Faith leaders from diverse religions have sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to pass the Fair Elections Now Act in response to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United.

Download the letter, or read it below.

As of February 3, 2010

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
235 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Re: Citizens United and the Fair Elections Now Act (H.R. 1826 & S. 752)

Dear Speaker Pelosi:

As religious leaders, we believe in equality and justice for all people and in building the common good. In a democracy, these ideals cannot be realized, however, if the rules governing the electoral process actively or passively favor one segment of the population over another. 

We believe existing campaign finance laws already permit the unfair influence of persons and groups with extraordinary wealth over the political process by providing them with special access to elected officials. This special access ultimately results in legislative outcomes that reflect the needs of those with the financial means to make political contributions, and not the needs of the poor or disenfranchised.

The recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission will surely amplify the voices of the wealthy campaign donors and bring new powerful players to fore at the expense of everyone else.

We believe Congress must address both the Citizens United decision and the problems of the current campaign finance system by passing the Fair Elections Now Act (S. 752 and H.R. 1826). This measure would empower average people to participate in politics with small donations, and would return the gaze of our elected officials solely to the needs of their districts and the nation as a whole, rather than the interests of those with significant financial resources for campaigns. 

We pledge our support and we pledge to work among members of our churches, synagogues, mosques, gurdwaras (a Sikh place of worship) and temples throughout the nation to encourage support for your efforts to bring about reform. As you know, the Fair Elections Now Act was sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) in the Senate and House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson (D-Conn.) and Congressman Walter Jones (R-N.C.) in the House. In the House, the legislation has attracted nearly 130 cosponsors. With a strong Fair Elections system in place, candidates will spend less time courting the narrow slice of Americans who currently fund campaigns and engage a larger, more active citizenry.

We hope in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision you will support the Fair Elections Now Act so that Congress can act effectively on the people’s business.

Signed,

The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, PhD, General Secretary
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
New York, NY

Bishop Gabino Zavala, Bishop President
Pax Christi USA: National Catholic Peace Movement
Los Angeles, CA
 
Archbishop Vicken Aykazian
Archbishop of the Washington Area
Recent Past President of the National Council of Churches (2008-2009)
The Armenian Apostolic Church
Washington, DC
 
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director
Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances
Islamic Society of North America
Washington, DC

Rabbi Michael Lerner
Editor, Tikkun
Rabbi, Beyt Tikkun Synagogue,
Chair, The Network of Spiritual Progressives
San Francisco, CA

Jim Winkler, General Secretary
United Methodist General Board of Church & Society
Washington, DC

Mr. Manmohan Singh, Secretary General
World Sikh Council
America Region
 
Dr. Ronald J. Sider, President
Evangelicals for Social Action
Wynnewood, PA

Rabbi Dr. Marc Gopin
James H. Laue Professor,
Director of the Center for World Religions,
Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution,
George Mason University
Arlington, VA

The Rev. Dr. Syngman Rhee
Former Moderator, Presbyterian Church, USA
Former President, National Council of the Churches, USA
Professor, Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, Va.
Richmond, Va.

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Director,
The Shalom Center
Philadelphia, PA

The Rev. Dr. James Forbes
Former Senior Pastor,
Riverside Church in New York
New York, NY

The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy
President, Interfaith Alliance
Washington, D.C.

The Rev. Peter Morales, President
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Boston, MA
 
Marie Dennis, Director,
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Washington, DC
 
Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary
American Friends Service Committee
Washington, DC

Dr. Joseph C. Hough, Jr., President Emeritus
Union Theological Seminary
Claremont, CA
 
The Rev. Dr. Susan Thistlethwaite,
Professor of Theology,
Chicago Theological Seminary
Chicago, IL

The Rev. Dr. Donald Messer, President emeritus
Iliff School of Theology
Denver, CA

Rabbi Dr. Marc Gopin
James H. Laue Professor,
Director of the Center for World Religions,
Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution,
George Mason University
Arlington VA

Dr. Walter Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus
Columbia Theological Seminary
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Cincinnati, OH

The Rev. Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, Director,
Faith Voices for the Common Good
Visiting Professor Starr King School for the Ministry,
Former Fellow, Harvard Divinity School Center for Values in Public Life
Graduate Theological Union,
Berkeley CA

The Rev. J. Philip Wogaman,
Emeritus Professor of Christian Ethics,
Wesley Theological Seminary
United Methodist Church
Washington, DC

The Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr.
President and CEO
Hip Hop Caucus

Congressman Paul Findley (Republican -- Illinois)
Author and Interfaith Leader
Cofounder of the Council for the National Interest,
Jacksonville, Illinois
 
The Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar
President of Common Cause
Former Member of Congress (Democrat – Pennsylvania)
Former General Secretary of the National Council of Churches
Former President of the Claremont School of Theology
United Methodist Minister
Burke, VA and Washington, DC
 
The Rev. Dr. Thomas J. Gallen
United Methodist Minister
Executive Director, PAS, Inc.
Plymouth, Massachusetts
 
Constance Brookes, Executive Director
Friends Fiduciary Corporation
Philadelphia, PA
 
The Rev. Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree, Conference Minister,
Connecticut Conference, United Church of Christ,
Hartford, Connecticut

The Rev. Dr. Paul Alexander, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice
Professor, Theology and Ethics
Azusa Pacific University
Azusa, CA
 
The Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Minister of Communications and Technology
Connecticut Conference, United Church of Christ
Hartford, Connecticut
 
The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, Conference Minister and President
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
Framingham, MA

The Rev. Ed Bacon, Rector,
All Saints Church,
Pasadena, CA
 
The Rev. Brian C. Baeder, Pastor
Church of the Good Shepherd,
Congregational United Church of Christ
West Woodstock, Connecticut

The Rev. Dr. J. Martin Bailey and
The Rev. Dr. Betty Jane Bailey
United Church of Christ
West Orange, NJ

The Rev. Stan Bain, Retired Pastor
United Methodist Church
Community Organizer,
Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE),
an affiliate of Gamaliel Foundation.
Kailua, HI

 

The Rev. Dr. Bonnie Bardot,
United Church of Christ
Southbury, Connecticut

Rabbi Lewis M. Barth
Professor Emeritus, Hebrew Union College
Jewish Institute of Religion,
Los Angeles, CA 

The Rev. Jonathan Barton, General Minister
Virginia Council of Churches
Richmond, VA

Rabbi David Dunn Bauer
Rabbi, Jewish Community of Amherst
Amherst, MA

Rabbi Leonard I. Beerman,
Los Angeles

Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, Executive Director,
HaMifgash: A Jewish Conversation on Peace

The Rev. Ken Bensen,
United Methodist Minister, Retired
Habitat for Humanity of Michigan
Lansing, Michigan

Rabbi Marjorie Berman
Sabbatical Rabbi
Society Hill Synagogue
Philadelphia, PA

The Rev Dr Malcolm C. Bertram, Retired Pastor
United Church of Christ
South Wellfleet, MA

The Rev. Lynn Carman Bodden
United Church of Christ
Interim Pastor, Winston-Salem Friends Meeting

Rabbi Vanessa Grajwer Boettiger
Jewish (Reconstructionist movement)
North Bennington, VT

Dr. Alan Brill
Cooperman/Ross Endowed Professor in honor of Sister Rose Thering
Graduate Department of Jewish-Christian Studies,
Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ

The Rev Jerene Broadway, M Div
The Alliance of Baptists
Black Mountain, NC

The Rev. Terry L. Brooks,
Ordained Baptist Minister (affiliated with CBF and Alliance of Baptists)
Mint Hill, NC

The Rev. Gary P. Brown, Retired Clergy
United Church of Christ
Hammondsport NY
 
Cantor Paul A. Buch
Temple Beth Israel
3033 N. Towne Ave.
Pomona, CA

The Rev. Susan Burgess-Parrish, Executive Director
Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, TN
Clergy-At-Large working in Social Services, Alliance of Baptists
Oak Ridge, TN

The Rev. Grace Pritchard Burson, Curate
Grace Episcopal Church
Manchester, NH

The Rev. Dr. Daniel L. Buttry,
Global Consultant for Peace and Justice,
International Ministries,
American Baptist Churches USA
Hamtramck, MI

The Rev. Sharon A. Buttry, LMSW
12101 Joseph Campau
Hamtramck, MI

Rev. Patricia Cadle, Pastor
United Church of Christ
Southern Conference, Western Association

The Rev. Dr. Robert Carpenter, Pastor
First Baptist Church
Manchester Center, VT

The Rev. Virginia Child, Retired Pastor
United Church of Christ,
East Providence, RI

The Rev. Kyle Childress
Austin Heights Baptist Church
Nacogdoches, Texas
 
The Rev. Leonard G. Clough
West Hartford, CT

Rabbi Howard A. Cohen
Board Member of Ohalah,
The Association of Rabbis and Cantors for Jewish Renewal
 Bennington, Vermont

The Rev. Ann Marie Coleman,
United Church of Christ and DOC clergy

The Rev. Donald Coleman,
United Church of Christ, DOC and Presbyterian Clergy

The Rev Stephen Copley
United Methodist Minister
Chair, Let Justice Roll Coalition
Little Rock, Arkansas
 
