A Message from Executive Director Fish Stark

(January 9, 2026) — Two hundred fifty years ago tomorrow, a young firebrand named Thomas Paine – a humanist who famously declared “to do good is my religion” – wrote a feisty little pamphlet called Common Sense, and another humanist named Thomas Jeﬀerson followed it with a Declaration of Independence, and together they helped to fuel a movement that cast down a King and declared that America would not be a place where authority was passed down by bloodline or divine right but belonged to the people.

A few months prior, King George III had issued what he called a “proclamation of rebellion.” He condemned his rebellious subjects who were “forgetting the allegiance they owe to the power that has protected and supported them.” He commanded those who were loyal to him to root out and punish the subversive elements that dared to question his divinely granted authority.

And he signed it God save the King.

In Common Sense, Paine decried what he called “a long and violent abuse of power.”

But he also declared: “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” He implored his comrades to take up what he called “the cause of America” – liberty and equality as equal birthrights for all people, rather than gifts to be bestowed by a divinely ordained ruler.

We live in what Paine called, elsewhere “the times that try men’s souls.” When he talks about a long and violent abuse of power – we have seen, in just the last week, thuggish violence from Venezuela to Minneapolis from an administration that doesn’t just find the Constitution inconvenient but mocks and scorns it – because they believe they have a divine right to rule, and they believe, in their fanatical fervor, that they are ordained to trample anyone who stands in their way.

People often misunderstand humanism as the opposite of religion. They’re wrong: humanism is the opposite of authoritarianism. It is the idea that truth, morality, and duty come not from some Supreme Being or divine source – but are the equal inheritance of each of our neighbors.

We believe science tells us what’s real not because it is self-evidently correct but because it is the product of humans working together to derive the truth, a forum where anyone can challenge assumptions and nothing can be assumed true unless proven.

We believe empathy tells us what’s right, because there have always been people who seek to claim moral authority for themselves so that they can instruct us to behave in ways that benefit their endless quest for wealth and power – and the only way to truly understand the common good is by listening to our neighbors.

Paine said of 1776: “The present winter is worth an age if rightly employed, but if lost or neglected the whole continent will partake of the misfortune.” In other words: we have a short time to make things right.

We are not going to miss this window. The AHA comes into 2026 not just prepared to defend democracy – not because we don’t like the President’s political party, but because even before political parties existed, humanists have stood up for democracy, for liberty, for social change and social justice, for the idea that the chief danger of religious fervor is that it can cause us to disregard the humanity of others.

For the cause of America.

This year, on our nation’s 250th anniversary, my commitment to you is:

We will launch the most ambitious initiative in the AHA’s history to empower humanists to help our neighbors deal with the cruelty of this administration – and show, not tell, what humanists believe, through acts of service to humanity.
We will fight the advances of Christian Nationalists at every turn through aggressive litigation (some of which is already in the works), and mobilizing our members to fight for a more secular and humane government in Congress and state houses – especially defending secular public schools and demanding that public dollars go to services that don’t discriminate. We will defend our democracy and demand it represent us all equally.
We will continue our strong membership growth, inviting people into a movement that represents the opposite of the Christian Nationalists’ program of paternalism, sanctimony, and cruelty. We will build something for the 45 million Americans who believe as we do to belong to, believe in, and fight for – and roll out the welcome mat. The dozens of new humanist groups that joined the AHA last year – and the ones that have been with us for decades – will have more support from us than ever before to grow their ranks. And our efforts to reach a younger, more diverse group of humanists – which made 2025 a year where our membership rolls grew by more than they have in years – will continue in earnest.

The Christian Nationalists believe they own America. They believe it was founded in their image.

Bullshit. It is ours. America is a humanist project. It was grounded in our values, not theirs. Freedom over coercion. Equality over hierarchy. Dignity over cruelty. Reason over dogma.

At a time when Americans are fed up with chaos and cruelty and looking for something different, we have it in our power to begin the world over again. And we will – together.

For humanity,
Fish