Interesting Facts About AU
by Jim Day

   Rudy Pulido, Pastor of Southwest Baptist Church in St. Louis and long
time President of the St. Louis Chapter of AU recently received AU's
prestigious "Religious Liberty Award" for being "...the voice of
religious liberty in Missouri." The award was presented by AU Trustee Al
Walker, former head of the San Francisco Chapter of the American
Humanist Association.

   The St. Louis Chapter of AU operates out of Southwest Baptist Church
in St. Louis.

   James F. Hornback has served on the board of the St. Louis Chapter of
AU since the 1950's. Mr. Hornback was formerly the Secretary of the
Board of Directors of the American Humanist Association, Co-Founder of
the International Humanist and Ethical Union and a signer of the
_Humanist Manifesto II_.

   Ten signers of the _Humanist Manifesto II_ have served on the executive
staff or the governing board of AU and according to AU, the St. Louis
Chapter was founded as the result of the work of Humanist Paul
Blanshard. (See Chart #5)

   Bob Terry, Editor of the _Word and Way_, the official journal of the
Missouri Baptist Convention with a weekly circulation of over 50,000 has
served on the governing board of the national AU organization and
continues to use his position as editor to promote AU among Missouri
Baptists.

   According to one inside AU source: "AU had more members per capita in
Missouri than anywhere else."

   Bunnie Riedel has been hired by American's United as their new
Director of Chapters and Faith Groups. She was formerly the Executive
Director of the Southern California Religious Coalition for Abortion
Rights (RCAR).

   AU's Executive Director, Reverend/Attorney Barry Lynn, was formerly
the legislative counsel for the Washington office of the ACLU. Mr. Lynn
recently reaffirmed his (and the ACLU's) position on national television
that child pornography should be protected by the First Amendment.

   G. Robert Boston, Associate Editor of AU's journal, _Church and
State_, is a self-proclaimed secular Humanist who formerly served on the
board of directors of the Washington Area Secular Humanist (WASH)
organization.

   The current legal counsel for AU Steven K. Green, was formally a
board member of the Vermont ACLU.

   AU's new Editorial Assistant, Susan Hansen, was a staff member of the
Washington office of the ACLU.

   The current legislative council for the ACLU, Robert Peck, and the
ACLU's legal director, Steven Pershing, both serve on the governing
board of AU.

   For 16 years, Edd Doerr served on the executive staff of AU. Doerr
was a signer of the _Humanist Manifesto II_ and later became Chairman of
the Board of the American Humanist Association. Most of Doerr's 16 years
at AU were spent serving as editor of AU's journal, _Church and State_.

   AU's Executive Director, Barry Lynn, and numerous other AU board
members oppose tax exempt status for churches as a matter of "religious
freedom."

   AU was a leader in efforts to eliminate what they termed "antiquated
laws restricting abortion" during the 1960s.

   AU supported _Roe v. Wade_ and by 1978 had filed a friend-of-the-court
brief arguing that to deny tax payer dollars for the funding of
"elective abortions" was to violate both the Free Exercise and No
Establishment clauses of the First Amendment.

   AU filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the pro-abortion
position in the _Missouri - Webster v. Reproductive Health Services_ case
which gave the abortion issue back to the states.

   Attorney Sarah Weddington, an AU Trustee, argued the pro-abortion
position in the _Roe v. Wade_ decision.

From: St. Louis MetroVoice, May 1995, Vol. 5, No. 5.