Reads of Reason (January 24, 2022)

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 and feel free to reach out to us with any feedback or responses you might have.

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)

Lawsuit: Taxpayer-funded adoption agency in TN won’t place kids with Jews (OnlySky, 1/20/22)
A Knoxville couple is suing the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, saying a state-sponsored Christian-based adoption agency refused to help them because they are Jewish.

Supreme Court justice blasts Virginia city over refusing tax exemption for church (NBC News, 1/18/22)
"Neil Gorsuch said the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, wrongly probed into the church's internal affairs, seeking to verify its religious rules."

"Christian flag" case reaches Supreme Court: Is the Proud Boys flag next? (Salon, 1/19/22)
"Far-right group wanted to fly obscure "Christian flag" over Boston City Hall. Will the Supreme Court go along?"

Pakistani court sentences woman to death for WhatsApp ‘blasphemy’ (Al Jazeera, 1/20/22)
"Muslim woman convicted for sharing images deemed to be insulting to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and one of his wives."

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

Study Reveals More Defined Picture of Our Civically Active Humanist Community (The Humanist (1/13/22)
"As humanists, we believe in letting the evidence guide us. Much of the data collected and analyzed for this project is new information to us and can be valuable for directing our work. Here are some of the highlights:"

What’s faith got to do with it? Culturally relevant humanism and Black Gen Z (OnlySky, 1/19/22)
"A media fixation on whiteness misses a crucial piece of the story of the nonreligious rise—young Black nonbelievers."

Thomas Paine statue project receives boost from Stiefel Freethought Foundation and Congressman Jamie Raskin (Press Release, 1/18/22)
"On Saturday, January 29, 2022, at 1:00 PM (PST)/4:00 PM (EST), hundreds of people will gather on Zoom to celebrate the birthdate of an often-forgotten Founding Father, Thomas Paine."

Commentary
(Everyone has an opinion...)

Gorsuch derides the 'so-called' separation of church and state (MSNBC, 1/21/22)
"It's not normal for a sitting justice on the nation's highest court to deride the "so-called" constitutional principle of separation of church and state."

What Conservative Justices Talk About When They Talk About Religious Liberty (1/24/22)
"The conservative majority on the US Supreme Court has honed a new, radical approach to religious liberty, the significance of which cannot be overstated."

Prayer: Keep church, state separate (Seattle Times, 1/21/22)
"I do not deny anyone’s right to practice their religion, but there are times and spaces for this, and government space, public schools and playing fields are not those spaces."

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

How the New Atheists Hijacked Secularism After 9/11 (The Daily Beast, 1/15/22)
"The word “secularism” has become linked with forms of extreme atheism that are hostile to all forms of religion. It was not always thus."

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!