Help the Iowa Secularists keep the Wall of Separation strong!

Over 200 years ago Thomas Jefferson famously wrote of a “wall of separation” between church and state. Keeping government out of a person’s religious conscience was of paramount importance to Jefferson and other founders of our nation. Unfortunately, the history of church-state separation isn’t as clean as the image — an impenetrable wall between them never existed. To illustrate, it has only been since 1961 that states have been barred from prohibiting atheists from holding office. Roy Torcaso got his case all the way to the Supreme Court after he was prohibited from even serving as a Notary Public in Maryland just because he was an atheist. The High Court agreed that this was an impermissible “religious test” prohibited by the Constitution. Thankfully, gaps in the “wall” have filled over the years.

In keeping with Thomas Jefferson’s ideals, the Iowa Secularists are committed to shoring up that wall to keep freedom of conscience free and remind America that there is a reason the very first right among the Bill of Rights includes religious freedom. IS is kicking off a year-long campaign celebrating the right of religious freedom and keeping the public aware of the importance of church-state separation.

We encourage you take part in this campaign; you can use a sample letter to write your local legislator or congressional representative. You can take part in discussing church-state separation issues at one of our local meetings. You can join us at the Iowa Capitol as we meet with legislators to discuss the importance of church/state separation on March 27th (and more events to be announced).

Check back for more updates. We look forward to seeing you throughout the campaign!