Did we plow through another year already? I want to wish all the BJC blog's readers a very, very happy, peaceful and joyous New Year. Whether you are a regular visitor, a Twitter follower that drops by (follow me @BJCBlog) or just a lucky Google searcher looking for religious liberty news, I appreciate you very much! Surveying the year in religious liberty (see my year-end post here), I'm as convinced as ever of the need for informed, committed people of faith dedicated to principles of religious liberty for all Americans. My goal as always is to follow the church-state news of the day from that perspective. The separation of church and state is good for both.

For this New Year weekend, I highly recommend two steps if you have a similar view. First, read Normal Lear's op-ed in today's LATimes (excerpt below). In it, he describes his moment of commitment to a great America, what he calls becoming a born-again American. Second, I would encourage you to make a year-end donation to the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. The BJC has been in Washington DC for 75 years, the only religious organization in the nation's capital dedicated solely to church-state issues. Impassioned and well-respected on the Hill and in civil liberty coalitions, the BJC is a strong voice of faith and liberty in the call for religious exercise free of governmental coercion or restriction. A year-end, tax-deductible donation will help ensure they can continue advocating in the halls of Congress and the White House, urging courts to maintain religious liberty safeguards, and educating churches about the relevance of church-state separation in their own religious exercise.

Now, here's Norman Lear:

The religious right leaders who got me engaged in politics often portray such things as free expression and equal protection for all Americans no matter their race, religion or sexual orientation as anti-Christian and un-American, as symptoms of cultural decline. I couldn't disagree more. 
...
A year out from the 2012 election, I am already tired of those who use the phrase "American exceptionalism" to reassert the far-right's claim that God, the Founding Fathers and any decent freedom-loving American must share their reactionary political agenda. I embrace the idea too that our nation should be a "shining city on a hill." We are the spiritual heirs to those Americans who struggled to end slavery and segregation, to end child labor and win safe conditions and living wages for workers, to enable every American to enrich his or her community and country by finding a place and a way to flourish in the world. We must make ourselves worthy of that legacy.

I too get tired of hearing that somehow my faith mandates an ultra-conservative political view, or worse yet that I must accept and advocate for policies that would restrict, disenfranchise or marginalize those of other religious beliefs. I reject that view. My religious beliefs do as well. If you're in the same boat, what better way to send a message that faith is not threatened by church-state separation, than by supporting an organization whose mission is built on that fundamental principle? 

Give the gift of religious liberty, then take to Facebook, Google + and Twitter to tell your friends and family. See you Monday with new posts about the challenges of the new year!