The Interfaith Alliance, Inc.
A U.S. interfaith advocacy organization focused on religious freedom, church-state separation, pluralism, and democratic participation.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Interfaith Alliance is a United States-based interfaith advocacy organization founded in 1994 in response to the growing political influence of the religious right. It describes its mission in terms of protecting both faith and freedom: defending individual rights, maintaining appropriate boundaries between religion and government, strengthening democracy, opposing religious and political extremism, and building common ground among people from different religious and ethical traditions. The organization is not a consumer-product brand or a commercial company. Its public identity is built around advocacy, coalition building, education, communications, and mobilization of clergy, religious communities, civic organizations, and individual supporters. It recognizes that religion can make a constructive contribution to American public life, while warning that religious belief can be manipulated as a political instrument and that excessive entanglement between religious institutions and government can threaten both religious integrity and constitutional freedom. Interfaith Alliance has advocated against discrimination and persecution based on religion and has supported the rights of religious minorities and LGBTQ+ Americans. Its work has included criticism of Christian nationalism, opposition to efforts to place explicitly religious requirements in public institutions, and defense of the constitutional principle that government should not establish or privilege a particular faith. The organization has opposed state-level proposals requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, including measures considered in Louisiana and Texas. The organization works with the affiliated Interfaith Alliance Foundation from offices in Washington, D.C., and maintains a network of more than 30 chapters and affiliated organizations in states and cities across the country. Its activities have included voter-engagement programs, public statements, faith-community organizing, legal and administrative advocacy, educational resources, and campaigns addressing LGBTQ+ inclusion, immigration, censorship, and threats to pluralistic democracy. Recent initiatives have broadened its public-facing coalition work. In 2024, Interfaith Alliance and the American Library Association created the Banned Books, Banned Beliefs resource addressing censorship and religious freedom. In 2025, the organizations expanded their cooperation through Faith for Libraries, a campaign supporting libraries and librarians and opposing book bans. Other recent efforts have included the Vote Is Sacred bus tour before the 2024 presidential election, Faith for Pride and Recommit to Pride activities, opposition to Project Blitz, advocacy against weakening the Johnson Amendment, and campaigns addressing immigration enforcement and alleged government bias against Christianity. Rev. Paul Raushenbush became president and chief executive officer in July 2022, succeeding Rabbi Jack Moline, who had led the organization since 2015. Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, an earlier president, is identified as president emeritus. Interfaith Alliance remains an active national advocacy organization whose positioning combines interfaith cooperation, religious-liberty advocacy, LGBTQ+ inclusion, church-state separation, and pro-democracy organizing.
History
Interfaith Alliance emerged in 1994 as a national response to the expanding role of religious-right organizations in American politics. From its beginning, the organization sought to distinguish religious conviction from the use of government power to promote a particular religious agenda. Its central concern was that political movements invoking religion could weaken constitutional protections, marginalize religious minorities, and compromise the independence of both religious communities and public institutions. The organization's approach has combined interfaith cooperation with public-policy advocacy. Rather than treating religion as absent from civic life, Interfaith Alliance has argued that religious belief can contribute positively to American politics when it supports human dignity, pluralism, and democratic participation. At the same time, it has criticized the political manipulation of faith and what it regards as dangerous entanglement between religion and government. This position has shaped its work on church-state separation, religious-liberty protections, discrimination, and the role of faith communities in democratic life. Interfaith Alliance developed a national network of chapters and affiliated organizations, eventually extending to more than 30 state and local networks. It also operates alongside the Interfaith Alliance Foundation from Washington, D.C. The two organizations have supported education, public events, coalition activities, communications, and advocacy intended to bring people from different traditions together around shared civic principles. Leadership has included Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, who later became president emeritus, and Rabbi Jack Moline, who served as president beginning in 2015. In July 2022, Rev. Paul Raushenbush became president and chief executive officer. Under its recent leadership, the organization has continued to frame religious