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Can the American Secular Movement Listen to Its Better Angels?
More Americans are secular than ever. Can the institutions meant to represent them keep up?
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Editorās notes: Shortly before press time, Chrissy Stroop received notice that the Freedom From Religion Foundation will be honoring her with a Freethought Heroine award in October. This award was not offered in exchange for favorable treatment or other consideration in this article, which had already entered copyedits at the time of the notification. Also, Gmail might clip this post due to its size. In case youāre unable to see the whole post, click here to read it on browser.
Iām trying to assess the state of the secular movement in the United States, and I want to believe Kat Grant when they tell me āprogress is slow, but it is happening.ā
Grantās optimism is noteworthy in light of the Freedom From Religion Foundationās choice to publish a disinformation-packed anti-trans screed on their Freethought Now blog last December as a cruel rejoinder to Grantās own pointed post debunking reductionist biological definitions of womanhood. FFRF published the bigoted response in that spirit of āfree inquiry,ā ādebate,ā and just plain cranky contrarianism that old-fashioned atheists romanticizeāand which often drives younger and marginalized nonreligious folks away from humanist, atheist, and so-called freethinking organizations. Grant worked for FFRF for almost three years. And if an advocate like Grantāwho was harassed mercilessly during the FFRF blog brouhahaātells me theyāve seen āa ton of improvementā in secular institutions over the last few years, that means something.
The effectiveness of secular organizing and lobbying matters more than ever these days, since the United States finds itself in the ever-tightening grip of a fascist regime backed primarily by right-wing Christians.