The Rev. Marcia Lynn Cox, Pastor,
United Church of Christ
Avon, CT

The Rev. Susannah Crolius, Pastor,
Webster United Church of Christ,
Dexter, MI

The Rev. Noelle Damico,
United Church of Christ,
East Setauket, NY

Dr. Tammerie Day, Member
Hillsborough United Church of Christ
Hillsborough, NC
The Rev. Richard Deats. United Methodist
Ex. Dir.(retired), Fellowship of Reconciliation
 
The Rev. Peter Degree,
United Church of Christ
Deep River, CT

The Rev. Jordan E. Dickinson, Retired Pastor
United Church of Christ
Dorset, VT

Dr. Carolyn Dipboye, Co-Pastor
and Dr. Larry K. Dipboye, Co-pastor
Grace Covenant Church of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge, TN

The Rev. Lynn Litchfield Divers, Pastor
Alliance of Baptist
Palmyra, VA

The Rev. Brian Dixon, Pastor
New Ground Community
An Alliance of Baptist congregation
San Francisco, CA

Roberta Ann Dunbar, Lay Member
United Church of Christ
Chapel Hill, NC

Rabbi Dan Ehrenkrantz, President,
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Wyncote, Pennsylvania

The Rev. Dr. Robert A. Evans 
President of Plowshares Institute
Simsbury, Connecticut
 
The Rev. John Fanestil
United Methodist Church
San Diego, California

Rabbi Brian Field
Denver, CO

The Rev. Dr. Emmett O. Floyd, Interim Conference Minister,
Southern Conference , United Church of Christ
 
Joann Yoon Fukumoto
Peace with Justice Educator
California Pacific Conference
United Methodist Church
Honolulu, HI

The Rev. Karen E. Gale
Edgewood United Church of Christ
East Lansing, MI

Rabbi Jonathan H. Gerard
Or Chadash,
Flemington, NJ

Janet Thebaud Gillmar
Honolulu, HI  96816

The Rev. Dr. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, J.D., M.Div., President
Girton-Mitchell Associates, LLC
Washington, DC

Maggid Andrew Gold
Spiritual Leader of Congregation Kol HaLev
Santa Fe, NM

Rabbi Jerrold Goldstein, Secretary,
Sandra Caplan Community Bet Din of Southern California

Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb
Community of Living Traditions
Stony Point Center,
Stony Point, NY

The Rev. Ms. Dale M. Greene, Retired Pastor
The United Church Of Christ
Fairfield, CT

The Rev. Dr. Paul C. Hayes
Noank Baptist Church
Noank, CT

The Rev. Amanda Hendler-Voss, Co-Pastor,
Land of the Sky United Church of Christ
Asheville, NC

Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann,
Kol Tzedek Synagogue
Philadelphia, PA 19104

The Rev. Russell B. Hilliard, Sr.
Ordained Baptist Minister

The Rev. Dr. E. Glenn Hinson
Senior Professor of Church History and Spirituality,
Baptist Seminary of Kentucky
Louisville, KY

Rabbi Linda Holtzman
Mishkan Shalom
Philadelphia, PA

The Rev. Katherine Homiak
Baptist Church
Kansas City, MO
The Rev. Diane K. Hooge
Judson Memorial Baptist Church
Minneapolis, MN

The Rev. Dr. H. James Hopkins
American Baptist Churches U.S.A./Alliance of Baptists
Pastor, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church
Oakland, CA

The Rev. Alan Hoskins, Retired Pastor
The Alliance of Baptists
Bardstown KY

Rev. Dr. Charles H. Howell, Retired Minister
Presbyterian Church USA
Greensboro, NC

**The Rev. Jerrod H. Hugenot,
American Baptist minister,
Bennington, Vermont

The Rev. Horace H. Hunt (retired)
50 Wagon Trail
Black Mountain, NC

 

Eve Ilsen, Rabbinic Pastor 
Jewish Renewal community 
Boulder, CO.

Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs
Founder of Progressive Faith Foundation
Los Angeles, CA

Bishop Alfred Johnson, Lead Pastor,
Church of the Village:
A Progressive United Methodist Community
New York, New York, 10011

Mark C Johnson,
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Nyack, New York

Rabbi Susan Kanoff
Chaplain, Abramson Hospice
Wynnewood, PA 

The Rev. John H. P. Klueter, Retired Pastor
Evangelical United Church of Christ
Highland, IL

Rabbi Douglas E. Krantz
Congregation B'nai Yisrael
2 Banksville Road Box 7
Armonk, New York

The Reverend Kurt Kirchoff
United Church of Christ
Haslett, Michigan
 
The Rev. Peter Laarman, Executive Director
Progressive Christians Uniting
Los Angeles, CA

The Rev. Rachel Lackey,
The Rev. Jim Strickland
The Sabbath House
Bryson City, NC

The Rev Suzanne H Lamport.
United Church of Christ
Carrboro, NC

Rabbi Alan LaPayover
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Philadelphia, PA

Miryam Levy, Rabbinic Pastor,
Affiliated with Jewish Renewal
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Rabbi Mordechai Liebling,
Philadelphia, PA

Rabbi Ellen Lippmann,
Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives,
Brooklyn, NY

The Rev. Dr. Theodore W. Loder, Retired
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church
Philadelphia, PA

The Rev. Robin Long, Pastor
Suttons Bay Congregational Church
Suttons Bay, MI

The Rev. Denise Cumbee Long, Interim Pastor,
Elon Community United Church of Christ
Elon, North Carolina

Dr. Stanley G. Lott, Th. D., Ed. D., President Emeritus,
Chowan University,
Murfreesboro, North Carolina

Sister Marie Lucey, OSF, Associate Director,
Associate Director for Social Mission
Leadership Conference of Women Religious 

Rabbi Paula Marcus
Santa Cruz, California

The Rev. Marjorie Lain Marsh,
Honorably retired member of the Presbytery of
St. Augustine, Florida

The Rev. Jean M. McCusker, Pastor
United Church of Christ
Central Village, CT
The Rev. LeDayne McLeese Polaski
Program Coordinator
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America

The Rev. Kathleen McTigue, Senior Minister,
Unitarian Society of New Haven
New Haven, CT

Rabbi Tamara Miller
Center for Integrative Medicine, Spiritual counselor
Washington, DC
The Rev. Delbert K. Miller
St. Peter United Church of Christ
Granite City, Illinois

The Rev. George Miller
The United Church of Christ
Wyoming, MI

The Rev. Dr. Randle R. (Rick) Mixon, Ph.D., Pastor
First Baptist Church
Palo Alto CA

The Rev. Ruth Mooney
American Baptist Churches, USA
St. Paul, MN

The Rev. Dr. Tim Moore, pastor
Sardis Baptist Church
Charlotte, North Carolina
 
The Rev. Dr. Theodore H. Mosebach, Pastor
First Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
East Hartford, Connecticut

The Rev. Dr. Stephen Charles Mott, Ph.D., Retired Clergy
United Methodist Church, The New England Conference
Beverly MA

Robert N. Nash, Jr.
Global Missions Coordinator
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
Atlanta, Georgia
 
The Rev. John A. Nelson, Pastor and Teacher
Niantic Community Church
Niantic, CT

The Rev. Dr. Richard L Peerey
Pastor Beaver Dam Baptist Church
Franklin, VA 

Rabbi Victor Reinstein
Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue
Jamaica Plain, MA

The Reverend Dr Michael S. Penn-Strah
South Central Regional Minister, Connecticut Conference
United Church of Christ
Woodbridge, CT

The Rev. Dr. Nancy E. Petty, Pastor,
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church
Raleigh, North Carolina

The Rev. Mark H. Pickett, Pastor
First Christian Church,
Burlington, NC

The Rev. Margot Trusty Pickett
Southern Conference Staff, United Church of Christ
Burlington NC
 
The Rev. Dr. John F. Piper, Jr., Retired Pastor,
United Methodist,
Central Pennsylvania Conference
Williamsport, PA

The Rev. Dr. George V. Pixley,
Ph.D., Retired Professor of Biblical Studies at the Baptist Seminary in Managua
Seminario Teológico Bautista de Nicaragua

The Rev. Jeanette Quick,
Baptist Minister Serving as Director of Christian Education,
First Presbyterian Church,
High Point, NC

 

The Rev. Dr. David W. Randle, President & CEO
United Church of Christ
WHALE Center
Florida

Sr Claire Regan
Office of Peace and Justice
Sisters of Charity of New York
Bronx, NY

The Rev. Maxim K. Rice, Deacon
United Methodist Church
Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Rev. David F. Riebeling, Pastor
United Church of Christ
Fults, Illinois

The Rev. Barbara Grace Ripple, Retired Pastor, 
United Methodist Church
Hawaii District Superintendent 1998-2004
Honolulu, HI

David A. Robinson, Executive Director
Pax Christi USA: National Catholic Peace Movement
Washington, DC

