I thought this week I’d be writing about the Supreme Court because we are right at the end of the Court’s annual term and there are two big “religious freedom” decisions yet to be announced. There is the decision about the Postal Service employee who doesn’t want to work on Sundays, which could have much …
What happens when you order pizzas at the Rayburn House Office Building and tell secular House staff to show up for lunch? They show up! We had the first ever Secular House Staff Lunch this week so we could get to know more of them and they could get to know the Secular Coalition for …
Heretic on the Hill: Help Support Secular Treatment Programs Read More »
Celebrity candidates for office are becoming more common. When someone who spent his life coaching football is then elected to the Senate, expectations are low. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has generally met them. (He’s a celebrity in Alabama.) Shortly after his election in 2020 he identified the three branches of government as the House, …
Heretic on the Hill: Tackling White Christian Nationalism in the Military Read More »
I worked for a Senator who popularized, but maybe didn’t originate, the saying that we’re all entitled to our own opinions but not our own facts. So when there’s a new book from the political science professor who regularly takes data on religion and politics and finds something new to think about, I’m buying it. Twenty Myths …
Heretic on the Hill: Writing the Book on Religion and Politics Read More »
In 1964 Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote an opinion concerning a film the Ohio courts had deemed to be obscene. On the question of what exactly counts as pornography he said it was difficult to define but “I know it when I see it.” I apply the same standard in deciding when a judge is incorporating …
Letter to Attorney General Garland
Four amateur lobbyists, five meetings on Capitol Hill, and one goal: build support for the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act (SCERT). That was my team at the Secular Coalition’s first in-person lobby day in four years. The event began with a reception last Thursday evening which featured remarks from Congressman Jared Huffman, who …
I was pleased to see this article in The New Republic this week because the title is “Sorry Clarence Thomas but Supreme Court Ethics Reform Is on the Table.” I’m pleased because that is exactly the issue we will be advocating for on Capitol Hill at SCA’s Lobby Day on Friday. We have SCA supporters flying in to ask their representatives …
Heretic on the Hill: The Supreme Court Needs Some Sunshine Read More »
In July of 2017, then-President Donald Trump sat down for an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network founder Pat Robertson, and bragged about one of his recent accomplishments: “I’ve gotten rid of the Johnson Amendment. […] I signed an executive order so that now, […] ministers and preachers and rabbis and whoever it may be, they …
From the Intern Desk: Let’s Future-Proof the Johnson Amendment Read More »
Recently, as an economics student interning with a secular advocacy group, I found myself typing “economics of religion” into the search bar of Google Scholar. I expected that it would return articles on the Johnson Amendment, which concerns the political activities of churches and other tax exempt organizations, or perhaps a study or two on …
From the Intern Desk: An Economics Lesson for Christian Nationalists Read More »
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