Reclaim Our Democracy is a social action group at First Parish, a Unitarian Universalist church in Concord, Massachusetts. It is part of the Unitarian Universalist Association which supports left-of-center social action. ¹ Its website claims that the Republican party is becoming authoritarian and is conspiring to “take over the country.” ²

Issues on which Reclaim Our Democracy focuses are economic inequality, big money influence on politics, political polarization, and the negative impact of media. ³ Reclaim Our Democracy recommends supporters to build or join a movement, elect new left-of-center legislators, reform the media, fight perceived “voter suppression,” and restrict campaign speech. ⁴

Reclaim Our Democracy is an all-volunteer group without a budget. ⁵

Background

In 2014, a group at First Parish in Concord, Massachusetts began working on the issues of escalating inequality and the overreaching influence of big money in politics. ⁶ First Parish is a Unitarian Universalist church, part of the Unitarian Universalist Association that supports left-of-center social action. ⁷

In 2016, the group created the Reclaim Our Democracy website and started working with other Unitarian Universalist churches and activist groups to spread information and encourage action to fight the “corruption of our democracy.” ⁸ The group expanded its issue advocacy to include economic inequality, the corrupting influence of money on politics, the polarization of political parties, and the negative impact of media sensationalism. ⁹

The Reclaim Our Democracy website claims that the Republican Party is becoming authoritarian and is conspiring to “take over the country.” It blames this on a “MAGA faction” and the influence of former President Donald Trump and his associates. ¹⁰  It writes, “The Democrats are on the morally correct side of the issues that need the most attention: environment, gun violence, immigration, racial justice, escalating inequality, and democracy.” ¹¹

Actions

Reclaim Our Democracy provides recommended actions to address the issues they have identified, including to build a movement, elect new left-wing legislators, reform the media, fight perceived “voter suppression,” and restrict money in politics. ¹²

Reclaim Our Democracy advocates building a movement to do public protests, acts of resistance against people in power, and to encourage people to vote. Reclaim Our Democracy suggests groups to align with, including Declaration for American Democracy, Poor People’s Campaign, Democracy Initiative, Democracy Matters, Common Cause, Public Citizen, Represent.Us, MoveOn, Our Revolution, American Promise, Women’s March, Color of Change, Black Lives Matter, 350.org, Movimiento Cosecha, and Sunrise Movement, all organizations that focus on left-of-center issues such as defunding the police, supporting abortion, legalizing illegal immigrants, fighting perceived white supremacy and oppression, supporting environmentalist policies such as the Green New Deal, and left-wing vote activism. ¹³

To elect new legislators, Reclaim Our Democracy recommends working with organizations that are focused on building the political power of the left-wing movement such as Rock the Vote, Brand New Congress, and Working Families Party. ¹⁴

Reclaim Our Democracy singled out Fox News in its claims that the media publishes sensationalized information to sell the story rather than the truth, claiming that “the country’s most watched cable channel, Fox News, has regularly promoted falsehoods.” ¹⁵

In addition to campaign finance, Reclaim Our Democracy claims that voter suppression and gerrymandering are actively impacting elections and supports laws to make voting easier, replace political party primaries with ranked choice voting, and regulate political advertising. ¹⁶

Reclaim Our Democracy organizes learning events and protests, often in collaboration with other progressive organizations. Events take place at First Parish and are often co-sponsored with the Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice. ¹⁷

Political Policies

Reclaim Our Democracy supports the addition of a constitutional amendment to limit the influence of campaign money on politics. The group supports the Democracy for All Amendment that would allow Congress and the states to regulate political contributions that influence elections. The Democracy for All Amendment was introduced by Free Speech for People, Public Citizen, Common Cause, People for the American Way, and American Promise. ¹⁸

Partnerships

Reclaim Our Democracy is a member of the left-leaning “anti-oppression” coalition Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD). The DFAD is made up of over 250 left-leaning activist groups including United to Protect Democracy, Government Accountability Project, Rock the Vote, Common Cause, Progressive Democrats of America, Center for American Progress, People for the American Way and In Our Own Voice National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda. ¹⁹

First Parish is a participant of the Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, an active movement that supports left-of-center views and provides education in left-of-center social justice issues and advocacy. ²⁰

In addition to DFAD and Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, Reclaim Our Democracy works with many left-of-center social action groups including League of Women Voters, Indivisible, Faithful Democracy, American Promise, Unitarian Universalist Mass Action Network, UU Side With Love, Center for Common Ground, and Poor People’s Campaign. ²¹

1. “UU the Vote at First Parish in Concord.” First Parish in Concord. Accessed February 28, 2023. https://firstparish.org/wp/justice/uu-the-vote-at-first-parish-in-concord/
2. Reclaim Our Democracy home page. Accessed March 1, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/
3. “Major Issues.” Reclaim Our Democracy. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/major-issues-3/
4. “Actions – What is Needed to Reclaim Our Democracy.” Reclaim Our Democracy. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/actions-2/
5. “Our Story.” Reclaim Our Democracy – About Us. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/about/
6. “Our Story.” Reclaim Our Democracy – About Us. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/about/
7. “UU the Vote at First Parish in Concord.” First Parish in Concord. Accessed February 28, 2023. https://firstparish.org/wp/justice/uu-the-vote-at-first-parish-in-concord/
8. “Our Story.” Reclaim Our Democracy – About Us. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/about/
9. “Major Issues.” Reclaim Our Democracy. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/major-issues-3/
10. Reclaim Our Democracy home page. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/
11. “Why Are Republicans Adopting Authoritarian Practices?” Reclaim Our Democracy. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/why-are-republicans-adopting-authoritarian-practices/
12. “Actions – What is Needed to Reclaim Our Democracy.” Reclaim Our Democracy. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/actions-2/
13. “Build a Powerful Democracy Movement.” Reclaim Our Democracy. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/build-a-powerful-democracy-movement/
14. “Elect New Legislators.” Reclaim Our Democracy – Actions. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/elect-new-legislators/
15. “Reform Our Media to Better Support Democracy.” Reclaim Our Democracy – Actions. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/reform-our-media-to-better-support-democracy/
16. “Fix the Election System.” Reclaim Our Democracy – Actions. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/fix-election-system/
17. “Events.” Reclaim Our Democracy. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/calendar/
18. “Pass a 28^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” Reclaim Our Democracy – Actions. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/objective-3/
19. “Our Members.” Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed February 28, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/
20. “Congregational Partnership.” Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice. Accessed February 28, 2023. https://uusj.net/wp1/congregational-membership/
21. “Our Story.” Reclaim Our Democracy – About Us. Accessed February 28, 2023. http://reclaimourdemocracy.org/about/