freedom as a universal principle rather than a privilege limited to a majority faith, while connecting that principle to LGBTQ+ rights, racial and religious pluralism, immigration, censorship, and democratic participation. The organization has opposed initiatives it believes privilege Christianity or introduce religious doctrine into public institutions. Its positions have included opposition to state laws requiring Ten Commandments displays in public schools, including proposals in Louisiana and Texas. It has also warned about the growth of white Christian nationalism and criticized political efforts that portray the federal government as systematically hostile to Christianity. Coalition campaigns have become an important part of Interfaith Alliance's public work. In 2019, it joined 42 other religious and allied organizations in opposing Project Blitz, a coordinated effort by Christian-right groups to influence state legislation. Before the 2024 presidential election, it organized the nonpartisan Vote Is Sacred bus tour across swing states to encourage voting and highlight faith communities' role in defending democracy. Its Faith for Pride activities sought to mobilize religious communities against extremist anti-LGBTQ+ harassment, while the 2025 Recommit to Pride campaign addressed attacks, discriminatory laws, and declining corporate participation in Pride events. Its work on censorship expanded through cooperation with the American Library Association. The partners created Banned Books, Banned Beliefs in 2024 and followed it in 2025 with Faith for Libraries, linking opposition to book bans with religious freedom and support for librarians. During the second Trump administration, the organization also participated in No Kings protest mobilization by training clergy and faith communities in nonviolent protest and connecting local religious leaders with organizers. In 2025, Interfaith Alliance pursued records concerning the federal Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias through Freedom of Information Act requests and litigation, while disputing the claim that Christians face pervasive persecution within the federal government. It also joined opposition to efforts to weaken the Johnson Amendment, which restricts candidate endorsements by tax-exempt organizations. Later in 2025, its Choose Love, Not ICE campaign presented opposition to immigration raids as a religious and human-rights concern. In 2026, the organization and allied faith groups challenged the composition and legal basis of the federal Religious Liberty Commission in court. These activities show the organization's continuing evolution from a campaign against religious-right political influence into a broad advocacy platform for pluralism, equal rights, and democratic accountability.
- 2025
Faith for Libraries campaign
[1]Interfaith Alliance and the American Library Association launched a campaign supporting libraries and librarians and opposing book censorship.
- 2024
Vote Is Sacred bus tour
[1]The organization organized a nonpartisan bus tour through U.S. swing states to encourage voter participation and promote faith-based democratic engagement.
- 2024
Banned Books, Banned Beliefs resource created
[1]Interfaith Alliance and the American Library Association produced an educational resource linking book censorship with religious freedom.
- 2022
Rev. Paul Raushenbush becomes president and CEO
[1]Rev. Paul Raushenbush was named president and chief executive officer, succeeding Rabbi Jack Moline.
- 2019
Coalition opposes Project Blitz
[1]Interfaith Alliance joined 42 religious and allied organizations in opposing Project Blitz and its effort to influence state legislation through Christian-right advocacy.
- 2015
Rabbi Jack Moline becomes president
[1]Rabbi Jack Moline succeeded Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy as president of Interfaith Alliance.
- 1994
Interfaith Alliance founded
[1]A national U.S. interfaith organization was established to respond to the political influence of the religious right and defend religious freedom, individual rights, and church-state separation.
Products and positioning
A pluralist, nonpartisan-to-partisan-advocacy-oriented faith organization that defends religious freedom, church-state separation, minority rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and democratic institutions while mobilizing diverse religious communities.
Civic engagement campaign · 2024
Vote Is Sacred
A nonpartisan voter-engagement initiative that presented voting as an important civic responsibility for people of faith. Its 2024 bus tour traveled through swing states, encouraging participation and highlighting the contribution of faith communities to democratic life.
Interfaith and LGBTQ+ advocacy campaign
Faith for Pride
A set of events and organizing activities intended to mobilize religious communities in support of LGBTQ+ people and to reduce the impact of extremist anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups.
Educational resource · 2024
Banned Books, Banned Beliefs
An educational resource produced with the American Library Association that connects challenges to books with questions of religious freedom, pluralism, and the ability of communities to access diverse ideas.
Library and censorship campaign · 2025
Faith for Libraries
A campaign supporting libraries and librarians while opposing book censorship and framing access to information as related to religious freedom and democratic pluralism.
