Dear Friend,
This weekend marks an important milestone for me: I’ll be turning 40.
For many of us, birthdays — especially the big ones — are an opportunity to reflect on how things have changed, what we’ve accomplished, and what’s still to be done.
When I was born in 1986, just 6 or 7% of Americans were religiously unaffiliated. Even fewer openly identified as atheists. To do so was still seen as somehow unpatriotic. Anti-American. It was hard to be an open atheist in America. And despite Supreme Court rulings from the 1960s that ended mandatory prayer and Bible reading in public school classrooms, the practice was still all too common.
But early in my life, after decades of fighting to normalize being an atheist, the tide began to shift. In the early 1990s, the number of religiously unaffiliated Americans began to grow. 10% by the mid-90s. 15% by 2000. 20% by 2012. 25% by 2016. Today, that number stands at almost 30%.
That explosive growth is thanks, in no small part, to the tireless and often thankless work that every-day people do each day to live their lives openly, proudly, and unapologetically as atheists. And, importantly, it’s thanks to the members and supporters of American Atheists who have made our work possible throughout the years.
Will you help continue that work by making a tax-deductible contribution of $40 today?
While I won’t pretend that being an atheist in America today is easy, there is no question that we’ve made tremendous progress reducing the stigma that atheists face. For millions of Americans — including many who still identify as religious — religion just isn’t that important anymore. And they acknowledge that you don’t have to believe in any gods to be a good person.
In spite of that progress, the fact is that the white Christian nationalist movement wields more political power today than at any time in my life. The Christian Right was certainly a fixture of my early years, but this new evolution of their movement is more dangerous, more radical, and more powerful than ever before.
They have captured the Supreme Court, inventing controversies to re-inject religion into our public schools. Stealing our tax dollars to line the pockets of religious schools that discriminate against us.
They control a majority of state legislatures, using their religion to justify dangerous bans on abortion care and contraception, to gut public education funding, and to allow discrimination against religious minorities and LGBTQ+ people.
The Christian nationalist movement, still cloaked in all the righteousness of their ancestors, is working to undermine the very foundations of our democracy. I worry that, just like us atheists, even more groups will be the targets of this Christian Identity movement.
But it’s not all bad news — and certainly wouldn’t want it to be on my birthday.
We have reasons to be optimistic. American Atheists and our partners are making real progress fighting back against the Christian nationalist movement in state legislatures. This month alone, we’ve stopped bills that would have amended Florida’s constitution to allow proselytizing in the classroom, required every Indiana public school classroom to display the Ten Commandments, and allowed discrimination against LGBTQ people in New Hampshire. And that’s just a tiny fraction of our successes so far this year.
In Congress, American Atheists has powerful allies in the fight to protect religious equality, including the more than 30 members of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, co-chaired by Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin.
And thanks to our work elevating the threat of the Christian nationalist movement — and the moral and ethical bankruptcy of conservative, reactionary religion — more Americans are joining us every day in this fight. More young people are leaving religion behind because they recognize how dangerously out of step, bigoted, and divisive religion has become.
Yes, much has changed in my 40 years. But some of the same struggles remain. That’s why we’re never going to stop working to build a better future. Thank you for your support of this work. Your time, talent, and treasure, as they say, has made American Atheists what it is today. I’m so proud to spend my 40th year with this organization and with you working toward that future.
Onward,
Nick Fish
President
P.S.: I’m incredibly grateful for the dedicated team we have at American Atheists who work each day to grow our movement and to protect the rights of atheists — and all Americans. If you believe, as I do, that this work is important at this moment, please make a tax-deductible contribution today.
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.
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