American Crusade
Is a fight against equality and for privilege a fight for religious supremacy? Presented in partnership with The Progressive Magazine, critically acclaimed author and constitutional attorney Andrew L. Seidel looks at some of the key Supreme Court cases over the last decade to show how a deliberate war has been waged to transform a hallowed legal protection, freedom of religion, into a tool to advance privilege and impose conservative Christianity on others.Seidel examines some of the key Supreme Court cases of the last thirty years--including Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (a bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple), Trump v. Hawaii (the anti-Muslim travel ban case), American Legion v. American Humanist Association (related to a group maintaining a 40-foot Christian cross on government-owned land), and Tandon v. Newsom (a Santa Clara Bible group exempted from Covid health restrictions), as well as the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade--and how a hallowed legal protection, freedom of religion, has been turned into a tool to advance privilege and impose religion on others. This is a meticulously researched and deeply insightful account of our political landscape.
Andrew Seidel
Andrew is a constitutional and civil rights attorney and the author of two books: The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American and American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom. He's also co-editor of an academic text, Law and Religion: Cases and Materials 5th Edition, with Prof. Leslie Griffin of UNLV law school. Andrew is a Senior Correspondent at Religion Dispatches, a prolific author of opeds and scholarly articles. He organized and contributed to the groundbreaking report “Christian Nationalism at the January 6, 2021, Insurrection,” which was published by the Baptist Joint Committee and FFRF and which aroused congressional interest. He’s appeared on Fox News to debate Bill O’Reilly, MSNBC, and hundreds of other media outlets. Andrew is the VP of Strategic Communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the largest organization fighting for that founding principle. Andrew has a BS in neuroscience and several law degrees, each with honors and awards. Before dedicating his life and law degree to keeping state and church separate, Andrew was a Grand Canyon tour guide and an accomplished nature photographer.