2nd place — 2026 First in the Family essay contest: Isaiah Lopez Ruiz

FFRF awarded Isaiah $3,000.

By Isaiah Lopez Ruiz

White supremacy survives most effectively when it no longer presents itself openly as hatred. Instead, it infiltrates and adapts into institutions of power, traditions and moral language that are perceived as socially legitimate. Christian nationalism has too often provided exactly that shield. The religious conservative movement has longed for an ethno-nationalist society, where race and religion are the deciding factors in who gets to wield power, what is idealized and what is minimized. This grotesquely threatens the rights and dignity of a pluralistic society, nullifying key parts of the U.S. Constitution, which mandates that our government remain secular. A democratic, constitutional system endeavors for “freedom without favor and equality without exception,” to quote American United. A Christian ethno-nationalist state would undoubtedly seek to disintegrate our shared liberties and principles we hold sacred as Americans. They are an existential danger that is raging against the dying of their privilege.

Christian ethno-nationalists would eviscerate my rights recognized by the Supreme Court in Obergefell, Lawrence, and Tinker. I still cannot enjoy federal civil rights as an LGBTQ+ young adult, and this movement will target other minority demographics, including bodily autonomy, Black, Hispanic, non-Christian, women and even our democratic institutions. It is fundamentally incompatible with a secular society because Christian nationalism advocates for a system that will disproportionately oppress anyone based on race and religion, while a secular government ensures neutrality among demographics, where no one can subjugate others or be marginalized.

We are one of the few nations that guarantees religious liberty for all, but it is being distorted and eroded by religious theocrats. Secularism is the only sane, constitutional path to a developing, advanced country.

I grew up in the conservative suburbs of Arizona. There were many Mormon churches and right-wing populists who espoused the ideas of Christian ethno-nationalism. I faced mistreatment at school and work places because of my ethnicity and sexual orientation/gender identity.

The Mormon religion had formally endorsed the concept of Black people being “cursed by God” and therefore could not ascend in the priesthood or leadership. Many religious families that I knew were very vocal in their opposition to interracial relationships. For them, religion is their cognitive shortcut to life’s complex reality. This is a disdain for humanity and our shared values in a functional society.

We must be united and organized for the separation of church and state to preserve our U.S. Constitution and the promises of America. We can push further by repealing the Religious Restoration Act of 1996 and implementing the Do No Harm Act to recalibrate our modern system to affirm that religious liberty is meant to shield us, not to attack others. We must end Republican states’ efforts to pollute public education with religious doctrine, funnel taxpayer funds to private religious schools and force public prayers. The United States was built as a constitutional republic, not an ethno-theocracy.

Isaiah, 21, is studying law at Paradise Valley Community College.

“I am a first-generation, Hispanic, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, atheist student with a current 4.0 GPA and doing honors coursework,” Isaiah writes. “My goal is to get enrolled in law school and obtain a J.D. degree to practice law. I have worked on voter campaigns and have done political canvassing. I have also worked as a poll worker for U.S. elections and participated in peaceful protests.”