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All Americans have the right to practice the religion of their choice or no religion at all, free from interference by or endorsement of the government. The ACLU works to safeguard individuals’ rights to worship as they choose and to maintain the separation of religion and government as an essential bulwark of religious freedom.

United States Mission v. City of Puyallup

The ACLU of Washington filed a lawsuit against the City of Puyallup to uphold the religious freedom and free speech rights of United States Mission. The suit seeks an injunction against enforcement of a solicitation ordinance that prevents the religious organization from carrying out its mission of preaching the "Social Gospel." The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.
 
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Puyallup Amends Ordinance to Protect Religious Freedom

September 4, 2009
In response to an ACLU of Washington lawsuit, the Puyallup City Council amended its solicitation ordinance to protect the rights of a religious organization to spread its message. The ACLU had filed suit on behalf of United States Mission challenging city restrictions that prevented the organization from carrying out its mission of preaching the "Social Gospel."
 

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Truth v. Kent School District

The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a student Bible club raised valid claims that a Washington state school district violated the federal Equal Access Act (EAA) and Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment by refusing to exempt the club from the district’s non-discrimination policy. The ACLU had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a case supporting a school district’s withholding official sponsorship and funding of student clubs that discriminate on the basis of religion, e.g., by requiring students to take a religious test to become voting members.
 
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Egbert v. Nicholson (Religious Symbols on Headstones)

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of two churches and three individuals to compel the government to approve the long-pending application for use of a Wiccan symbol on the headstones of service members.
 
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Attorney General's Opinion on Religious Exemptions to Ban on Smoking

An AG opinion on the limits of I-901, in regards to ceremonial smoke or smoking.
 
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Islamic Center Allowed in Mountlake Terrace

October 7, 2005
The Islamic Education Center of Seattle (IECS) will be able to use a residential property to gather and worship, following arguments by the ACLU that the city did not have a compelling interest to deny the group a permit.
 
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ACLU Welcomes Supreme Court Decision Not to Force States to Fund Inherently Religious Education

February 25, 2004
The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court to let states decide for themselves whether to grant scholarship money to theology students, which the ACLU said undermines one of the core legal arguments in the President’s so-called "faith-based initiative."
 

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Locke v. Davey (Public Funding of Religious Education)

This case asks whether Washington violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment when it followed a state law forbidding the use of public funds for theology degrees, as applied to an applicant studying to become a Protestant minister.
 
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ACLU Asks Court to Uphold Ruling against Vouchers for Religious Colleges

June 12, 2001
The American Civil Liberties Union is asking the Washington Supreme Court today to uphold a 1999 ruling by the Thurston County Superior Court which said that state-funding of students to attend religion-affiliated schools violates the Washington Constitution.
 
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Burlington: District Upholds Evolution

January 1, 2001
For several years the ACLU has worked with parents to keep creationist teachings out of the science classroom in Burlington-Edison High School. Responding to advocacy by the ACLU and concerned parents, the school board in 1998 backed a decision by the superintendent that the science teacher could no longer teach creationism in the guise of "intelligent design theory" in biology lessons.
 
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