Dear Friend,

Please help me welcome Casey Brinck, our new Director of Policy & Government Affairs. As your voice on Capitol Hill, Casey will be heading our lobbying efforts and will be working closely with his counterparts at our 19 member organizations.

Bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge with him, Casey has served as the communications and legislative director for Members of Congress, as the Press Secretary for the Small Business Administration, and is an Army Veteran of Operation Restore Hope (Mogadishu).

Please take a second to hear from him directly, below.

Stay safe and healthy,

Debbie

Debbie Allen
Executive Director
Secular Coalition for America

SCA friends and supporters,

For the first time in my life, I am living openly and proudly, as an atheist. It is a long overdue change and I can enthusiastically say, it feels incredible.

That shift, thanks to the Secular Coalition for America, came after more than a decade on Capitol Hill—a place where faith is front and center every day as lawmakers, staff, and constituents meet in offices, hearing rooms, and legislative chambers.

In the same way we all silently protest “under God” as it is needlessly chorused during the Pledge of Allegiance at a baseball game, I have painfully listened to prayers on the floor of the House of Representatives far too many times to count, as well as pretty much anywhere else lawmakers gather.

Those moments mirror my time in the military, where faith was invoked by my superiors and my peers on a daily basis.

As someone raised on Navy bases across the country, I believe deeply in our government and what it stands for. From a young age, I have dedicated my life to public service—hopefully making a positive impact on lives here at home and abroad.

Through that work, I’ve grown more and more concerned with the role of religion in policymaking and the damage it continues to cause. I know firsthand how often decisionmakers don’t heed the scientific evidence, carefully conducted research, and corresponding expert analysis presented to them, and instead defer to their religious background, or that of their constituents, when making decisions that affect us all.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example of that longstanding failure: countless American lives are going to be lost because our government didn’t listen to public health experts.

I joined SCA to change that, permanently, with your help.

We all know that our Constitution clearly established a secular government. Now is the time to make that vision a reality.

I look forward to fighting alongside you to build a nation where each and every one us—60 million secular Americans—can rest easy knowing lawmakers are considering facts rather than faith.

Together, we can bring change to the Capitol. I am proud and eager to lead that work as your voice in Washington, D.C. and will be in touch regularly with updates on our progress.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out in the future if you have insight to share or want to hear more about our work.

Sincerely,

Casey Brinck
Director of Policy & Government Affairs
Secular Coalition for America

P.S. The SCA cannot do this work without your support. If you want the government to handle this crisis using science rather than faith, and are able to give in the wake of the challenges facing our nation and economy, please do.