SCA Reads of Reason (December 20, 2021)

Happy Monday!

Welcome to Reads of Reason, a weekly compilation of news-clippings that relate to our work advocating for nontheist Americans and secularism here in Washington D.C. Please share this email with those in your network to enhance our secular outreach.

It's that time of year folks. Apparently, the "War on Christmas" is still being waged. Recently, writer Parker Molloy wrote a four part series detailing the origins of the "War" and how it is weaponized against pluralism and secularism. (You can find all four parts here).

At the Secular Coalition for A merica we know that being well-informed is a vital part of being an effective advocate.

News We Care About
(Good to know for protecting the Wall of Separation)

Supreme Court Allows Vaccine Mandate for New York Health Care Workers (New York Times, 12/13/21)
"Doctors and nurses challenged a state coronavirus vaccine requirement that had medical but not religious exemptions, saying it violated their right to free exercise of their faiths."

House votes for legislation to combat Islamophobia abroad (Washington Post, 12/14/21)

"The House last Tuesday voted for legislation to monitor and combat Islamophobia globally, after a rancorous debate in which a Republican falsely accused the measure’s co-sponsor, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), of being “affiliated with” terrorist organizations."

High court ruling on Maine’s religious-schools law could hit 37 other states harder (Bangor Daily News, 12/11/21)
"A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that declares Maine’s ban of public funding for religious schools unconstitutional would have a limited direct impact in the state. But such a ruling could be the death knell for provisions in three dozen other states that keep state funding from flowing to private religious schools."

In a nod to classroom prayer, Gov. Noem offers bill to create moment of silence in schools (AP, 12/13/21)
"Gov. Kristi Noem said Monday she has drafted legislation to create a moment of silence at the beginning of each day in South Dakota public schools, a move she said would restore protections for prayer in the classroom."

Commentary
(Everyone has an opinion...)

Why We Still Like Separation of Church and State (Justia, 12/13/21)
"We believe in the separation of church and state because it requires religions to obey laws enacted by the state instead of allowing religions to hold everyone to their own religious laws."

The trend against religious affiliation is a grave threat to the GOP. But don’t count on it to save democracy. (Washington Post, 12/15/21)
"New polling data highlight the extent to which Americans are continuing to abandon organized religious institutions. That’s ominous news for the far right, which overwhelming relies on White evangelicals for political power."

Texas should keep the church and state separate, The Daily Cougar, 12/7/21)
"Now everyone in Texas is subject to the beliefs of Christians whether they follow that religion or not. This is not okay."

Redo the First Two Amendments (Boston Globe, 12/15/21)

"The implicit principle of the separation of church and state should be made explicit:..Both the freedom of religion and the freedom from religion shall be respected by the government."

Opposing Views
(Always good to know what they are saying)

Public funding of religious schools is coming. The first lesson is compromise. (RNS, 12/14/21)
"Those who support government funding of religious schools should focus on programs that are the least controversial and most secular."

Religion Has Nothing to Do With the Abortion Case Before the Supreme Court (RealClearReligion, 12/13/21)

"Whether a state has the constitutional authority to protect unborn life is a question currently before the Supreme Court. But whether such a law would violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution should not be up for debate."

Secular Americans
(Who are we? What are we up to?)

What’s your religion? In US, a common reply now is “None” (AP, 12/14/21)
"According to a survey released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, this group — commonly known as the “nones” — now constitutes 29% of American adults. That’s up from 23% in 2016 and 19% in 2011." More on Pew's report from RNS and the Friendly Atheist.

How to Explain to Your Kids Why You Celebrate Christmas When You Aren't Religious (LifeHacker, 12/14/21)
"There are a lot of parents who were raised celebrating holidays like Christmas and Easter in a Christian household who now celebrating those same holidays with their own children—but in a secular way."

Gen Z is looking for meaning this holiday season, but maybe not where we expect (RNS, 12/10/21)
"Though majorities of Gen Z say they’re religious (71%) or spiritual (78%), less than a quarter (24%) counted attending a religious service among “the most meaningful things I do” during the winter holidays."

Atheists are among the most likely to be vaccinated for COVID (Raw Story, 12/13/21)
"According to Pew, 90% of atheists in the U.S. have been vaccinated for COVID-19 compared to only 57% of white fundamentalist evangelicals."

Atheism and agnosticism: The last closet (Baptist News, 12/15/21)

"It is precisely because of religious prejudices and stereotypes that many agnostics and atheists do not discuss their worldviews in public or even private settings, and if they do, they don’t necessarily tell the truth."

The views expressed in the articles included in the Reads of Reason do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Secular Coalition for America or its coalition members--varying opinions may be included in an effort to inform our readers as much as possible. Please let us know of any feedback you might have!