Resources
Polling and Data
The religiously unaffiliated represents the single largest religious demographic in the Democratic Party
Reports
- Reality Check: Being Nonreligious in America, American Atheists, 2020
- American Values Atlas, Public Religion Research Institute, data available for years 2013-2019
- Exodus: Why Americans are Leaving Religion—And Why They’re Unlikely to Come Back, Public Religion Research Institute, 2016
- Religious Landscape Survey, Pew Research Center, 2014
Articles
- NoneDecision 2020: 5 Reasons Secular Americans are Poised to become a Major Force in US Politics, by Juhem Navarro-Rivera, TheHumanist.com
- Most states have religious exemptions to COVID-19 social distancing rules, Pew Research Center, April 2020
- Half of Americans say Bible should influence U.S. laws, including 28% who favor it over the will of the people, Pew Research Center, April 2020
- White Evangelicals See Trump as Fighting for Their Beliefs, Though Many Have Mixed Feelings About His Personal Conduct, Pew Research Center, March 2020
- 10 Facts About Atheists, Pew Research Center, December 2019
- Americans Have Positive Views about Religion, but Want It Out of Politics, Pew Research Center, November 2019
- In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at a Rapid Pace, Pew Research Center, October 2019
- Republicans and Democrats agree religion’s influence is waning, but differ in their reactions, Pew Research Center, November 2019
Secularism 101
Videos
- Liberty and Justice For All, Coalition for Liberty and Justice/Catholics for Choice
- A National Conversation on White Supremacy and American Christianity/Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
- Secular Invocations/Central Florida Freethought Community
- Legislative Alchemy: Pseudoscience in the Law/Jann Bellamy, JD/Center for Inquiry
- Tying up Creationism in the Classroom/Bertha Vazquez/Center for Inquiry
- Secular Women in Other Movements/Diane Burkholder, Hypatia Alexander, Kaberi Kar Gupta, Kayley Whalen, Stef McGraw/Center for Inquiry
- Theocracy at the EPA, Andrew Seidel/Freedom From Religion Foundation
- Taking on Fake News about Climate Change, John Cook/Center for Inquiry
- Interview with Black Atheists/Ronnelle Adams, Jamila Bey, Debbie Goddard, Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, Mandisa Thomas/Huffpost Live
- A Doctor’s Experience/MergerWatch
Book Recommendations
- The Good News Club: The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children, by Katherine Stewart
A sobering look at the coordinated and well-funded effort by Christian Nationalists to advance a fundamentalist agenda in public schools. - The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, by Katherine Stewart
A deep dive into the network of think tanks, advocacy groups, and pastoral organizations that are seeking political power to undermine the norms and institutions of American democracy in favor of a religious nationalist agenda.
- Close Encounters with the Religious Right: Journeys into the Twilight Zone of Religion and Politics, by Rob Boston
Rob Boston has written prolifically on this topic. See a list of his other books here. - The End of White Christian America, by Dr. Robert P. Jones
Dr. Jones is the founder and executive director of the Public Religion Research Institute. He recently came out with another book entitled, White Too long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. - The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American, by Andrew Seidel
A thorough debunking of the myth that the United States was founded as a Christian nation that also explains in depth how this myth has been used to justify a Christian Nationalist political agenda. - Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Susan Jacoby
Susan Jacoby traces more than two hundred years of secularist activism, beginning with the fierce debate about the omission of God from the Constitution. - Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine, by Dr. Paul Offit
Acclaimed physician Dr. Paul Offit examines the consequences when people choose to medically martyr themselves or their children in the name of religion. The book demonstrates how the entangled relationship between religion and medicine can impact everyone. See his books on the anti-vaccine movement and other related topics here. - By These Hands: A Documentary History of African American Humanism, by Dr. Anthony Pinn
Dr. Anthony Pinn is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University. His research and writings are focused on the intersections of African-American religion, constructive theology, and humanist thought. For more on his work in humanist thought, click here. - God vs. The Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty, by Marci A. Hamilton.
Articles and Reports
- The Case for Evidence-Based Free Exercise Accommodation: Why the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is Bad Public Policy/Marci A. Hamilton/Harvard Law and Policy Review
- Corporate Religious Liberty/Carolina Mala Corbin/University of Miami School of Law
- Christians Against Christian Nationalism Statement/Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
- RFRA, Zubik v. Burwell, and the Do No Harm Act/Marci A. Hamilton/Justia
- In an Era of Religious Refusals, the Do No Harm Act is an Essential Safeguard/Ian Thomas/ACLU
- State of the Secular States Report Card/American Atheists
- 2020 Report on Child Marriage in the United States/CHILDUSA
- State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts/National Conference of State Legislatures
- Top Ten Public School State/Church Violations/Freedom From Religion Foundation
- The Eight States with Religious Tests for Public Office in Their States Constitutions/Freedom From Religion Foundation
- Freedom of Thought Report/Humanists International
- 2020 Annual Report/United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
- About Hospital Mergers/MergerWatch
Elected Officials
Association of State Elected Officials
The Association of State Elected Officials was established in 2020 to network openly nonreligious elected officials at all levels of government. It was founded by Leonard Preserg, an atheist school board member in Fayetteville, GA.
Congressional Freethought Caucus
The Congressional Freethought Caucus was founded in 2018 by Representatives Huffman, Raskin, Kildee, and McNerney. It has grown to include more than a dozen Members of Congress and taken the lead on issues impacting religious freedom, scientific integrity, and discrimination toward nontheists. Congressman Raskin, who identifies as Jewish and a humanist, and Congressman Huffman, who identifies as a humanist, Co-Chair the Caucus.
Minnesota Secular Government Caucus
The Minnesota Secular Government Caucus was founded in 2022 and is co-chaired by Rep. Mike Freiberg, Rep. Athena Hollins, Senator John Marty and Senator Jen McEwen.
Candidates
Center for Freethought Equality
The Center for Freethought Equality is the advocacy and political arm of the American Humanist Association. It lobbies for the separation of church and state and civil liberties in Washington, D.C. and has an affiliated political action committee that works to increase the number of open humanists and atheists in public office at all levels of government. You can see a list of atheist and humanist elected officials here. Contact Ron Millar (rmillar@cfequality.org) for a copy of their questionnaire.
Candidate Trainings
Secular Democrats of America offers training that will equip you with the confidence to message effectively, and authentically, about religious freedom issues and your religious or nonreligious identity. Contact us for more information and please review our Key Issues to learn more about religious freedom issues.