A message sent to members of the Secular Coalition for America email list:

June 1, 2009

A Message from President Herb Silverman

[...]

Last Thursday, the nontheist movement achieved a new milestone when the Secular Coalition for America had its first individual meeting with White House officials. The Secular Coalition has met with White House officials before, but Thursday’s meeting was unique. It was not a coalition meeting with other organizations, but a special meeting between White House staff and representatives of the Secular Coalition. We had the opportunity to tell the White House who you are, what your policy interests are, and what concerns you.

We have made clear to White House officials that our coalition of nine national nontheistic organizations represents a full spectrum of nontheists. As the broadest, most diverse advocacy group for nontheists in Washington, D.C., we have the credibility to explain our political and cultural interests to our nation’s leaders and provide them with a window into what nontheists across America are thinking and doing in their communities. More importantly we are becoming an influential and increasingly organized constituency, and elected officials want to take our concerns into account.

The goal of the Secular Coalition has always been to increase the visibility of and respect for nontheists in America. Thursday’s meeting was one small step for the Secular Coalition, but an even more significant leap for nontheists everywhere.

My deepest thanks for all you do to support the work of the Secular Coalition for America,

Herb Silverman

President & Founder
Secular Coalition for America

D.C. Voucher Amendment Defeated

On March 4th, I received an Action Alert email from the Secular Coalition for America.  This prompted me to write on the reasons why school vouchers for religious private schools violate the Establishment Clause, and are therefore a violation of the religious liberties of all, both religious and nonreligious.  I got an email again from the Secular Coalition for America.  This time it wasn’t asking for help, it was congratulating us on our success!

March 10, 2009

Congratulations! Today, the Senate defeated an amendment by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) that would have continued the DC voucher program that enables federally funded religious proselytizing and discrimination.

Because you took a few minutes out of your day to write to your Senators, you helped to stop the continued funding of a program that pays for parents to send their children to private religious schools.

The Secular Coalition for America is proud of you and the fifty-eight U.S. Senators who voted against continuing to fund this program.  To see how your Senators voted, click here.

Please continue to support the work that we do by taking action in the future.

Congratulations again!

The Secular Coalition for America

National Journal Article: “The Godless Rise as a Political Force”

The National Journal has published an article on the growing power of nonreligious political lobbying.  It’s currently only available in the print publication or online to subscribers, so I can’t review it yet.  If you are a subscriber check it out and let me know how it is.  According to the Secular Coalition for America, it will eventually be available on their website.  Until then, they do have a slideshow available, “Faces of the Godless Movement,” with some background audio and images about the movement.

I just received an action alert from the Secular Coalition for America, urging us to stop the continuation of federal funding for religious schools through vouchers.  Vouchers are a major problem for church/state separation.  Although not all private schools are religious, the majority of them are affiliated with religious denominations and, as such, include theological instruction.  Many would be hard pressed to name local secular private schools, and may not even be able to name one.  Meanwhile, considering the prevalence of religious schools, it isn’t nearly as difficult to name at least one local private religious school.

According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (see graph below), as of 2005 44% of private schools were Roman Catholic and 37% had other “religious orientation or purpose,” for a total of 81% of private schools being religious.  Although the amount of schools with certain religious affiliations such as Roman Catholic has dropped since 1989, the vast majority of private schools are still religious.  The 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey asked private and public school principals about their school goals.  While the top two goals of public school principals were basic literacy (80%) and academic excellence (70%), the top two goals of private school principals were academic excellence (66%) and religious/spiritual life (64%).

Read the rest of this entry »

I just got this email from the Secular Coalition for America [secular.org].  Any of you activists who answered their call to write your senators and say that you don’t want your tax money going towards religious groups should be proud of yourselves.  Let’s use this success, and every future success, as a springboard to future victories for our constitutional rights.

February 18, 2009

Dear Supporter,

Congratulations! Yesterday, President Obama signed into law an economic stimulus package that DID NOT include funding for the Compassion Capital Fund.

Because you took a few minutes out of your day and wrote to your Senators, you helped to stop $100 million from being funneled to religious organizations that otherwise would have been permitted to engage in discriminatory hiring practices.

The Secular Coalition for America is proud of you and the U.S. Senators who worked on the conference report for making sure that faith-based funding was not included in the stimulus package.

We have had several great victories so far this year: an attempt to use taxpayer dollars for divinity schools and other religious buildings on college campuses was rejected, as was an attempt to re-instate the Global Gag Rule that President Obama had overturned a week earlier.

Please continue to support the work that we do by taking action and by supporting us financially.

Congratulations again!

The Secular Coalition for America

February 2, 2009

EVENT NOTICE

WHO:   Mary Bellamy, Assistant Director for Programs, and Woody Kaplan, Advisory Board Chair, Secular Coalition for America
WHAT:  Ethical Culture Society of Rockland County
WHEN:   Sun., Feb. 8, 10:45 a.m.
WHERE:  Peace Through Play Nursery School, 8 Amber Ridge Road, Chestnut Ridge, New York

Mary and Woody hope to meet you in Chestnut Ridge where they will be speaking to the Ethical Culture Society of Rockland County at 10:45 am on Sunday, February 8, concerning “More Than A Presidential Shout-out:  How the nation’s first lobbying organization for nontheists is working to remove the theocratic yoke from our federal government.”

I just received the Action Alert below from the Secular Coalition for America.  I doubt they would mind me reproducing it here – it brings this important plea to a wider audience.

Last week, the House of Representatives included $100 million for the Compassion Capital Fund in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the economic stimulus package. The Compassion Capital Fund was a key component of George W. Bush’s controversial faith-based funding program and has been singled out by watchdog groups for its inability to ensure that religious groups receiving tax dollars are not breaching the constitutional separation of church and state.

On Monday, the Senate is expected to begin voting on the passage of the economic stimulus package; their version currently does not contain money for this faith-based initiative and it’s important you make sure it stays that way.

Take action now!

The Religious Right is lobbying hard for this back door funding, and it’s time for us to fight back. It is imperative that you send a strong message to your Senators today asking them to take a stand now and in the future against funding a highly criticized program that violates the separation of church and state.

Take action now!

Best wishes,
Secular Coalition for America