Humanism on the move

STAFF REPORT

American Atheists Announce New Communications Director

American Atheists has announced Blair Scott as its new communications director. Scott previously served as the organization’s state director of Alabama. 

“This is a really exciting time for American Atheists,” Scott recently told the Huntsville Times. “We have tried to arrange peace with a warring faction for 2,000 years, and it doesn’t work. It’s time to fight back.”

Secular Student Alliance and Secular Coalition for America Praise Freethinkers Source Guide

In a recent joint press release, the Secular Student Alliance and the Secular Coalition for America expressed praise for the debut of Freethinkers: A source guide to atheists, humanists and other nontheists. The project, started by Stiefel Freethought Foundation, provides a multitude of resources including history, terminology, statistics, and blogs, all relating to the nontheist movement.  

“The American public deserves the chance to get to know their nontheistic neighbors — their fellow Americans — and find that we are a community of loving, moral and joyful people,” said Todd Stiefel, Stiefel Foundation president. “This resource can give journalists the tools they need to tell our story in full.”

Freedom From Religion Foundation Calls For High School Prayer Investigation

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has released a letter to the Redlands, Calif. Unified School District regarding a football team who traditionally recites a prayer and blesses the team’s helmets before the first practice of the season. The letter in its entirety can be found here.

“First and foremost, it is illegal for a public school athletic coach to be leading his team in prayer,” noted FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott in the release. “The Supreme Court has continually struck down formal and teacher or school-led prayer in public schools.”

A pastor from a local church was also invited to partake in the prayer. The FFRF has called for a district investigation concerning the nonsecular practice.

Freedom From Religion Foundation Unveils Flint Billboards

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has unveiled their newest batch of billboards in Flint, Mich. The colorful billboards include the text, “In Reason We Trust,” “Imagine No Religion,” “God and Government: A Dangerous Mix” and the campaign’s debut quote from John F. Kennedy, “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.”

“We would like to go back to the day when public officials revered the constitutional principle of separation between church and state,” said Foundation Co-President Dan Barker in the press release. “What candidate for public office today would make such a clear, unequivocal endorsement of secular government?”