicable” way. Clearly, this rule differs from the plain language of the First Amendment, which states without exception: “Congress shall make no law…prohibiting the free exercise of religion.”
As we continue to work to restore and defend your first freedoms, please know that we are so grateful for your prayers and support that helps us fight these battles at the highest levels. We could not do this work without you!
Your help is also essential to restoring a culture of true religious liberty. Pastors and fellow believers must be well equipped to steward the freedoms the Lord has blessed us with to spread the Gospel. We hope that you will help us share our resources with your pastor and other Christians in your sphere of influence. A few of our favorite tools for restoring religious liberty include:
· Manuals on how to use the freedom, protected by the first amendment to share the Gospel in the public square and in public schools
· Policies to protect churches from costly litigation
· Guides for churches, explaining best practices on civic engagement
· Cards with talking points on religious liberty, so that citizens can be confident in articulating their rights
· And much more, available at slgwitness.com
Will you help us preserve faith and freedom? Sharing tools, funding legal work, and covering this effort in prayer are all essential to restore and preserve the freedom to worship our Lord and live out our faith. Together, and with the Lord on our side, we believe another victory is just around the corner.
Soli Deo Gloria,
The Salt & Light Global Team
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