Huffman Announces Amanda Tyler, Head of Christians Against Christian Nationalism, as State of the Union Guest

March 05, 2024

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02) announced that Amanda Tyler, lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism, would be accompanying him as a guest to President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech to Congress on March 7, 2024.

“The political climate surrounding this year’s State of the Union Address is unlike anything we’ve experienced: an extreme MAGA majority in Congress sowing chaos, a Supreme Court hell-bent on dismantling basic rights, and Christian Nationalists seeking their “Seven Mountains” domination of every level of government, from local school boards to state courts like Alabama’s, all the way to the halls of Congress,” said Rep. Huffman. “Despite the serious threat the current Speaker of the House poses to true religious freedom, most Americans are unfamiliar with the dangerous agenda of Christian nationalism, and don’t realize how close we are to losing church-state separation and democracy as we know it. Amanda Tyler gets it. She has been working with me for years to shed light on the rise of Christian Nationalism. Our partnership has been a true testament to the unanimity between religious and nonreligious advocates in the fight to protect church-state separation and democracy. I’m honored to have her as my guest.”

“I’m honored to attend the State of the Union Address as the guest of Congressman Huffman,” said Amanda Tyler. “The Freethought Caucus is a strong ally in our work advancing faith freedom for all. The President, members of Congress, the Cabinet, the Supreme Court, and everyone else in attendance has the responsibility to defend the U.S. Constitution and the institutional separation of church and state. I hope Congressman Huffman and I can model for the nation the type of religious and nonreligious solidarity sorely needed in our society today.”

Rep. Huffman is the only openly non-religious member of Congress and co-founder of the Congressional Freethought Caucus (CFC). He has an extensive record of work on separation of church and state, protecting consumers from religious scams, calling out Christian Nationalism in the January 6 insurrection and in the new Speaker’s office, and warned the Biden administration of Christian Nationalism threats leading up to Jan 6. Rep. Huffman is the only member of Congress to address Christian Nationalism on the House Floor, which he did in 2022.

Amanda Tyler is the only person to testify before Congress about the threat of Christian Nationalism, which she did in 2022 and again in 2023. Tyler was named Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) in 2016 and she regularly preaches in Baptist churches, speaks at denominational gatherings, and leads sessions on college campuses and with community groups of all sizes. Tyler has also served as an expert panelist for briefings held by the CFC, including one about the role of White Christian Nationalism during the January 6 insurrection. In October 2023, she highlighted the domestic threat of Christian Nationalism while testifying at a congressional hearing on global religious freedom. In January, Tyler co-hosted a screening of the new film “God & Country” at the U.S. Capitol in conjunction with Rep. Huffman.