Colorado Unanimously Passes Position On The Threat of  Religious Nationalism in The United States

The League of Women Voters of Colorado stands for the separation of church and state and religious freedom founded upon individual conscience, free of social or political influence by any state or religious body;  these fundamental civil rights are threatened by religious nationalism.  

The First Amendment of the US Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The League of Women Voters of Colorado believes that the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment are cornerstones of our democracy. 

1. Request a presentation - Request a presentation for your league from The Colorado Religious Freedom Task Force to learn more about our position on religious nationalism.
   
   

2. Prepare for the survey - Prepare to respond in the ‘New Program Recommendations’ section 2026-27 Program Planning Survey from LWVUS. The LWVUS Planning Surveys help guide the discussion at the national meeting.  Planning Surveys are distributed in December and are due March 1st.
   
   Individual league members should respond by saying, “I support putting The Colorado Religious Nationalism position on the agenda for the LWVUS national meeting to be debated and voted upon.”

    

3. Pass a motion - We need to continue to gain support from leagues nationwide to join us in our effort to have our position debated and voted upon at The LWVUS meeting in June 2026.  Local leagues and state leagues can join our team by:

1. Voting to pass a motion that reads: LWVXXX supports putting the Colorado Religious Nationalism position on the agenda for the 2026 LWVUS National meeting to be debated and voted upon.
   
   

2. Pass a concurrence - Concurring with The Colorado position has a strong influence on whether LWVUS wishes to take up our position at the national meeting.  More information on local and state concurrence can be found below.

The Colorado Religious Freedom Task Force will continue to: 

1. Use our position to advocate for separation of church and state in state legislation during the 2025/2026 sessions.
   
   
2. Advocate on behalf of our religious nationalism position within Colorado by presenting to interested groups including churches and civic organizations.

Local and State Leagues:

LWV positions can be adopted through careful study, proposing a position, and voting by the local leagues and state boards.  The second way to adopt a position in your local league or state league is through concurrence. 

Concurrence is a process that requires local or state leagues to study the position of another state and vote to concur on the position, adopting the position into their local or state bylaws.

1. Local league concurrence -
   

   1. Check your bylaws, but most local leagues have a process to come to consensus on positions.  This process is often a simple majority vote after carefully vetting the position.

   
   
2. State league concurrence - 
   

   1. The process of state concurrence should be outlined in your state bylaws.  Careful vetting of the position is a part of the due diligence required for state league concurrence.

 

If your local or state league passes a motion or votes to concur with The Colorado League position on religious nationalism, please contact us to share your good news at religiousfreedom@lwvcolorado.org. 

All additional questions should be directed to The Colorado Religious Freedom Task Force Chair, Jeffrey Oster who can be reached at religiousfreedom@lwvcolorado.org.