Published November 4, 2026

The following is a statement from Amanda Tyler, executive director of BJC:

The promise of this country belongs to all of us. Whatever our faith, wherever we worship, we deserve a government that answers to the people and protects our freedom to live according to our beliefs. 

In this historic election, voters demanded that government fulfill that promise. They delivered a rebuke to authoritarian politics and entrusted elected officials with the responsibility to make government work for everyone. Now those officials must deliver. 

For the incoming Congress, that means holding the executive branch accountable, defending the separation of church and state, and protecting religious freedom equally. In Texas, it means an opportunity to give students what they have deserved all along: quality public schools where children of every faith and none can learn and prepare for their future, free from politicians imposing religion in their classrooms. 

We know an election cannot finish this work. Policies that privilege one faith remain in place, and the people living under them need more than promises. They need leaders willing to fight for their rights.  

BJC will meet this moment though our commitment to fighting for religious freedom in the courts, in the legislatures, and on the ground through faith rooted organizing. And we will work with anyone prepared to protect religious freedom for all and the separation of church and state. We, alongside every voter who took to the polls yesterday, will hold public officials accountable when they fall short. 

The people have done their part at the ballot box. Now those elected to serve them must do theirs.