Center for Freethought Equality

Happy New Year, fellow atheists and humanists! 💙

As we explore this new turn around the sun, may we guide our words with empathy + lead our actions with critical thinking as we work together towards a more inclusive society.

To get plugged into all the work CFE will be doing this year, we encourage you to join our free membership: https://www.cfequality.org/membership

"A small, but growing, number of Democrats identify as nonreligious. Incoming Washington Rep. Emily Randall told CQ Roll Call to list her religion as “none,” while future Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona identifies as agnostic. California Rep. Jared Huffman remains Congress’ only self-identified nonreligious humanist."

Religious landscape of new Congress features noticeable partisan differences - Roll Call The religious makeup of the 119th Congress will be little changed from the previous term, but with some pronounced partisan differences.

For all our differences, here’s some encouraging news. According to a recent poll by PRRI, there are a few areas of policy that the majority of Americans agree on across party lines.

(Source: PRRI Poll https://bit.ly/3OqW0av)

Humanist Congressman Jared Huffman, along with Senator Edward J. Markey and Senator Jeff Merkley, introduced the NO SPILLS Act, which would strengthen the review process by which the Maritime Administration (MARAD) approves licenses for the construction or maintenance of deepwater ports for fossil fuel imports/exports.

This bill comes off the heels of MARAD extending its consideration of Texas GulfLink, a massive offshore oil export facility. GulfLink will have the capacity to export 1 million barrels of crude oil per day—representing an unprecedented and unnecessary increase in export capacity that will cause irreversible climate harm + worsen air quality in a region already overburdened by severe air pollution.

Under the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, MARAD is required to evaluate whether proposed deepwater ports are in the “national interest” and are consistent with national policy goals and objectives, including for environmental quality and energy efficiency.

Despite this directive, MARAD has never denied an oil export license.

“This legislation is a sensible step to strengthen the review process for deepwater ports and ensure that the federal government considers the environmental impact of approving more oil export facilities. It is a sensible step to protect the public interest, reduce emissions and transition to the clean energy future.” —Rep. Huffman

As Environmentalism and Global Awareness are two of our Ten Commitments of Humanism, we applaud Rep. Huffman’s efforts to care for the longevity of humanity + be a good steward of our one Earth. There is no Planet B.

https://bit.ly/3VOngnh

This year, give yourself the gift of taking action. 💪

By becoming a member of CFE, you’re proactively helping us protect humanist and secular values—like the separation of church and state, bodily autonomy, Supreme Court accountability, and voters rights.

As a member, you’ll receive timely action alerts empowering you to voice your opinions on important policy matters to your elected officials. You’ll also be able to vote for candidates for our board of directors and attend our annual meeting.

Did we mention—signing up for membership is free!

Join our humanist collective and be a part of actionable change 👉 https://www.cfequality.org/membership

Happy HumanLight, Humanists! ✨💙

Founded in 2001, HumanLight is a holiday that celebrates and expresses the human values of reason, compassion, and hope.

It illuminates a secular vision of a happy, just, and peaceful future for our world—a future which people can build by working together, drawing on the best of our human capacities.

📣 Gun violence continues to mercilessly take the lives of citizens in every city across America.

Congress must act to protect the lives of our children, loved ones, and community members by passing comprehensive gun reform measures.

⚠️ According to disturbing recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fi****ms have become the leading cause of de*th for children and teens in the U.S. As a country, we have failed to protect our children from preventable gun violence.

The majority of Americans support policy reform on guns. We must demand that our elected officials in Congress take meaningful steps towards securing the safety of our communities + preventing senseless de*ths. This can include a national assault weapons ban, expanding background checks, mandating secure gun storage, and closing the gun show loophole.

We shouldn’t have to think twice about the safety of going to the grocery store, visiting the bank, or attending school.

It takes TWO MINUTES to reach out to your elected officials in Congress to urge them to pass gun reform legislation ➡️ https://www.votervoice.net/mobile/Humanist/Campaigns/105054/Respond

Meet atheist Councilmember Marissa Postler! She was elected to the Wyoming City Council in 2016 and won reelection unopposed in both 2020 and 2024, securing her third term.

