Fired for being an atheist

Imagine showing up for your first day at a new job, and your new boss tells you: “Whether or not you keep your job depends on you being a good Christian.”

This is what happened last week to senior staff in the office of the Texas Comptroller when the incoming Comptroller of Public Accounts, Don Huffines, introduced himself to his soon-to-be employees and reportedly told staffers that his top three priorities would be “Jesus, family, and work.”

The message is unmistakable: Christianity isn’t just welcome in the workplace — it’s a job requirement. 

Our Legal Team is firing back. We’re exposing abuses of power, holding rights violators accountable, and defending nonreligious Americans nationwide. Please help fuel this work by making a monthly gift today:

Bosses engaging in religious discrimination are rarely as brazen as Huffines. More often, we atheists encounter subtler violations, like: 

• being expected to sit quietly as coworkers use small talk as an opportunity to disparage atheists; 
• being disciplined for wearing an atheist pin to the office even as your colleague wears a large cross necklace without consequence;  
• being subjected to scripture in email signatures or prayer in staff meetings;
• being shunned or having your hours cut if you object to any of the above or voice your own nonreligious views in the workplace.

These are all forms of workplace religious discrimination that are prohibited by Title VII and numerous state laws. Every one of them has been reported to me by real individuals who experienced these violations firsthand and sought support from American Atheists.

American Atheists exists to combat exactly this kind of bigotry against nonreligious Americans and to educate people, like you, about your rights — and your legal recourse when those rights are violated.

Last Friday, we submitted documents to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in an ongoing case that began last year when an atheist was fired simply for being open about her atheism. Even as her coworkers were free to express their Christian beliefs, she was told to stop expressing herself or stop coming to work.

Our client’s situation, like that of staff at the Texas Comptroller office, are actually the easy cases — the ones where a supervisor does us lawyers the favor of saying the quiet part out loud. 

But even the most clear-cut cases require a significant amount of resources. Before a charge is ever filed, we must conduct interviews and review employment records. Then there are weeks and months of formally corresponding with various parties, researching and developing legal arguments, collecting supporting evidence, and rebutting employers’ spurious defenses.

After all that, maybe the EEOC will make the right decision. Unfortunately and more typically, the end result is not a resolution but a “right to sue” determination that begins an arduous process all over again, except in a court where we have to recruit and retain local representation.   

We do this work because it matters — not only to the individuals who are impacted by workplace discrimination but to millions of nonreligious Americans. Because every case American Atheists pursues and wins helps hold bigoted bosses accountable and ensures the First Amendment applies to all of us, equally. 

Please support our work to end discrimination against atheists today. A monthly donation of $10 or more means we can continue providing support and essential legal services to atheists in need.

In solidarity,

Geoffrey T. Blackwell
Legal Director

PS: Discrimination often happens in the places that matter most: at work, in the classroom, and at the doctor’s office. If you believe you have been treated unfairly because you’re an atheist, you can always report it on our website.