Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts Church and State are Being Reunited, Thanks to SCOTUS
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Mar 7, 2026 Rachel Lasser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and longtime church-state advocate, discusses the rise of Christian nationalism and its roots. She traces legal strategies that reshaped the Supreme Court. They cover recent rulings, shadow-docket moves, government actions, and the coalitions fighting to defend nonsectarian public life.
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Christian Nationalism Is A Manufactured Political Movement
- Christian nationalism rests on the false claim that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation and that law should preserve Christian privilege.
- Rachel Lasser traces the movement from 1950s civic religion moves like “under God” in the Pledge to today’s surge against demographic change.
Supreme Court Decisions Rewrote Church State Boundaries
- The Roberts Court shifted doctrine to favor religious claimants by narrowing separation principles and expanding free exercise protections.
- Lasser cites Trinity Lutheran (2017) and Carson v. Makin (2022) as steps turning separation into a constitutional casualty.
Train Lawyers To Counter The Other Side’s Pipeline
- Build comparable training and placement programs to counter long-term judicial strategy.
- Lasser notes Americans United started a legal academy teaming with 16 nonprofits to train future litigators and leaders.