At first glance, some might think that religious liberty and LGBTQ equality are mutually exclusive, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, as advocates for social justice, we believe these two ideals are intertwined. As people of strong but different personal faiths, we share the belief that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and acceptance. This is what our Christian and Muslim faiths teach us, and it’s a central truth of all faiths. That same truth dwells in the hearts of everyone who seeks equality for all, regardless of their spiritual beliefs.

In 2009, the ACLU of Michigan agreed to represent Muslim prisoners in a religious freedom class action in federal court. Although the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) accommodates Jewish inmates by providing kosher meals and allows them to congregate for a Passover meal, it denied Muslim inmates halal meals and the opportunity to have the religious Eid meal at the end of Ramadan.

During the holiday season the City of Warren allows the Rotary Club to display its nativity scene in the public atrium of city hall. When an atheist group wrote to the city asking them to remove the display, the city’s mayor refused to do so but wrote in a letter that “all religions are welcome to celebrate their religious seasons with a display in city hall.” The atheist group then asked to place its own display in the same area, but their request was denied.

Since 2009, a church group has been using space in the public atrium of Warren’s city hall to operate a “prayer station.” Volunteers at the prayer station distribute religious literature, discuss their religious beliefs with passersby, and offer to pray with interested members of the public.

Detroit poll workers contacted the ACLU of Michigan to complain that Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey was leading denominational prayers during mandatory training sessions before the August 2013 primary and that she had done the same in past elections.

We wrote to Ms. Winfrey to explain that such official prayer violated the First Amendment because it promoted one religion over another, and religion over non-religion.

Ms. Winfrey wrote back assuring that it would not happen again.

(ACLU Legal Director Michael J. Steinberg and Law Student Intern Karley Abramson.)

In late 2012 the ACLU of Michigan learned that the football coach at a public school was leading students in Christian prayer on the field at the end of football games. Because prayer under such circumstances has an inherently coercive effect on students who are not Christian or not religious, the law is clear that it is unconstitutional.

In February 2013 the ACLU wrote a letter to the school district explaining that there was nothing wrong with having a coach who is deeply religious, but at a public school he could not lead the football team in prayer.

In 2013, the ACLU became aware that for the past several years Harbor Springs School District has allowed religious individuals and groups into the school during the day to proselytize young students. One such practice was the “pizza with the priest” program.

Without getting permission from parents, school officials allowed clergy to meet with sixth graders in the cafeteria during the lunch hour and lecture them about God. To entice students to the meeting, the priests offered them pizza and soda, but they could only eat the pizza after saying a Christian prayer.

Gov. Rick Snyder and the Michigan legislature created the Educational Achievement Authority (EAA) to educate students in the lowest performing schools in the state.

In February 2014, the EAA publicized a job announcement in Detroit for a pre-school teacher responsible for teaching “early childhood education curriculum in a Christian setting.”

After the ACLU of Michigan wrote a letter to the EAA Chancellor reminding him of the constitutional prohibition on religious discrimination in public schools, the EAA immediately removed the posting.

In several federal lawsuits filed in Michigan, private employers challenged the new requirement under the Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare”) that all employee health insurance plans include birth control prescription coverage.

These employers argued that the contraceptive mandate violated their right to religious liberty. Congress added the contraception prescription requirement to address discrimination against women, who have historically paid much higher out-of-pocket costs than men for reproductive health care.

The ACLU maintains a presence in Lansing that enables us to pass policies that expand civil liberties or prevent the passage of policies that are hostile to civil liberties. Through traditional lobbying techniques lobbying, advocacy, and advocacy the legislative program seeks to advance and protect our civil liberties.

The ACLU of Michigan’s legislative program works on a breadth of issues. To give you an idea of what we’ve been up to, we have provided a brief summary, our position on the issue and where the bill is currently situation in the legislative process.