Humanism in America Takes a Political Turn<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> By Larry Jones

 

A New Coalition

In the past few decades, Christian fundamentalism has taken an increasingly strident political stance in America. Beginning with televangelist preacher Jerry Falwell and his Moral Majority, followed by Reverend Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition, Christian fundamentalists have obtained virtual control of the Republican Party, the party that now controls all three branches of the Federal government in the United States. The Humanist response, on the other hand, has been at best anaemic.

 

An attempt was made in February, 2000, to galvanize the American Humanist movement into a cooperative alliance that would speak with one amplified voice on issues affecting the interests of non-believers. The Coalition for the Community of Reason (CCR), as the alliance was then called, is still in existence today, but it lacks focus, a corporate structure, by-laws, and a mission of its own. The reason this attempt failed is in itself interesting and speaks volumes about what is fundamentally wrong with the Humanist movement in America today: it failed because two of the national organizations belonging to the coalition saw CCR as a competitor.

 

The good news is that a new organization has arisen – the Secular Coalition for America (SCA), which was incorporated as a not-for-profit 501(c)4 organization in November of 2002. SCA is the first Humanist organization to have 501(c )4 status. This gives it the licence to lobby legislatures extensively on a state and national level. If Humanism is ever to have influence in the world, Humanists must influence the policymakers. With SCA, we now have the vehicle for representing the Humanist viewpoint to those policymakers. The founding organizations are: Atheist Alliance International, Institute for Humanist Studies, Internet Infidels, and the Secular Student Alliance. All the members are fully committed to the mission of political activism for Humanism, which bodes well for the long- lived success of SCA.

 

The founding members of SCA anticipate that additional Humanist and other freethought groups in America will join the coalition, making it a powerful voice for change in the political environment of this country. We ask only that prospective members be organizations of national or international scope and that they are committed to cooperation and political activism.

 

The Godless America March

On a beautiful day, in early November of last year, some 2000 atheists, Humanists, and other freethinkers converged on Washington D.C. to demonstrate for a Godless America. The Godless America March on Washington was organized and sponsored by the American Atheists and it presented a unique opportunity for Humanists to unite in a show of strength with their sister freethought organizations. Historically, the freethought movement in America has allowed itself to be divided by labels and simplistic definitions. The march gave us the opportunity to show the rest of America that non-believers in this country can no longer be ignored.

 

The Institute for Humanist Studies, located in Albany, New York, which is about 400 miles north of Washington, chartered a bus, bringing about 20 Godless folks to the demonstration. This was typical for other organizations as well, some of whom sent members across the entire country. There were about two dozen speakers, loud music and of course Christian hecklers with bullhorns shouting “Jesus saves”, “atheism is the road to Hell” and so on, which lent a carnival atmosphere to the festivities. A good time was had by all. We even received press coverage in some of the major newspapers. But the most important benefit of the march was that it brought together and energized the freethought movement in America. Hopefully this will become an annual event.

 

Larry Jones is founder and President of the Institute of

Humanist Studies and a Vice-President of IHEU.