Rachel Laser, an attorney who worked for Planned Parenthood and is known for advocating for abortion, LGBT issues and fighting against racial discrimination, has been named as the first non-Christian to lead Americans United for Separation of Church and State in the 71-year history of the organization.
The AU, which was last led by the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, is a “nonpartisan educational and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure freedom of religion, including the right to believe or not believe, for all Americans.”
In an interview with The Christian Post in October, Lynn said the biggest misconception people have about the organization, perhaps mostly by critics, is that it’s comprised of all atheists.
“I think one of the great strengths of Americans United is that it has such diversity,” Lynn said. “That it has not only people who have no religious belief, but lots of people who do and who take that belief very seriously. And I think that provides us with a great opportunity to talk about the separation of church and state. … [W]e don’t have, you might say, a theology. We just have a commitment to the Constitution.”