Dear Friend,

Last year, one of my first assignments as the new Director of Policy & Government Affairs for the Secular Coalition for America, was in Philadelphia to livestream the release of the report from the Commission on Unalienable Rights (COUR). For those of you unfamiliar with the commission, it was formed by Trump’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and was designed to rewrite the definition of human rights to fall in line with traditional “Judeo-Christian” beliefs. The report itself read exactly that way, dismissing all human rights gained after the drafting of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including those hard fought for rights obtained during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s, and those that followed. It laid out what legal observers and human rights activists warned as a "hierarchy of rights".

Thankfully, the harm that was done over the past four years is slowly being addressed. In a direct repudiation of the Trump era policies instituted by his predecessor, Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently stated, “Human rights are also coequal; there is no hierarchy that makes some rights more important than others”. This reversal is a direct reflection on the differences in policy by the two administrations, and marks a return to the belief that all human rights are equal, contrary to Pompeo’s assertion that the freedom of religion usurps all others.

The comments came during the release of the State Department's annual report on global human rights (not to be confused with the COUR report). This is significant because it reestablishes all human rights as equal in the eyes of the federal government, and eliminates federally sanctioned discrimination under the guise of “religious liberty”. 

Blinken continued by announcing that the State Department will release an addendum for each country report later this year that will address areas of human rights which were left out of the Trump administration’s 2020 reports, such as reproductive health. The inclusion of reproductive health in this report was common practice before the Trump administration and we are pleased to see it restored.

There is a sense of optimism in the air that comes each Spring, but it is even more poignant this year. From the vaccine being administered to the population at an accelerating pace, to the return of all human rights as “coequal” in the eyes of the federal government, things are beginning to look brighter. However, now is not the time to be complacent. In fact, we must continue to seize the moment, and push even harder for the values our community care about. Values like equality, justice, and the end of discrimination in whatever form it may take. 

To that end, SCA has been busy lobbying our legislators on Capitol Hill. Some of the issues we have approached congress about already this session include legislative priorities like the Do No Harm Act, the Equality Act, the Scientific Integrity Act, and the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would eliminate discriminatory practices by child service providers who are religiously affiliated. We have also urged the new administration to issue executive orders that reverse those instituted by the previous administration, like ending federally sanctioned discrimination (one of the first executive orders issued by President Biden). We are also working with our allies on the Congressional Freethought Caucus to have language included in any non defense related appropriations bill that would ensure that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) cannot be used to allow discrimination in any budgeted programs. SCA will continue to persist in our mission and I look forward to bringing you more positive updates in the future.

I want to thank you again for being a part of our team. We here at SCA are keenly aware that it is you who enables us to continue our important work in Washington, D.C. If you have not yet contributed this year, now is the perfect opportunity, and you can do so by clicking the “I want to help!” button below. Know that every dollar goes to strengthening the wall that separates religion and government, and we could not do it without your help.