Americans for Religious Liberty (ARL) and the American Humanist Association are joining forces! The boards of both organizations have approved a plan whereby ARL becomes part of the AHA family.

ARL was founded in 1981 by Edward L. Ericson, former president of the American Ethical Union, and Sherwin T. Wine, founder of the Humanistic Judaism movement. Edd Doerr, currently president of the AHA, has been executive director of ARL since 1982. ARL's mission is to defend freedom of religion and separation of church and state through research, publishing, litigation, and public speaking. This mission has meant strong support for religious neutrality in public education, defense of reproductive rights, and opposition to vouchers and other attempts to divert public funds to religious institutions.

ARL has published over 25 books, presented amicus curiae briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts, engaged in direct litigations, and presented testimony to congressional committees. ARL also publishes the quarterly newsletter Voice of Reason. Both Edd and ARL Associate Director Al Menendez have spoken widely around the United States and appeared on radio and television and in the print media.

ARL will now be housed in the new AHA headquarters, the Mary and Lloyd Morain Humanist Center in Washington, D.C. "Both the ARL and the AHA will benefit from this new partnership," said Edd. "ARL is not a Humanist organization itself but, rather, a broad-based organization that includes Humanists, Unitarian Universalists, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and others who recognize the importance of the constitutional principle of separation of church and state."