Dear Friend, I bet you’ve been there: Thanksgiving is over, you’ve eaten enough sweet potato casserole to last a lifetime. Maybe you’ll check out the Black Friday deals, or maybe you’ll stay on the couch. Small Business Saturday sounds good; you make a point of supporting local businesses. Perhaps that one piece of tech you’ve…
Dear Friend, Almost half of U.S. adults say religion is not an important part of daily life, according to the latest Gallup survey. And the number who do consider it important dropped 17 points in a decade, the largest decline measured in any country since 2007. The shift in U.S. religious identity over that period is also striking:…
Dear Friend, Much of the coverage regarding Tuesday’s election results focused on California’s redistricting proposition, gubernatorial gains in New Jersey and Virginia, and Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City (where exit polling showed 76% of the mayor-elect’s supporters identified as religious Nones). But today, I’d like to tell you about a different Election Day, far from…
Dear Friend, Across the country, politicians are working to restrict Americans’ access to abortion, gender-affirming care, and even accurate health information. New York has the chance to continue leading the way by protecting care — and the professionals who provide it. Three bills are sitting on Governor Hochul’s desk right now that would do just…
Dear Friend, After the USDA announced it would stop funding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits beginning today, attorneys general from 25 states and Washington, D.C., sued to prevent a catastrophic shutdown, which would be the first such lapse in SNAP’s 60-year history. Yesterday, two federal judges ordered the Trump Administration to tap emergency reserves “as soon as possible” in order…
Dear Friend, As you know, politicians across the country are trying to force the Ten Commandments and the Bibles they come from into public schools. Nowadays, they’re not even pretending it’s about history or civics anymore. When NOTUS asked why lawmakers feel “emboldened” to impose their personal beliefs on all students, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy said, “Maybe…
Dear Members, Over the past year, NYC Atheists has undergone a major transition following the passing of both Ken & Rad. We miss them greatly and continue to carry on their legacy. While we have been a bit quiet due to previous email limitations, we have continued our operations and met regularly. We meet every…
Dear Friend, In normal times, when a senator calls you out by name on the U.S. Senate floor, you might feel a mix of excitement and pride. I don’t need to tell you that these are not normal times. When Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, mentioned American Atheists in a speech last week, we immediately…
Dear Friend, Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting fellow atheists in Oregon and Washington, and the honor of speaking at California Freethought Day. The people I met out on the West Coast shared in common something I’ve heard from folks from all corners of the country: concern about the threat of radical religious nationalism. That…
Dear NYC Atheists Inc., “We took the freedom of speech away,” said the President of the United States this week. In another, simpler time, we might’ve dismissed that as a slip of the tongue or a silly gaffe. But these are not normal times, and our First Amendment freedoms are under attack. The current regime is…