Immigration advocacy campaign · 2025
Choose Love, Not ICE
A late-2025 national campaign opposing immigration-enforcement raids and presenting compassion, human dignity, and protection of vulnerable people as religious and civic values.
Marketing campaigns
- 2025Faith for Libraries
United States
Interfaith Alliance partnered with the American Library Association to oppose book censorship and support libraries and librarians.
Outcome. The campaign extended the partners' earlier work on the Banned Books, Banned Beliefs resource.
- 2025Recommit to Pride
United States
Interfaith Alliance and faith and LGBTQ+ organizations launched a campaign before Pride Month addressing anti-LGBTQ+ attacks, discriminatory legislation, extremist groups, and corporate withdrawals from Pride support.
- 2025Choose Love, Not ICE
United States
A national advertising and advocacy effort opposed immigration-enforcement raids by appealing to religious values and human dignity.
- 2024Vote Is Sacred
United States
A nonpartisan bus tour through swing states encouraged voter participation and emphasized the role of faith communities in pro-democracy activity.
Outcome. The campaign provided public programming and mobilization ahead of the presidential election.
- 2019Opposition to Project Blitz
United States
Interfaith Alliance joined 42 other religious and allied organizations in opposing Project Blitz, which sought to advance Christian-right legislative priorities in U.S. states.
Outcome. The coalition publicly challenged the initiative and its implications for religious pluralism and church-state separation.
Brand decisions
2026
Challenge to the Religious Liberty CommissionOtherBackground
Interfaith Alliance and allied faith groups argued that a commission with almost exclusively Christian membership did not represent the diversity of American religion and raised concerns under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
Action taken
The organizations filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
2025
Pursuit of records on the anti-Christian-bias task forceStrategyBackground
Interfaith Alliance disputed the premise that Christians face widespread persecution within the federal government and sought information about the administration's Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias.
Action taken
The organization and Democracy Forward submitted Freedom of Information Act requests and later sued for related records. Interfaith Alliance also coordinated a letter from religious leaders and scholars challenging the task force's rationale.
2025
Opposition to weakening the Johnson AmendmentStrategyBackground
Proposals to weaken the Johnson Amendment raised concerns about political endorsements by tax-exempt organizations and the potential politicization of houses of worship and charities.
Action taken
Interfaith Alliance joined more than 1,000 nonprofits and houses of worship in opposing changes to the rule.
Recent events
- 2026
Interfaith Alliance and allied faith groups sue over Religious Liberty Commission[1]
Lawsuit · Regulation
Interfaith Alliance and other faith organizations filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the commission's nearly exclusively Christian membership failed to represent religious diversity and violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
- 2025
Interfaith Alliance and American Library Association launch Faith for Libraries[1]
Campaign · Other
The organizations partnered on a campaign opposing book censorship and supporting libraries and librarians, following their earlier Banned Books, Banned Beliefs resource on censorship and religious freedom.
- 2025
Interfaith Alliance launches Choose Love, Not ICE campaign[1]
Campaign · Other
The campaign used national advertising and religious-value arguments to oppose immigration-enforcement raids and emphasize human dignity.
- 2025
Interfaith Alliance challenges federal anti-Christian-bias task force[1]
Lawsuit · Regulation · Other
Interfaith Alliance and Democracy Forward filed Freedom of Information Act requests and later sued for records concerning the administration's Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. The organization also helped circulate a letter disputing the task force's premise.
- 2025
Interfaith Alliance joins opposition to weakening the Johnson Amendment[1]
Regulation · Other
The organization joined more than 1,000 nonprofits and houses of worship opposing proposals that would weaken restrictions on political-candidate endorsements by tax-exempt organizations.
- 2025
Interfaith Alliance launches Recommit to Pride campaign[1]
Campaign · Other
Working with faith and LGBTQ+ organizations, Interfaith Alliance used the campaign to respond to anti-LGBTQ+ violence, legislation, political rhetoric, and corporate retreats from Pride support.
Sources2 sources
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