While Postler was born and raised in the suburbs of Milwaukee, WI, she relocated to West Michigan in 2012 for a fresh start. She became deeply invested in politics and ran her initial campaign while still in college, becoming the youngest councilmember in Wyoming’s history!

She is deeply passionate about getting younger generations involved in politics and encouraging them to play a greater role in decision making.

Discover what motivated Councilmember Postler to run for office + how her nonreligious worldview impacts her policy platform: https://thehumanist.com/features/profiles/representation-matters-councilmember-marissa-postler

Religious freedom and trans rights for the win! 🙌

Montana’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors has been temporarily blocked by the state supreme court on grounds that it is likely to violate the right to privacy enshrined in the state’s constitution.

The court sided with an earlier district court decision blocking SB 99—the ban introduced last year by the Republican-controlled state legislature. The decision will allow transgender minors to continue gender-affirming medical treatment pending a full trial.

District court judge Jason Marks ruled, “The legislature has no interest…to justify its interference with an individual’s fundamental privacy right to obtain a particular lawful medical procedure from a healthcare provider.”

Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat who is the first out trans member of the state legislature, declared, “Montana has a constitutional right to privacy, including in our healthcare decisions. Today our constitution continues to protect individuals from government overreach.”

There is no religious freedom without LGBTQ+ equality. In a secular democracy, the government cannot compel its citizens to conform to any one set of religious beliefs or violate the human right to bodily autonomy.

(Source: The Guardian)

Meet agnostic State Representative Howard Watts, who serves Nevada’s 15th District in Clark County!

Rep. Watts is an environmentalist, small business owner, and community activist born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the 80th Session of the Nevada Legislature, Rep. Watts introduced and passed laws to improve water conservation, support electric vehicles, improve Native American access to the ballot box, and assist mobile home owners. He also supported measures that increased the minimum wage, guaranteed paid leave, advanced sweeping criminal justice and voting rights reforms, and made health care more affordable.

Discover how his nonreligious worldview impacts his policy platform: https://thehumanist.com/magazine/fall-2021/up-front/representation-matters-spotlight-on-state-rep-howard-watts

Happy Human Rights Day! 🙌

This day is observed annually around the globe and commemorates the anniversary of one of the world's most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

This landmark document enshrines the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being—regardless of race, color, religion or lack thereof, s*x, language, political opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status.

The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948 and sets out fundamental human rights to be universally protected. Among them, that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights + everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

Human rights are a pathway to global solutions, playing a critical role as a preventative and transformative force for good. At CFE, it is our mission to uphold these fundamental rights and defend freedoms for all human beings by fighting for our secular democracy + working toward a more equitable and peaceful future.

Read all 30 articles of this humanist declaration: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

📣 The legitimacy of our democracy rests upon the transparency of our government and the integrity of our judicial system.

Ethical practices of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) have contributed to an erosion of public trust in the justices’ neutrality. There is justified concern that cases—particularly ones pivotal to human rights and civil liberties—will not be decided in an impartial manner.

⚠️ Unlike all other federal judges, SCOTUS justices are not subject to a formal code of ethical conduct. This hinders the ability for full transparency, accountability, and fairness in one of our country’s most important and powerful institutions.

The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act would:
• Establish a code of conduct for SCOTUS justices and federal judges.
• Institute SCOTUS gift, reimbursement, and income disclosure requirements.
• Require recusal under specified circumstances, such as if a party to the proceeding lobbied or spent substantial funds to get a judge or justice confirmed.
• Impose on justices and judges a ‘duty to know’ their financial interests that may be substantially affected by a case + ‘duty to notify’ parties of conditions that could require disqualification.
• Establish review panels for consideration of motions to disqualify.

Take two minutes to reach out to your elected officials today to tell them to support transparency, accountability, and fairness in our judicial system! https://www.votervoice.net/mobile/Humanist/Campaigns/102994/Respond