By Rabbi Neal Katz

As a rabbi, my faith is supremely important in my life. That’s why it’s painful for me to see religion used as a tool to harm or discriminate.

But it happens. And sadly here in Texas, some of our state leaders are even encouraging this misuse of religion.

Today, I’m happy to tell you about a new initiative TFN and the ACLU of Texas are launching to identify and address these issues. We have created a website to collect the stories of religious discrimination in our state to better understand the scope of this problem. All information on the website will remain private. If a government official or private business in Texas has used religion to discriminate against you or someone you know, we want to hear your story.

Nobody should ever be turned away from a business or government office, refused service or evicted from their home simply because they don’t share another person’s religious beliefs or because of who they are or whom they love. That discrimination distorts the real meaning of religious liberty.

If you agree, help us get the word out about this important initiative by sharing this page with your networks. If we do not respond to this kind of bigotry and allow it to continue unchecked — we are just as responsible. I urge you to share this page and tell your story.

Neal Katz is a TFN board member. He lives in Tyler, Texas.