The U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantees that the government will not establish an official church and that freedom of religion is available to all citizens.

America today is grappling with many issues — women’s rights, abortion, education, LGBTQ rights, access to health care — which have religious implications.

A growing number of Christian Nationalists, including many elected officials, want to make this a Christian nation, regardless of the diversity of religious beliefs and non-belief among its citizens. The wall separating church and state is being battered.

Learn what is at stake and why it matters during a community presentation and discussion led by Marcia Avner and Jeff Pipes, members of Or Emet, the Minnesota Congregation for Humanistic Judaism.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at the Golden Valley Public Library, 830 Winnetka Ave. N. in Golden Valley.

Avner and Pipes will tackle questions relating to the proper role of religion in our democracy and will describe some of the current concerns being raised.

Avner is a politically active St. Paulite who has served as deputy mayor of the city and in various public and nonprofit roles. She has been a policy specialist for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and a press secretary for Sen. Paul Wellstone.

Pipes is a retired lawyer and winery owner who is currently vice president of Or Emet. He also is the Minnesota director of Jews for a Secular Democracy.

For more information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.