he Trump-era rule particularly harmed protected minority groups. Under it, any federal contractor—even a construction company, janitorial service, or healthcare provider—could claim a religious mission and refuse to hire any group they disapproved of as long as they cited a religious reason.
News Archive
News
Amicus Brief
Atheists to Supreme Court: A Religiously Neutral Education is Not Discriminatory and Not an Excuse to Fund Christian Schools
If the Supreme Court rules that private schools can teach religious curricula yet still receive government funding, church-state separation safeguards that protect atheist and religious minority families would no longer apply.
Data Reports
Black Atheists Often Feel Forced to Hide Their Beliefs, Resulting in Significant Harm, New Research Finds
“This report provides data about the deleterious effects that stigma and discrimination can have on Black nonreligious Americans. We know that gender, sexual orientation, age, wealth, and location all do, as well. This report helps us better understand the diversity of the lived experiences of Black Americans.”
Amicus Brief
Atheists to the Supreme Court: Don’t Allow Lawmakers to Limit Abortion and Force Their Religion onto Patients
“No government should force subjective and controversial religious beliefs onto those seeking medical care, least of all when it is, as Justice Ginsburg once said, something as central to a person’s life, dignity, and well-being as the choice whether to bear a child.”
Legal Analysis
Michigan Court Prioritizes Four Students’ Religious Beliefs over 20,000 Students’ Lives
Rather than extending its vaccine mandate to all students and staff, WMU’s policy only applies to certain groups, including student athletes.
Amicus Brief
Atheists to Federal Court: Do Not Let Employers Impose Religious Codes of Conduct on Employees’ Children
“A religious exemption that privileges the religious views of employers while harming workers and their children does not accommodate religion, but instead amounts to an unconstitutional establishment of religion.”
Federal Policy
Secular Organizations Call on Biden to Grant Refugee Status to Nonreligious and Religious Minority Afghans
“The things most valued by our humanist movement—freedom of thought, speech, and choice; human rights including of women, LGBTI+ people, and children; knowledge, rationality; human empathy—are the things most hated by the Taliban and those who have allied or will ally with them.”
Legal Analysis
American Atheists and Americans United Applaud U.S. Dept. of Education Plan to Reconsider Forcing Universities to Fund Discrimination by Religious Student Groups
In light of this development, the organizations and the department agreed to ask the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stay the lawsuit to give the department time to rescind its regulation.
Announcements
Kansas State Representative Brett Parker Joins American Atheists’ Staff
Before joining American Atheists, Brett Parker served as a public school teacher, the Olathe National Education Association (NEA)’s Vice President, and State Representative for District 29 in the Kansas House.
Federal Policy
American Atheists Reacts to Biden Nominees for Key Religious Affairs Roles
“While I am hopeful these nominees share our commitment to religious pluralism and equality, the Biden Administration has once again missed an opportunity to appoint the first nonreligious person to serve on USCIRF.”
Anti-Atheist Stigma
American Atheists Denounces Sen. John Kennedy’s Religious Test for Biden Nominee
“Mr. Dellinger deserves a sincere apology for being grilled about his religious beliefs, something that in no way would impact his ability to lead the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice.”
Data Reports
American Atheists Highlights Need for Better Data on Nonreligious Americans and Religious Minorities
Data from this survey shows unequivocally that nonreligious people in the US encounter stigma and discrimination in various aspects of their lives. The US Secular Survey’s findings also demonstrate the need for further population-based research.
