Dear Friend,

2021 has been filled with many challenges and our community has had to adapt in unprecedented ways. However, it has also presented opportunities and success. We invite you to take a moment to look back at what has been an unforgettable year, and the work YOU made possible.

February: Sending Our Secular Agenda to Congress and the Biden Administration

SCA wasted no time engaging the incoming Congress and presidential administration. After reevaluating our Secular Agenda, which was publicly released in November 2020, our coalition sent our priorities to the Biden Administration requesting action on the secular community's policy priorities during the first 100 days: including, but not limited to, undoing many of the harmful executive orders of the previous administration.

April: Getting the NO BAN Act Through Congress

The US House of Representatives passed HR 1333, the NO BAN Act. While this was a sign of progress for true religious freedom, we are now pressing the Senate to also pass this bill. We are vigilant to ensure our government is never again engaged in this type of religious discrimination.

June: Confronting the Supreme Court’s Growing Hostility Towards Secularism

In Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the City infringed on a Catholic charity’s free exercise of religion. However, the court issued a narrow ruling that focused only on the contract language used by the City. While it stopped short of a broad consequential ruling, we are up against a court increasingly favorable to religious extremism and willing to prioritize the interests of right-wing religious groups over our basic civil rights.

August & September: Advancing the Do No Harm Act in the House and the Senate

SCA’s lobbying team focused on adding support for the Do No Harm Act which would clarify that existing legislation does not allow discrimination based on religious beliefs in hiring, health care, federal contracting, and other areas. We contacted 70 House offices about cosponsoring the bill and worked with the bill’s sponsor, Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), to move the bill forward during this Congress.

After Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Do No Harm Act in the Senate we met with nine Senators and staff for a dozen more about becoming cosponsors. The bill has gained 32 cosponsors, showing the value of direct advocacy and grassroots support united around a common goal.

November: Our Relationship with the Biden Administration has Paid Off

The White House through the Department of Labor began to reverse a “rule” that vastly expanded the scope of the religious exemptions from a Trump "rule", subjecting countless workers to discrimination in the name of religion. November also saw the outright end of a waiver given to three states last year, as SCA requested in May, that allowed service providers such as adoption agencies to discriminate based on religion.

• Implement our Secular Agenda during the 117th Congress and Biden Administration
• Work with the Congressional Freethought Caucus to introduce legislation that strengthens the separation of church and state;
• Meet with lawmakers to educate them about nonreligious Americans, the largest and fastest growing "religious" demographic in the country;
• Fight for secular and science-based policy; and
• Give the secular movement a unified voice on Capitol Hill.