Dear Friend,
Confronted with the daily torrent of attacks on our rights from the Christian nationalists running our government, it can sometimes be difficult to see the broader threats to freedom of thought across the globe. And indeed, the universal fight to protect our fundamental rights from religious nationalists unites atheists, humanists, and nonreligious people from all corners of our world.
I was reminded of that shared commitment — and shared struggle — this past week at the annual meeting of Humanists International. This event brought together leaders and advocates from atheist and humanist groups here in the United States and Canada, from across Europe and Central Asia, and from the Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Asia, and India.
This year’s conference saw the return of our colleague Mubarak Bala, the president of the Nigerian Humanist Association who was arrested and imprisoned in 2020 for the “crime” of publicly sharing his atheism on social media. Bala was held without trial and without access to legal counsel, and his release was only possible thanks to the advocacy of Humanists International.
It was also the first opportunity for us to gather together since we announced the relocation of the 2026 World Humanist Congress, previously planned to be held by American Atheists in Washington, D.C., but relocated to Ottawa, Canada. The actions of the Trump Administration will make it impossible for us to bring atheists and humanists from countries under Trump travel bans to the United States, or to guarantee the safety of members of our community who have been critical of the administration’s actions.
Advocates from our partner organizations told us about the firehose of money, disinformation, and extreme legislation being pushed by Christian nationalist groups to advance their extreme agenda. All told, since 2019, groups like Alliance Defending Freedom and the Heritage Foundation (along with other far-right interest groups and even the Russian government) have funneled almost $1.2 billion into Europe to advance their campaign to undermine freedom of expression, limit abortion and reproductive health access, and attack LGBTQ+ people.
The failure to confront and defeat the White Christian Nationalist movement here in the United States emboldens them and enables them to wage war on freedom of thought across the globe. And it’s why cooperation, collaboration, and partnership form the backbone of our strategy to win the fight against this exclusionary, extreme, and dangerous movement.
Just this week, in justifying plans to gut the State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio again attacked the vital and lifesaving work of Humanists International, claiming that the Biden Administration’s decision to provide a modest grant to atheists and humanists in Sri Lanka and Nepal — on equal footing with other persecuted belief groups as required by federal law — to ensure they had a voice in their government was counter to American interests.
It’s a stark reminder that Christian nationalist politicians don’t care about religious equality, they care about Christian domination. They don’t care about freedom for all, they only care about ensuring their “freedom” to discriminate against the rest of us. And while they’re perfectly fine funneling billions of dollars to unaccountable religious groups for every conceivable project, the moment a single cent makes its way to a program intended to help atheists, they turn it into a years-long faux scandal.
I am tremendously proud of our long and productive partnership with Humanists International and with our global atheist community. And I’m grateful for the inspiration we can draw from the bravery and determined actions of those who face profound threats to their rights and their safety for the simple act of speaking out about their beliefs — a reality I know many of you living in rural communities or who have left highly religious upbringings certainly face as well.
The only way we can defeat the forces of extreme religious nationalism, protect our rights, and create a better world today and for the future is to stand together, recognizing that no border — whether between states here in the U.S. or between nations — truly separates us from shared experiences as atheists, as humanists, and as human beings.
In solidarity,
Nick Fish
President
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