We did it! This week, the Biden Administration acted to have nine agencies once again protect vulnerable people from discrimination in the name of religion.In December 2020, the Trump Administration pushed through changes to let federally funded service providers discriminate against people, force religious programming on them, and refuse to refer them to a non-discriminatory…
New York’s ScorecardWe are excited to share the new State of the Secular States Report with you today. This is our fifth annual report looking at state-level law and policy that affects religious equality and the separation of church and state. Our advocates across the country have found it to be an essential resource. It’s…
Registration is open for our 2023 National Convention in sunny Phoenix, Arizona from April 6–9!Get ready for four amazing days of speakers, social events, workshops, and our “Two Hands Working” service project—all of this in the company of hundreds and hundreds of fellow atheists from across the country.American Atheists’ National Convention is the one event…
I love my job. Raising money for a cause that is near and dear to me is a privilege. And our field has, without a doubt, the most interesting supporters. There’s not a dull one in the bunch, and I’m thrilled that I’m getting to know more and more of you personally.Some things might surprise…
What a year it’s been! Today is the perfect opportunity to take a moment to reflect on our work.Before I get into that, I would also like to hear what your experience has been!How have the issues we tackled affected you? What areas do you think should receive more attention in 2023? And what are…
Last Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul betrayed New Yorkers and all nonreligious voters: she vetoed the Secular Recovery Bill.The Secular Recovery Bill would have guaranteed nonreligious New Yorkers access to secular addiction treatment programs—instead of forcing them into religion-centered options like Alcoholics Anonymous.This life-saving legislation had passed both the New York Senate and Assembly…
As you might imagine, there is no shortage of bad legislation being proposed around the country, but here is day six of six of this series, and we’re staying right where we were yesterday, in Texas.HB643 is one of the first of a new category of bills we expect to see introduced in 2023: legislation…
On this penultimate day in our series about awful bills in state legislatures, we are headed to Texas:Following Governor Abbott’s cruel targeting of families with trans children through the misuse of Child Protective Services, the Texas Legislature is ramping up a full slate of hate legislation targeting trans youth in 2023. SB249 is one of…
Day four of our six-part series of awful bills based on religious ideology takes us to West Virginia, where reproductive rights are under assault.While this bill actually passed in September 2022, HB302 is a type of abortion ban that we expect to see replicated in various states during the upcoming legislative session.Although HB302 is framed…
If you’ve followed our series on some of the worst bills we are seeing championed by the Religious Right, you may not think it could get worse. Well, brace yourself for a shockingly brazen attempt to influence students by our old friends at the South Carolina legislature:South Carolina’s H3466, or the “Academic Integrity Act,” would…