The Rev Dr. Tarris Rosell, PhD, DMin
Professor of Pastoral Theology--Ethics & Ministry Praxis
Rosemary Flanigan Chair at the Center for Practical Bioethics
Central Baptist Theological Seminary
Shawnee, Kansas

The Rev. Joan M. Sabatino
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Indiana, PA
Indiana, PA

The Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper, Senior Minister
Judson Memorial Church (UCC and ABC of USA),
New York, NY

The Rev. Terry Schmitt, Senior Minister
Center Congregational Church, UCC
Manchester, CT

The Rev. Susan Scott, Pastor
Union Church of Stow,
United Church of Christ
Stow, VT

The Rev. Ken Sehested, Co-pastor
Circle of Mercy Congregation
Asheville, NC

Rabbi Gerald Serotta
Shirat HaNefesh Congregation
Silver Spring, MD.

The Rev. Walter B. Shurden, Baptist Minister at Large
Mercer University
Atlanta, GA

The Rev. Mark Siler, Prison Chaplain,
Alliance of Baptists
Marion, NC

The Rev Kelly M. Sisson, Pastor
Glade Church
Blacksburg, VA

Ramona C. Shawver, Commissioned Missionary
American Baptist Churches USA

The Rev. Dr. Christopher R. Smith
East Lansing, Michigan

The Rev. Laura Spangler
Pastor, Lloyd Presbyterian Church
Winston Salem, NC

The Rev. Jim Standiford, Pastor
First United Methodist Church of San Diego
San Diego, CA

Dr. Glen H. Stassen
Fuller Theological Seminary
Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Chrisian Ethics,
Pasadena, CA

 

Rabbi Jacob Staub
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Religious Affiliation: Reconstructionist Judaism

Jean Stokan, Director, Justice Team
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Washington, DC
 
 The Rev. Rudolf J. Stohler
United Church of Christ
Fargo, ND

The Rev. Laurie Sweigard, Pastor
Central Baptist Church,
Wayne, PA

The Rev. James L. Swenson,
United Methodist Church,
Prescott, Arizona
 
The Rev. David Tatgenhorst, Pastor
St. Luke United Methodist Church,
Bryn Mawr, PA

** Rabbi David A. Teutsch
Wiener Professor of Contemporary Jewish Civilization
Director, Center for Jewish Ethics
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Wyncote, PA

Rabbi David Leipziger Teva
Director of Religious and Spiritual Life
University Jewish Chaplain
Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT

Dr. William M. Tillman, Jr.
Baptist
T. B. Maston Professor of Christian Ethics
Hardin-Simmons University
Abilene, Texas

The Rev. Maren Tirabassi, Pastor
Union Congregation
United Church of Christ
Madbury, New Hampshire
The Rev. Dr. J. Earl Thompson, Jr.
Guiles Professor of Pastoral Psychology and Family Studies Emeritus
Andover Newton Theological School
Newton Centre, Massachusetts

The Rev. Thomas Uphaus,
United Church of Christ
La Crescent, MN

The Rev. Dr. F. Gates Vrooman, D.Min.
United Methodist Church,
Northern Illinois Conference,
Hillsborough, NC

The Rev. Myles H. Walburn, Pastor
United Church of Christ
Chapel Hill, NC

The Rev. Patricia Washburn, MAR, Chaplain
Good Samaritan Village
Recently retired Pastoral Associate
St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church
Estes Park, Colorado

Rabbi Brian Walt, Founder
Ta'Anit Tzedek Jewish Fast for Gaza
West Tisbury, Massachusetts

Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg,
Outreach Director, Institute for Jewish Spirituality,
Amherst, Massachusetts

Rabbi Shohama Wiener,
Jewish Renewal,
New Rochelle, NY

Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg,
Outreach Director, Institute for Jewish Spirituality,
Amherst, Massachusetts

Dr. James E. Will, Professor Emeritus,
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Professor in Residence, Kingswood UMC,
Buffalo Grove, IL

 

The Rev. Douglas E. Wingeier, Ph.D.
Emeritus professor of practical theology
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Evanston, Illinois

Rev. Jean M. Winther, Pastor
Breckenridge First Congregational
United Church of Christ
Breckenridge, Michigan

The Rev. Robert W. Wright,
Connecticut Conference,
United Church of Christ,
Hartford, Connecticut

The Rev. Dr. C. Garland Young
United Methodist Clergy
Chair of Lake Junaluska Peace Conferences
Lake Junaluska, NC
 
The Rev. Judith Youngman,
Interim Conference Minister,
Michigan Conference United Church of Christ

Rabbi Adam Zeff
Germantown Jewish Centre
Philadelphia, PA 

 

 

(**) For identification purposes only.