Dear Friend,
In case you’ve already begun Dead Week, that year-end period where nothing counts and time loses all meaning, allow me to remind you that today is the Winter Solstice!
The sun is low, and the night is long. Now, there’s a couple ways to interpret this. By far the cheerier tradition is to take heart that our near-future will be a bit brighter. But if you’ve been following along and/or have a skosh of Seasonal Affective Disorder, one could come away with a less sunny outlook for these longer days ahead.
Or maybe, like me, you find yourself somewhere in-between. For many of us, the holiday season is complicated. There’s a lot to unpack – and I don’t mean the presents so much as the mixedness of family, religion, and consumerism. For others, it’s more straightforward: Bad, Neutral, or Good. However you choose to spend the next week and whatever midwinter means to you, I hope this year it leans Good. Because come the new year, we have work to do.
Late Wednesday night, Ohio lawmakers passed a bill that, if signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine, will require public schools to release students during the school day to receive religious instruction off campus. In addition to this released time mandate, HB 8 will force teachers and counselors to ‘out’ LGBTQ students to their parents or guardians, even when there is risk of abuse. As one state senator put it, “This bill is complete bullsh*t.”
Then, on Thursday, the Oklahoma State Department of Education released new social studies standards that were developed by an “executive committee” made up of pseudohistorians, indoctrinators, ideologues, talking heads, and other extremists, all hand-picked by State Superintendent Ryan Walters and only three of whom have ever lived in Oklahoma.
And even as Oklahoma parents, including our State Director, are outspokenly opposing this religious indoctrination campaign and asking school leaders to “teach, don’t preach,” Walters called us “outsiders” imposing an agenda on kids.
Let’s talk about agendas. In a press release, Walters said: “Oklahoma is putting the Bible and the historical impact of Christianity back in school.” He boasted that the new standards mention the Bible more than 40 times and called them “pro-America, pro-American exceptionalism… pro-family, pro-American values.” Pro-paganda, basically.
The standards are open for public comment until January 21. If the guidelines are approved by the legislature, first-grade students will be taught the “significance” of “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and the “meaning” of “In God we trust.” Fifth graders will learn “how the framers based the Constitution on Biblical principles.” And high schoolers will be offered an elective class in which they can gain a greater understanding of “the Christian ideal of charity and the renunciation of worldly wealth.”
In other words, complete bullsh*t.
Longer days ahead, indeed. And what’s happening in Ohio and Oklahoma is, unfortunately, just a small taste of what we expect in 2025. We’ve got our work cut out for us, and we need your help.
If you’ve already made your end-of-year contribution to support American Atheists’ work in Ohio, Oklahoma, and all 50 states, thank you. If you haven’t, please do so today. It doesn’t take much to make a big difference, and our team needs your support now more than ever.
We know it’s not enough to stand in opposition to the Christian nationalist agenda. We have to present a better, more compelling vision, and we are. One where no student feels alienated in their classroom because of their religious beliefs or lack thereof. One in which atheists are equal participants who no longer face stigma and discrimination. And one that values reason and equality over dogma and division.
Those are the brighter days we aspire to, the future we’re building, and the hope I’m holding onto for the year ahead.
Happy Holidays,
Melina Cohen
Communications Director
PS: If you missed it, check out my latest op-ed for Newsweek, in which I respond to the ludicrous claim that “there’s nothing unconstitutional about public Nativity scenes” made by a spokesperson from Restoring Faith in America, an arm of the First Liberty Institute.
American Atheists is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan, nonprofit educational organization that relies on the support of members like you. Contributions are tax-deductible. Our Federal Tax ID Number is 74-2466507 and our Combined Federal Campaign number is 52217.
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