Friend:

As the nation marks America’s 250th anniversary, I have been reflecting on a famous letter written by then-President George Washington in 1790. Washington was traveling around the country to build support for the young federal government. A Jewish congregation based at the historic Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I., wrote to Washington to welcome him to town and to marvel that our fledgling country promised religious freedom to people of all faiths, including Jews, who had faced persecution in some of the colonies.

Washington wrote back to affirm that “the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.” (You can read more about the history of this exchange on AU’s website.)

It was a ringing endorsement of religious freedom from our nation’s first president, and it came more than a year before the ratified Bill of Rights with the First Amendment’s explicit promise of church-state separation became part of our Constitution. Washington, like so many of the fallible founders of our country, got certain things wrong, but he got religious freedom very right in his correspondence with Newport’s Jewish citizens and commitment to a pluralistic democracy.

Washington’s letter has always resonated with me, both professionally as the leader of Americans United and personally as a Jew. When AU and our allies launched our “Religious Liberty for All” report back in June to counter the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission, I referenced the Touro Synagogue letter in my remarks. I also mentioned it during my opening remarks at AU’s Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF) back in April.

That’s why I’m so honored to be the keynote speaker on Aug. 16 at the annual event held in Newport to recognize the historical significance of this letter. I’ll be following in the footsteps of Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who previously keynoted this event. The event hosts, TSF Newport, will livestream the “79th Annual George Washington Letter Reading” on their Facebook page starting at 1 p.m. ET – I hope you’ll tune in!

More than two centuries later, we must remain ever vigilant in our defense of church-state separation as the shield that protects everyone’s right to live as themselves and believe as they choose. Just this week AU and our allies were in court again, this time urging a judge to block Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins from continuing to proselytize USDA employees. Religious extremists like Rollins – even in the face of our lawsuit – continue to exploit the power of their government office to impose their ideology on others.

Not on our watch. As we celebrate 250 years of American independence from kings who ruled over both church and state, I hope you’ll join me in demanding a national recommitment to keeping church and state separate. Our newly forming education initiative, a priority in our strategic plan, is already producing new resources like toolkits, more Know Your Rights guides, and our new Constitution in the Classroom curriculum to help you educate people in your community about the importance of church-state separation. A more robust online hub is in the works, but for now you can find many of these resources at au.org/resources.

Please check them out and feel free to let us know what else would help you defend everyone’s freedom to live as themselves and believe as they choose – one of the most precious promises America makes.

With hope and determination,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO

This is a selection of just a few of AU's recent media appearances.

Find additional details and a full list of events here. 

August 12, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. ET (Virtual): “Schoolhouse Rules: Faith, Freedom & Public Schools.” Join Americans United for a practical conversation about church-state separation in public schools, students’ rights, and what to do when a school crosses the line. Sign up here. 

August 16, 2026, at 1 p.m. ET (Virtual): AU President & CEO Rachel Laser will be the keynote speaker at an annual event held in Newport, R.I., that recognizes the historical significance of George Washington's letter to the Touro Synagogue. The event hosts, TSF Newport, will livestream the “79th Annual George Washington Letter Reading” on their Facebook page. Learn more.

May 1-3, 2027 (Virtual & In-Person): The Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF) is a collaborative conference that will unify supporters, activists, organizers, policy and legal experts, academics, political and religious leaders, and committed people of faith and of no religion to fight for religious freedom. Learn more.

This is a selection of AU's most popular recent blogs; find all of our blogs here.

• New York should not opt into President Trump’s private school voucher program: AU Youth Organizing Fellow Alan Chen warns New York’s governor of the dangers and risks of implementing federal private school voucher programs.

• Texas pastor calls out Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s lies about church-state separation: The Rev. Charles A. Fredrickson of San Antonio corrects disinformation about church-state separation espoused by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

• Reclaiming the promise: Why the 250th anniversary belongs to religious freedom, not Christian Nationalism: Let's commit to defending the wall of separation between church and state that protects us all.