“No student should face harassment and retaliation for exercising her First Amendment rights. We are pleased the court stood with free speech and reaffirmed just how outrageous the teacher’s actions were.”
News Archive
News
Litigation
Atheists Sue Mississippi Over “In God We Trust” License Plate
“Mississippi car owners should not be punished with higher fees for refusing to promote an exclusionary and divisive message. They are entitled to an alternative.”
Legal Analysis
Supreme Court Rules Discriminatory Religious Practices Outweigh LGBTQ Rights
“With this decision, the Court has continued to chip away at the core principle that laws should apply to everyone, regardless of religion. Whenever conflicts arise, the outcome too often favors conservative Christians, even if it twists the law in knots or contradicts fundamental legal principles.”
Federal Policy
American Atheists’ Statement on Meeting with Biden Administration
American Atheists and other secular organizations met for more than an hour with leadership from the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Legal Analysis
Government Officials Abusing Social Media by Censoring Americans, Including Atheists, Must Be Held Accountable
“With the courts consistently affirming that Americans’ First Amendment rights extend to online space controlled by the government, including government agencies’ social media pages, we have the law on our side—and we must use it.”
State Policy
Connecticut Eliminates Dangerous Religious Exemptions to School Vaccination Requirements
American Atheists urges more states to follow Connecticut’s example and eliminate dangerous exemptions that put children at risk, especially those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons
State Policy
Arkansas Creationism Bill Defeated in Tight Vote
By rejecting this creationism bill, Arkansas will be spared unnecessary lawsuits that would drain needed resources from an educational system already ranked near the bottom by measures of student attainment.
Federal Policy
American Atheists Endorses Bill to Expand Supreme Court to 13 Justices
“The Judiciary Act of 2021 is an important first step toward needed reform of the federal judiciary. It will help ensure that ideological capture of the Court does not overturn decades of precedent and will restore balance to the Supreme Court.”
Statement
American Atheists VP on Richard Dawkins’ Comments about Trans People
“Given the repercussions for the millions of trans people in this country, in this one life we have to live, as an atheist and as a trans woman, I hope that Prof. Dawkins treats this issue with greater understanding and respect in the future.”
Statement
Bill Donohue Pretends Christian Nationalism Doesn’t Exist, While Promoting Christian Nationalism and Child Sex Abuse
“Like the Church’s sex abuse problem, Bill Donohue may want to deny the existence of Christian nationalism and the Christian extremist storming of our Capitol on January 6. But that’s not how facts work.”
State Policy
Arkansas Legislature Passes Most Extreme and Deadly Denial of Healthcare Bill in U.S.
Arkansas’s Denial of Healthcare bill allows doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, and even insurance companies and employers to cite religious beliefs to deny patients necessary care during a scheduled visit or during an emergency.
State Policy
American Atheists Praises NY Legislation to Ensure Hospital Transparency
Patients often do not have the ability to determine whether the hospital in their area provides the care they seek, because information about how hospitals’ restrictions impact options for care is too difficult to obtain.
