Earlier this year, we urged readers to save the date for the 2026 World Humanist Congress, an international event we planned to host in our nation’s capital.
Since then — due to escalating threats to civil liberties, human rights, and international relations under the Trump Administration — the board and staff of American Atheists, in close coordination with Humanists International, made the difficult but necessary decision to relocate the Congress to Ottawa, Canada, where it will be hosted by Humanist Canada, August 7–9, 2026.
The Board of Directors takes seriously our duty to ensure the safety of our members and the continued ability of American Atheists to carry out its mission. The decision to relocate comes after a thorough evaluation of the social, political, and economic environment in the U.S. under the current administration and an assessment of our organization’s ability to safely execute an event of this scale, given the new and still unfolding risks posed by the escalation of religious nationalism, the issuance of prohibitive executive actions, and the erosion of human rights in our country.
In the span of a few months, the Trump Administration’s increasingly aggressive actions— including the deportation of legal immigrants; travel restrictions, arbitrary detentions, and refusals of admission to visitors of the United States; reductions to the State Department’s visa application and approval capacity; and proposals to end birthright citizenship and denaturalize citizens—have created an environment that is not only incompatible with our values but also inhospitable to our global secular community.
Indeed, a significant majority of the potential attendees we surveyed, including both foreign visitors and U.S. residents, expressed a reluctance or unwillingness to travel to Washington, D.C., under these current and developing circumstances. And we know the number of foreign arrivals to our nation is already in decline, as would-be tourists are fearful of being detained, surveilled, or harassed at our borders.
The sobering determination we made is that it is now an impossibility for American Atheists to ensure or even make reasonable assurances regarding the admissibility or security of international guests, especially visitors from South and Central America, the Middle East and Northern Africa, Central Asia, and other key regions. The risks involved are simply too great, and the rapidity with which this administration reigns makes it infeasible to accurately predict and fully mitigate future restrictions.
The real and total impact of these circumstances is deeply troubling. We are witnessing the dismantling of foundational freedoms and the weaponization of the state to stifle dissent, suppress civil society, and silence voices like ours. The repressive actions of this regime not only obstruct our ability to gather in peace but strike at the very heart of what our community stands for.
Suffice it to say, this realization was disappointing, even disturbing, but we were not deterred. We worked quickly and collaboratively with our partners at Humanists International and Humanist Canada to secure a new location for the 2026 World Humanist Congress. And our ability to convene there demonstrates the remarkable resilience of our secular community.
Our neighbors to the north remain steadfast in their commitment to pluralism and foundational freedoms, and we have absolute confidence in their ability — with the support of their government — to safely welcome attendees to an event that will affirm our shared values and serve as a powerful response to religious nationalists in the U.S and around the world who seek to suppress and sequester us.
In the meantime, thank you for standing with American Atheists, especially in these challenging times. Your ongoing support makes it possible for us to continue meeting the needs of the moment, fighting for equal rights, and promoting reason and dignity even in the darkest of times.
Comments from Organization Leaders
Nick Fish (President, American Atheists)
“At a time when our people and values are increasingly under attack, the World Humanist Congress will carry on—not in retreat, but with a renewed purpose to peacefully yet powerfully reaffirm our unshaken support for reason, religious freedom, and equal rights for all.”
Gary McLelland (Chief Executive, Humanists International)
“Humanists all over the world are alarmed by the escalating religious nationalism and decline in human rights protections in the United States. As a stable, inclusive, and rights-affirming environment, Canada will allow us to convene an event that truly reflects humanist values.”
Martin Frith (President, Humanist Canada)
“We want to stand in solidarity with our American colleagues because they really made a courageous and principled decision to withdraw as hosts. They really prioritized the safety of global participants who would be traveling.”