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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. At the Secular Coalition for A ([link removed]) merica ([link removed]) (SCA) we know that being well-informed is a vital part of being an effective advocate.

Part of the mission of the SCA is to increase the visibility of nontheistic viewpoints, especially when these viewpoints are overlooked in the mainstream. Recently the Washington Post published an article on American secularism and while the piece raised important issues and questions, voices from the secular community were noticeably absent. SCA and members of our coalition responded by writing a letter to highlight our work and our communities. That letter ([link removed]) can be found here on OnlySky. ([link removed])

The stories of secular Americans deserve to be heard and it's for that reason our coalition is so excited for the newly-launched OnlySky Media ([link removed]) , which is already proving to be an important platform for stories that cover the human experience from a secular point of view. You can learn more about them and their vision here ([link removed]) .

Now, on to the news to start your week...

News We Care About
(Good to know for protecting the Wall of Separation)
Supreme Court to Decide Between Establishment and Free Exercise in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (Justia, 1/26/22) ([link removed])
"The Court will decide whether Kennedy’s prayer is protected by the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment, and whether that amendment’s Establishment Clause orders the public school to prohibit such prayer."

House Republicans introduce bill to block tracking religious accommodations to COVID vaccine (Fox, 1/25/22) ([link removed])
"Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., introduced a bill Tuesday that would prevent the federal government from tracking information on individuals who receive a religious exemption to the coronavirus vaccine."

Jewish groups decry Congress’ ‘Torah Values Caucus’ as ‘misguided’ (The Jerusalem Post, 1/27/22) ([link removed])
"[The Caucus] raises significant concerns regarding the separation of church and state, which has been one of the keys to the long-term safety and security of the American Jewish community,” the letter said."

Michigan settlement lets faith agencies deny LGBT adoptions (AP, 1/26/22) ([link removed])
"Faith-based adoption agencies that contract with the state of Michigan can refuse to place children with same-sex couples under a proposed settlement filed in federal court Tuesday, months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for a Catholic charity in a similar case."

Noem’s school ‘prayer’ bill rejected by House Republicans (AP, 1/21/22) ([link removed])
"A Republican-dominated South Dakota House committee on Friday rejected Gov. Kristi Noem’s proposal to require public schools to have a moment of silence to start the day."

How the Capitol attacks helped spread Christian nationalism in the extreme right (RNS, 1/26/22) ([link removed])
"For many in the right-wing extremist fringe, Christian nationalism is becoming a shared language."

Christian nationalism is still thriving — and is a force for returning Trump to power (NPR, 1/23/22) ([link removed])
"If anyone thought that Christian nationalism would decline with President Donald Trump out of power, they were mistaken. Christian nationalists believe, in general, that America is Christian, that the government should keep it that way, and that Trump was —and is— their best hope to accomplish that."

Four-in-ten countries and territories worldwide had blasphemy laws in 2019 (Pew, 1/25/22) ([link removed])
"Apostasy and blasphemy may seem to many like artifacts of history. But in scores of countries around the world, laws against apostasy and blasphemy remain on the books – and many are enforced to various degrees."
Secular Americans
(Who are we? What are we up to?)

Secularism is not atheism. A new book explains why the distinction is so critical. (RNS, 1/25/22) ([link removed])
"At its core, secularism is an approach to governance, writes Jacques Berlinerblau in his new book ‘Secularism: The Basics.’ And critically, it is one many religious people, not just atheists and agnostics, support."

As nonreligious population grows, so do Greater Columbus groups offering community (The Columbus Dispatch, 1/28/22) ([link removed])
"Those who are religiously unaffiliated as a share of the population is up 6 percentage points higher than it was five years ago and 10 points higher than a decade ago, according to Pew.Here are some groups you can join in the area to seek a community of nonreligious people.."

Society For Humanistic Judaism Receives Grant From the Simon Foundation to Launch Michigan Programming (Detroit Jewish News, 1/17/22) ([link removed])
"The grant provides the opportunity to create a state-based model and “learning lab” for the Jews for a Secular Democracy initiative nationally as it seeks to then expand into other states."

Who Are Your Everyday Humanist Heroes? (The Humanist, 1/28/22) ([link removed])
"Tell us about people who are using the Ten Commitments (perhaps subconsciously) putting humanist values into action, and inspiring others to do so."
Commentary
(Everyone has an opinion...)
Christian crusaders are winning battles but losing the war (OnlySky, 1/22/22) ([link removed])
"When government takes religion from the private domain and thrusts it into the public sphere, it opens that faith to public scrutiny—a dose of sunlight that isn’t always welcomed."

The Supreme Court is leading a Christian conservative revolution (Vox, 1/30/22) ([link removed])
"Almost as soon as Justice Barrett was confirmed, the Court handed down a revolutionary “religious liberty” decision. It hasn’t slowed down since."

Nobody Cares Whether You 'Believe' in the Separation of Church and State. That's the Law, Champ. (Esquire, 1/28/22) ([link removed])
"Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel spewed nonsense about The Founders, probably hoping for an article like this one."

Opinion: New Supreme Court justice should be atheist, humanist, agnostic or unaffiliated (Des Moines Register, 1/28/22) ([link removed])
"The church-state wall has been assaulted by the Supreme Court, including more public dollars funding sectarian religious schools."

Letter: Catholic organization's meddling in UND affairs is a violation of the First Amendment (InForum, 1/18/22) ([link removed])
"Sinner writes that the North Dakota Catholic Conference has no place interfering in UND's proposed gender policy."

Why the U.S. Presidency Demands Theological Universalism (Religion and Politics, 1/25/22) ([link removed])
"Our presidential system of government, along with our political culture and civil religion, have evolved to require a certain kind of universalism. With the country becoming ever more diverse and less religious, it may be that the only kind of religious believer who faces de facto disqualification from the presidential office is the strongest believer of all."
Opposing Views
(Always good to know what they are saying)
Why these Republicans say faith-based foster care agencies need our support (Deseret News, 1/25/22) ([link removed])
"Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee are among the Republicans calling on the Biden administration to protect faith-based providers"

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!
To support our work on behalf of nontheist Americans, please click the “I want to help secular advocacy! ([link removed]) ” button to donate to the (C4) division of SCA which is responsible for lobbying congress, or the “I want to help secular education ([link removed]) ! ([link removed]) ” button for a tax-deductible donation to the (C3) division of SCA which works to educate Americans about our movement and values. Every dollar goes to furthering our shared secular agenda.


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