Last week, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) announced the formation of a Congressional Freethought Caucus.
Since that announcement, we’ve learned a few more details. Huffman and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) will co-chair the caucus. Other members include Rep. Jerry McNerney(D-CA), Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI), and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who announced her membership on Twitter.
What will the caucus do? We already know their goals:
1) to promote public policy formed on the basis of reason, science, and moral values;
2) to protect the secular character of our government by adhering to the strict Constitutional principle of the separation of church and state;
3) to oppose discrimination against atheists, agnostics, humanists, seekers, religious and nonreligious persons, and to champion the value of freedom of thought and conscience worldwide; and
4) to provide a forum for members of Congress to discuss their moral frameworks, ethical values, and personal religious journeys.
To be clear, you don’t even have to be non-religious to join this caucus. As long as you support church/state separation and evidence-based policymaking, you’re pretty much good to go!
All of that’s important to remember because of how one conservative is reacting to the caucus’ formation. The Conservative Review‘s Steve Deace is apoplectic about this obviously anti-Christian group.
Deace also mocked comedian Michelle Wolf (a “progressive hyena”), former Republican Richard Painter (who’s considering running as a Democrat for Al Franken‘s Senate seat this November), transgender rights, and Planned Parenthood.
The whole piece reads like an angry right-wing Mad Libs. There’s no coherence to it, because there’s nothing to be mad about. Unlike the Congressional Prayer Caucus, I’d bet good money that every member of the Freethought Caucus would proudly defend the rights of Christians, too.
Think about what his rant means. Deace’s mad about some members of Congress using reason as basis for policy. He’s against church/state separation. He’s for discrimination of people whose religious views don’t match his own. He’s opposed to even discussing religion.
Read the full story at the Friendly Atheist Blog
