News and Notes: Positive Activism
By George Francis Kane
Presidential campaigns are usually not very informative concerning the challenges that shape the winning candidate’s administration, but this year feels different. The parties have drawn especially clear divisions along culture wars issues such as reproductive and GLBTQ+ rights. Minnesota Atheists sees the clear imprint of religion on these issues. Christian nationalists have detailed a plan to impose a biblical conception of family on the nation with the political authority they have won through the election of their booster, Donald J. Trump. Their plan could transform government into the enforcer of religious dogma. How can we respond to this portentous project?
As a non-profit organization, Minnesota Atheists is prohibited to endorse or oppose the election of candidates for government office, but our right to advocate for our secular mission is protected by the First Amendment. Local organizations provide the opportunity for direct involvement. Minnesota Atheists maintains official public policy positions on all church/state separation issues. These policy positions guide our public education activities and our interaction with state and local officials. Some members are working to bring issues of separation of state and church into public attention by writing letters to the editor of the Minnesota Star Tribune to present the secularist view of current events. If you are interested in joining this project, please drop me a note at George.Francis.Kane@gmail.com.
Our partner in advocating for secular government locally, Humanists MN, invites members to participate in their Social Action Team. This Team sends out email alerts to apprise subscribers of legislative hearings on important bills and assists members to stay in communication with their legislators. To get involved with their projects, contact them at socialaction@humanistsmn.org. Stay informed on their web site at https://humanistsmn.org/activism/advocacy/ and on their Meetup group.
Local organizations do important grassroots work to effect positive changes in the culture, but the heavy lifting to influence government action is performed by the national organizations, which work in litigation, lobbying, research and education. The most important organizations that focus their political activity on the separation of church and state are the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), the American Humanist Association (AHA) and American Atheists. These groups have developed a close working relationship to litigate church/state separation cases and to lobby in Congress and the states. An excellent podcast series, We Dissent provides deep dives into secularist issues by female attorneys with AU, FFRF and American Atheists.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation is the largest secularist advocacy organization with over 40,000 members. FFRF has a monthly newsletter, Freethought Today, which members receive by email or can access on the ffrf.org web site. I also receive several emails from them every day about their current activities in secularization. They provide indispensable information for everyone trying to keep their finger on the pulse of aggressions against democracy by politicized religion.
Americans United has a great magazine, Church & State, which should be read cover-to-cover every month. The January 2025 issue has an article by Rob Boston, “The Coming Storm,” about the challenges posed by the Trump Administration in its second term to the separation of church and state.
American Atheists was founded by Madalyn Murray O’Hair, who brought atheism to national attention in the 1960s. The organization is holding its 2025 convention in Minneapolis, which will be a can’t-miss event. Their website, atheist.org, has a wealth of tools for staying politically informed, such as their state legislation tracker.
The American Humanist Association has been active since 1941 and has 34,000 members. Much of its activism is performed by its adjunct organizations, the Humanist Legal Center, AHA Center for Education, the Humanist Society and the Humanism for All Project.
These local and national organizations are all vital for the struggle before us to defend, salvage and restore the separation of church and state. Without their work, the struggle will surely be lost for generations. If you can help, they are all deserving of your support.
