Republican Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders took aim at the nonprofit, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), after she was asked to erase a cross that her children drew in front of the Governor's Mansion.
The nonprofit, which rejects Christian nationalism, sent a letter to Sanders on Wednesday on Twitter explaining that the Latin cross her children drew at the entrance of the mansion is a "problem."
The organization said that the "religious display" violates the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from making any laws based on religion. The group also stated that the cross drawing sends the message that the governor's office and the state of Arkansas favors one religion over others and that "such favoritism is unconstitutional."
In response, the Arkansas governor rejected what she described a "strongly worded" letter and refused to erase the cross, adding that she will "not now or ever hide that I am a Christian, saved by Christ."
"You're wrong to claim that our Constitution prevents public officials, let alone their families, from making earnest expressions of religious faith. Our founding documents are riddled with religious language—stating plainly that the very rights you claim to defend are 'endowed by our Creator.' You are asking me to ignore that truth and hide a crucial part of my identity and the identity of my kids. That, I will not do," she said in a letter to the organization on Friday that was posted to Twitter.
She continued: "In Arkansas, we stand up to bullying liberals. We won't let you power-wash our kids' chalk drawing off our front steps. We won't let you tear down Christmas decorations and stomp our traditions into the dirt. We don't live our lives in fear of strongly worded letters coming down from Washington."
Sanders was elected governor during last year's midterm election, replacing fellow Republican Asa Hutchinson. Her election campaign focused on educational reforms and expansion of the state's prison system.
In May, she told Fox News that parents should be "paying attention" to what their children are learning at school and claimed there were "insane and unbelievable" efforts to "redefine what a woman is."
Sanders previously urged conservatives living in a "blue state" to move to Arkansas if they want to protect their children from the "radical left woke mob."
In addition, the governor never shied from expressing her identity and repeatedly touted her Christian faith in her Friday letter to the AU.
"I am offended by the implication, that just because I am a Christian, I am somehow a bigot. All people, of all faiths, are welcome in our state. All Arkansans are welcome in the Governor's Mansion. We are all citizens of this great country—one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all," she wrote.
Culture wars have taken center stage in America over the past several months, with debates emerging from the conservative side about protecting children from "woke" ideology, promoted in Democratic-leaning states, and touting Christian nationalism.
Dr. Paul D. Miller, co-chair for global politics and security at Georgetown University, explained in a 2021 article for Christianity Today, identifies Christian nationalism as the belief that the United States is defined by Christianity and that the government should take steps to keep it that way.
"Popularly, Christian nationalists assert that America is and must remain a 'Christian nation'—not merely as an observation about American history, but as a prescriptive program for what America must continue to be in the future," Miller said.
Meanwhile, Democrats and progressives have disagreed with conservatives over a number of issues for months. Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of curtailing free speech, with progressives opposing conservatives' efforts to ban school books about race and gender and propose anti-transgender laws, while conservatives say their opponents want to cancel those who express different views
The dispute between both sides was notable in 2020 when conservatives criticized the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for tweeting that "men who get their periods are men. Men who get pregnant and give birth are men. Trans and non-binary men belong."
In another instance, Ann Romney, wife of Utah's GOP Senator Mitt Romney, was previously angered by a speech by President Joe Biden in which he referred to "birthing people" instead of mothers, saying it was "simply insulting to all moms."
Newsweek reached out by email for comment to AU and the Arkansas Governor's Mansion Association, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for the restoration and preservation of Arkansas' Governor's Mansion
"You and your family are free to display and create religious images and art in private areas of your residence, but a public-facing display in front of an entrance intended 'to welcome people into the Governor's mansion' is plainly on the wrong side of the constitutional line. We therefore ask that you remove this display," the nonprofit's letter to Sanders read.
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