The ACLU of Iowa supports the First Amendment right to freely exercise religious beliefs without government restraint and to make sure the government does not endorse religion.
Spoke out when the Governor issued a proclamation for Christian prayer
When Gov. Reynold's issued a formal proclamation for Iowans to "unite in prayer" to Jesus during the pandemic, we spoke out about a government official endorsing Christianity.
Resisted immigration policies that discriminate against Muslims
The ACLU of Iowa joined with other ACLU affiliates in the Midwest to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, demanding government documents about the on-the-ground implementation in Chicago's O'Hare airport of then-President Trump’s Muslim bans.
Educating and speaking out when public schools hold student assemblies with religious messages
After yet another report of a school district that held a student assembly with overtly religious messages, including homophobic content, we sent out an advisory to school officials on how to avoid such assemblies and to keep government-run schools free of religious proselytizing.
Fighting so-called "religious freedom" bills
We’ve lobbied against misnamed “religious freedom” bills that would essentially allow public businesses and facilities to discriminate against anyone—people of color, gay people, unmarried couples—because their religion supports it.
Speaking out against Gov. Branstad formally endorsing Christian prayer
Former Gov. Branstad issued a formal proclamation instructing Iowans to pray and read their Bibles as the one true word. That was a clear violation of the separation of church and state, with our state's top official endorsing a particular religion. We spoke out against his action.
Stopping public school students from being forced to sing The Lord's Prayer
In 2002, we successfully represented two Dunlap, Iowa, high school students who did not believe in God but were required to sing The Lord's Prayer. It was part of a long history of our representing Iowa students who opposed prayers at graduation and other official school events. Find out more.
Defending the right of students to wear anti-abortion t-shirts
We defended the First Amendment Rights of two Des Moines High school students who were wearing anti-abortion T-shirts at their school. Find out more.
