On Friday, February 26, several representatives from an array of nontheistic organizations in the United States met for a policy briefing with White House officials about issues that are important to secular Americans. The Obama administration routinely holds such briefings with other groups, including groups that are religious or advocate for particular policy positions. However, the Secular Coalition for America’s Briefing with the Obama Administration (the official title of the February 26 briefing) particularly stood out, as it marked the first time in history a presidential administration has held a national policy briefing with the nontheist community.

The meeting was set up by the Secular Coalition for America (SCA), a group that advocates for nontheistic viewpoints, and was attended by approximately 60 individuals from the 10 member organizations that are represented by SCA, including the American Humanist Association. Attending administration officials included Tina Tchen, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement; Paul Monteiro, associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs; Bryan Samuels, commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services; Bill Carr, deputy under secretary of defense for military personnel; and Mazen Basrawi, counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice. Speakers from the nontheist movement were able to present our positions on some pressing issues that affect the secular community and the nation at large, including childhood medical neglect and abuse, military proselytizing and coercion and fixing the faith-based initiatives.

Liz Heywood was scheduled to present our position on childhood medical neglect and abuse that can occur due to a lack of government oversight over faith-healing treatment providers. (Heywood unfortunately was not able to attend the briefing due poor weather conditions, so Sasha Bartolf from the SCA read her statement.) Heywood’s statement offered her personal experience with the devastating consequences that can result from some religious traditions’ prohibitions against medical care in favor of prayer. Heywood is a survivor of a bone disease that is easily treated, but her Christian Science parents declined to take her to see a medical professional because they believed prayer was the only cure. Heywood’s statement argued that legal loopholes for such religiously-motivated neglect need to be closed.

Kathleen Johnson, vice president and military director for American Atheists (and a retired Army first sergeant) and Jason Torpy, president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (and a former Army captain) presented the nontheist position on military proselytizing and coercion. They explained how nontheist Americans serving at all levels of the U.S. military are often subject to discrimination for a lack of a god-belief, and frequently deal with proselytizing or will be coerced into religious participation. Both Johnson and Torpy argued that service members do not relinquish their right to freedom of conscience upon enlisting in the military, and that the military has a duty to stop instances of discrimination and proselytizing when and where they occur.

Finally, Sean Faircloth, executive director of the Secular Coalition for America presented our position on fixing the faith-based initiatives. President Obama inherited the broken program, which regulates the relationship between the government and faith-based social service providers who receive government grants. Faircloth argued that faith-based organizations who receive federal funds should never be permitted to discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion, and that beneficiaries of such federally-funded social services should not be subjected to proselytizing. Moreover, Faircloth pointed out that plenty of secular service providers exist and should not be ignored in favor of faith-based providers.

The issues discussed at the briefing were of importance not only to nontheists, but to all Americans. And that's where I see a particular triumph in the Secular Coalition for America's Briefing with the Obama Administration: it demonstrates to a public wary of nontheists that our issues are their issues—we are not simply a fringe movement.

And, indeed, the briefing signals that Humanists and other nontheists are gaining relevance in society and government. But the briefing isn't the only indicator of the growing acceptance of nontheists. President Obama has often mentioned nontheists in a positive and inclusive way when speaking about the broad religious spectrum in America. In 2007, Representative Pete Stark came out as the highest-level government official who doesn't believe in a higher power. And nontheist groups continue to make gains in numbers and in influence.

The February 26 briefing was the first such meeting of its kind with the nontheist movement--but I think it's safe to say that it certainly won't be the last.

--Karen Frantz

Karen Frantz is the communications and policy director of the American Humanist Association.