Washington, DC — On Monday the Secular Coalition for America facilitated a Secular Caucus at the Libertarian Party’s national convention in New Orleans. The caucus served to organize secular Libertarians to discuss secular values and featured remarks from the newly elected Chair of the Secular Caucus, New Hampshire State Representative Brandon Phinney (NH-24), who openly identifies as an atheist. The founding members of the caucus also elected Elizabeth Van Horn, the Libertarian National Committee’s Region 3 Representative as Vice Chair, and Arthur Thomas, Executive Committee Member of the Texas Libertarian Party, as Secretary.
“We would like to applaud the Libertarian Party for being the first political party in U.S. history to establish a Secular Caucus at its national convention,” said Larry T. Decker, Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America. “This caucus is a milestone in our push to be recognized as a constituency with our own unique set of interests, issues, and secular values. The nonreligious are a rapidly growing demographic that make up an increasingly large share of every political party. It is our hope that the Democratic, Republican, and Green parties will take notice and follow in the Libertarian Party’s footsteps. Nonreligious voters of every political affiliation deserve to have their values respected and their voices heard.”
The national Libertarian Secular Caucus is the third Secular Caucus to be organized by the Secular Coalition for America. In 2016 and 2018, the Secular Coalition facilitated caucuses at the Texas Democratic Convention.
“I am pleased to announce the formation of the Libertarian Party Secular Caucus. The purpose of the Caucus is to promote the separation of church and state in government by offering practical policy solutions and protect against theocratic elements in government,” said Rep. Brandon Phinney, newly elected Chair of the caucus.
According to a study conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, one-quarter of all Americans (24.8%) have no religious affiliation. The same report found that 48% of nonreligious voters are registered as Independents. Exit polls from the 2016 election suggest that about 5% of nonreligious voters cast their ballots for the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate Gary Johnson, the highest level of support among all the “religious groups” surveyed.
Contact: Casey Brescia
Senior Communications Associate and Spokesman
[email protected], (845) 380-6201
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The Secular Coalition for America is the nation’s premier advocacy organization representing atheists, humanists, agnostics, and other nontheists. Its mission is to increase the visibility of and respect for nontheistic viewpoints in the United States, and to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government as the best guarantee of freedom for all. The Secular Coalition represents 19 voting member organizations.
