As Nick wrote earlier, our team has, in many ways, spent years preparing for the upcoming 2025 legislative session.
And although she won’t be working with us in the new year, Alison Gill’s leadership throughout her time at American Atheists has left us well-positioned and -equipped to move ahead and build on the progress of the last several years.
For one thing, we saw the headlines of November 6th coming. It was a rare case of not wanting to be right, but as the two staff members who live in more conservative, religious, and rural areas, we had a civic duty to prepare our colleagues for the worst—our poor colleagues, who endured our cynical pessimism for weeks leading up to the election.
And then it happened. We’ll leave the painstaking analysis of what exactly happened to the pollsters and pundits. Of course, there is tremendous value in all that data and in the narratives that emerge from it. But we can’t afford to wait around for it, and neither can our members or the millions of Americans who are already or soon will be impacted by harmful state policies.
The newest edition of our State of the Secular States report finds not just a continuation but an escalation of legislation being proliferated into dozens of statehouses by a well-funded network of groups that have coalesced around a regressive and religiously motivated political agenda. From limiting access to reproductive health care to rolling back protections for LGBTQ folks, we’re seeing the fruits of a coordinated, decades-long, and nationwide effort to integrate church and state.
Nowhere has that campaign been more overt and relentless than in our public schools. Arguably, that’s where much of this began. In response to the landmark Brown v. Board decision, there was a “massive resistance” to desegregation in the South.
One year after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Milton Friedman first suggested the government offer vouchers to white parents for use at private schools. Today, these predominantly white and typically religious segregation academies receive tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.
Voucher programs have traversed the country and ballooned in size despite the fact that voters have never, not in any state, approved a ballot initiative to divert public dollars to private schools. In November, voters in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska again rejected school privatization measures. Even so, Congress will soon consider passing a federal voucher law, the Educational Choice for Children Act, that would funnel billions of public dollars to private, sectarian schools at the expense of the public schools that are open to all kids.
At the same time, we’re seeing a surge in state and local policy proposals aimed at discrediting and dismantling the very idea of nonsectarian education by inserting religion into public schools — whether it’s in the form of school chaplains, mandated Ten Commandments displays, or rewriting curricular standards to incorporate the Bible and other religopolitical propaganda. In states like Ohio, we’re monitoring released time policies, which require school districts to let students leave campus to receive religious instruction. We also expect additional proposals to constrain free speech, expression, and thought in school classrooms and libraries.
The two of us may well be the resident pessimists around here, but even we can see it’s not all bad news. After Texas passed school chaplain legislation, only a few schools adopted such a policy. Despite the Oklahoma State Superintendent’s threats, school administrators are refusing to comply with his unconstitutional mandates. This year, Illinois became the first state to end a voucher program. And so far, three states have enacted “freedom to read” laws to prohibit book bans.
It turns out democracy-loving Americans don’t especially like it when a small group of extremists tries to force their narrow views onto the rest of us and our kids. It seems most of us still respect the Constitution and won’t so easily let go of the rights it guarantees. In other words: We, the people, are fighting back.
And that fight starts with building stronger, more connected communities. It’s our many state leaders and Secular Advocacy Teams who we can—and do—call on to contact their representatives, organize an event, or simply share information. American Atheists is committed to equipping local leaders with resources and training to organize effectively and advocate for secular values. We’re amplifying the voices of our community through storytelling, public engagement, and strategic collaborations with our coalition partners.
Together, these efforts are creating a national network of empowered activists ready to push back against harmful legislation in their statehouses and regressive policies in their communities. If you’re one of these fine people, thank you for inspiring us to carry on this work, and if you’re ready to join, email Sam at [email protected]. Let’s keep building a movement that stands for freedom, equality, and justice for all.
It’s been a long ride to get here, and it’s okay if you’re feeling burnt out. We get it. But at some point in the coming weeks and months, as these proposals crop up in your own state capital, we hope you, too, will feel inspired to join us in this fight. We make no claims about how this one will end, but we know our chances will greatly improve with you at our side.
