With today’s decision in Carson v. Makin, the Supreme Court has decided that taxpayer funds may be used to subsidize tuition at private religious schools, including schools that explicitly discriminate against LGBTQ+ and nonreligious students and teachers. At question is the option the State of Maine provides for parents that live in school districts which …
We wish everyone in the Black community a happy Juneteenth this weekend. Officially recognized as a federal holiday just last year, Juneteenth National Independence Day is a celebration of the emancipation of slaves in the United States (specifically Texas, which was the last state to free slaves) in 1865. Many arguments for slavery during the …
Last winter, the Secular Coalition for America, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the American Humanist Association prioritized better enforcement of the Johnson Amendment by the Internal Revenue Service and began lobbying members of Congress on this issue. The IRS has been lax, to put it charitably, in enforcing this section of the tax law …
House Appropriations Committee Increases IRS Enforcement Funding Read More »
Throughout the month of June, we will be sharing information about historic American figures who were involved in both secular and LGBTQIA+ spheres. James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a novelist, playwright, and journalist who wrote frequently during the Civil Rights Movement and its aftermath in the United States. Though he was opposed to labeling his …
The pandemic is receding from the public eye for now, and most indicators are where they were a year ago — meaning low active cases. But last year saw a dramatic post-summer increase in cases and hospitalizations that is likely to happen again this fall. Just as the virus doesn’t go away, neither do the …
Heretic on the Hill: Help Us Fight the Latest Religious Exemption Read More »
Throughout the month of June, we will be sharing information about historic American figures who were involved in both secular and LGBTQIA+ spheres. Jane Addams (1860-1935) was a pacifist and feminist activist, an international humanitarian, and a Nobel laureate. The social settlement she co-founded and ran, Hull-House, was an early institution of secular community …
Church and state are becoming less and less separate in churches. Churches, other faith-based institutions, and in fact all nonprofit organizations are prohibited from participating in most political campaign activities but many churches are crossing the line or just ignoring this prohibition. The consequence should be losing their nonprofit status but the IRS has been …
Heretic on the Hill: Dropping a Dime on Campaigning in Churches Read More »
In March the White House presented its proposed $773 billion for defense in 2023, a four percent increase. The top Senate Republican on defense spending immediately stated that the budget “woefully” underfunded defense given the state of the world and the effects of inflation and said “That budget will go nowhere as is.” We could …
Heretic on the Hill: Religion Is The Opiate Of The Supreme Court Read More »
I’ve previously mentioned the Supreme Court case involving a high school football coach who led some players in prayer at the 50 yard line. The Court heard oral arguments this week and we were outside on the steps at a rally for the school district being sued by the coach. The Secular Coalition for America …
Heretic on the Hill: Put Me In, Coach, I’m Ready To Pray Read More »
Senator Daniel Moynihan once wrote a scholarly paper in his spare time, the kind most Senators just don’t write, called “Defining Deviancy Down.” He was using the sociologist’s meaning of deviancy: different from societal norms. His point was that the nation had become so accustomed to gun violence that what was once front page news …
Heretic on the Hill: Defining Religious Freedom Down Read More »
Inventore curae facere aliquam convallis possimus quo laboriosam ullamco harum iaculis ipsa, consequuntur interdum aut officiis pulvinar doloribus auctor optio. Omnis diam natoque magnis, risus quam auctor porro ratione natus, eu arcu optio.
Sign up to receive updates and action alerts!
