Hello Secular FAM,

Summer may be almost over, but there's still time to keep democracy hot! Become a Secular AZ member today and help us fight for your rights in Arizona.

Here are other ways to stand up for the First Amendment:

Join a 9/1/25 Workers Over Billionaires Labor Day Protest. Info here.
Protect students; become a Hall Monitor with Just Schools. Info here.
Help local business owners stand up against ICE. Info here.
Monitor or attend school board meetings in your district. Info here.
Protect your neighbors with Tucson Community Rapid Response. Info here.
Stand up for comprehensive sex ed and reproductive rights; attend an EducateUS event or training. Info here.
Learn how to be anti-racist; attend a Showing Up for Racial Justice event or training. Info here.
Attend a Working Families Party event or training. Info here.
Tell Mesa Airlines to stop partnering with CSI Aviation/Avelo Airlines to run ICE deportation flights. Info here.
Tell Avelo Airlines what you think about their deportation flight contract with ICE. Info here.
Attend a Rush Hour Resistance Rally; multiple Valley locations. Info here.
Help voters re-register; Wednesdays and Thursdays with SOSAZ. Info here.
Learn how to deep canvass to help public schools; Tuesdays and Thursdays with SOSAZ. Info here.
Distribute "Know Your Rights: Immigration and Deportation" cards. Request cards.
Protect our neighbors. Borderlands Resource Initiative and Puente offer trainings on how to help those targeted by ICE. More info, trainings and know your rights resources.

Lager with A Lawyer: Immigration

Join us on September 10 at 5:30p for the next session of Lager with a Lawyer, a series of informal talks with legal experts to answer your concerns and questions about what is happening with immigration law and attacks on the migrant community in Arizona.

Our guest panelists are:

Rekha Nair, Executive Director of the Phoenix Legal Action Network
Martín Quezada, attorney, school board member, and former Arizona state senator

We'll meet in a central Phoenix pub; the address will be released to registered guests two days before the event.

Click here to RSVP (required)

Dr. Matthew Boedy: Seven Mountains Mandate

Join us on August 29 at noon (AZ Time) as special guest Professor Matthew Boedy discusses his new book The Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy.

Matthew Boedy is a professor of rhetoric at the University of North Georgia. He has a special interest in the rhetoric of religion, specifically how we talk about evil. Dr. Boedy has been writing about Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA since 2018, when he was placed on their "Professor Watchlist."

Click here to register for this virtual presentation

The Bible vs ICE

Several church groups are suing the Department of Homeland Security for a policy change that allows ICE agents to conduct arrests at churches and other sensitive locations. The lawsuit, filed on July 28, 2025, alleges that ICE agents have been intimidating and detaining individuals in and around religious properties, causing a significant drop in church attendance and donations.

The plaintiffs argue that these actions violate the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which protect religious freedom and expressive association. They also claim the new policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it was enacted without explanation or public comment. The lawsuit seeks to halt the arrests and protect the ability of churches to provide their ministries and welcome all people.

Read Secular AZ Legal Director's analysis here

A Hate-Filled Curriculum, Coming to a Public School Near You

Hey there, Secular FAM. For months, we've been discussing the Christian organization Lifewise's push to evangelize Arizona public schools.

Now, this organization is bringing its hate-fueled, explicitly religious curriculum to the Deer Valley Unified School District (DVUSD), and we need you to share with the district why secular public schools are vital to our democracy.

The administrators of the DVUSD Lifewise Facebook page are promising that any rando can “sponsor” a student (at $30 a pop) and they will receive religious ~~indoctrination~~ instruction during school hours.

Read more and take action here

THIS WEEK IN SECULAR NEWS

When the grift is too much for Tom Horne: You'll be thrilled to learn that the Empowerment Scholarship Account/ESA grift is even worse than we thought. New records reveal that the Arizona Department of Education automatically approved over $124 million in ESA spending. While the auto-approve policy was implemented to ease a backlog of requests, it allowed for the purchase of non-educational items like diamond rings, lingerie, and household appliances. These purchases were later flagged for refunds, but the sheer volume of transactions highlights a significant delay in oversight, with a small compliance team struggling to keep up.

But perhaps the craziest part? State Treasurer Kimberly Yee doesn't seem to be bothered by the misuse of education funds, and her office is refusing to release updated records on how the ESA funds are being spent.. In fact, Yee has challenged Sup. Tom Horne due to their conflicting views on ESAs. While Yee advocates for no spending limits, advocating for a "free marketplace," even Horne has noted that some purchases appear to be lavish and fraudulent, such as a $16k cello. Read more.

A homegrown freedumb outbreak: Colorado City is the epicenter of a developing measles outbreak. The community's low childhood immunization rates, well below herd immunity levels, have facilitated the spread. The Mohave County Health Department is working to contain the outbreak, which is complicated by the low vaccination rates and the fact that many children are homeschooled, making traditional school-based contact tracing difficult. But don't worry, Road F*ing Kill Jr. will get right on it. Read more.

When God™ changes His™ infallible mind: Both the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormon/LDS Church have recently reversed long-standing doctrines. The Jehovah's Witnesses, who for decades discouraged higher education and warned members of its "spiritual dangers," now say college is a personal choice. The flip-flop understandably irks former members who sacrificed careers and financial stability for their faith. The Mormon Church also recently reversed a longstanding directive straight from the lordt (via elderly, wealthy, white male prophets, of course) requiring women to wear sleeves to keep those sinful shoulders covered. Apparently God™ is now OK with "allowing" women to wear tank tops, leaving members to wonder why the all-knowing, all-seeing being suddenly changed his mind. These shifts definitely don't highlight a long history of changing up "divine" mandates for convenience and political expediency. Read more.

If I believed in hell. James Dobson is dead. He leaves behind a legacy of violence toward children and pets, vile misogyny, generational harm to evangelical families, and helped plant the seeds of today's white Christian nationalist movement. Read more.

Judge just can't. In a refreshingly cheeky ruling, a federal judge has temporarily blocked a Texas law that would have required the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ruled that the law was an unconstitutional act of religious "coercion." The ruling applies to the 11 school districts named in the suit. Read more.

Community service: East Valley coffee shops Brick Road Coffee and Empower Coffee Roasters have raised over $19k to defend Mesa teacher and founder of AZTYPO Tami Staas. It'll be used to support her defamation lawsuit against online smear campaigns that accused her of "sexual grooming." The lawsuit has become a flashpoint in Arizona's political climate, and the shops plan to help other teachers in the future. Read more and donate here.