Americans United for Separation of Church and State

"Americans United" redirects here. Not to be confused with Americans United for Life or Citizens United (organization).

Americans United for Separation of Church and State
FoundedJanuary 11, 1948; 76 years ago (1948-01-11)[1]
FoundersCharles Clayton Morrison,
Glenn L. Archer,
Edwin McNeill Poteat,
G. Bromley Oxnam,
Joseph Martin Dawson[2][3]
53-0184647[4]
Legal status501(c)(3) nonprofit organization[4]
PurposeTo preserve the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.
Headquarters1310 L Street NW, Suite 200,
Washington, D.C. 20005
Coordinates38°54′13″N 77°01′49″W / 38.9035°N 77.0304°W / 38.9035; -77.0304
Area served
United States
MethodLitigation, education
Members
Over 75,000[5]
Rachel Laser[6]
Chris Colburn[7]
Revenue (2015)
$7,142,780[4]
Expenses (2015)$6,223,371[4]
Employees32[4] (in 2014)
Volunteers (2014)
15[4]
Websitewww.au.org
Formerly called
Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State[8]

Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for the disassociation of religion and religious organizations from government. The separation of church and state in the United States is commonly interpreted to be provided in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference newgroup was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference founders1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference founders2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Guidestar. September 30, 2015.
  5. ^ "About | Americans United". Au.org. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  6. ^ "[1]". Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  7. ^ "Our Staff Archived January 25, 2018, at the Wayback Machine". Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference records was invoked but never defined (see the help page).