Today a community letter was sent to the Biden-Harris transition team signed by more than 100 religious and nonreligious leaders. The letter urges the Biden administration to reverse the damage done to religious freedom by the Trump administration and to “reclaim a positive vision of religious freedom that protects all Americans,” outlining four guiding principles for the administration to consider:
1) America is made up of diverse religious and nonreligious communities, and every American is equal under the law.
2) The separation of church and state is necessary to protect religious freedom and promote a pluralistic society.
3) Religious freedom is intended to serve as a shield, not a sword.
4) The United States must advance religious freedom around the world as a key foreign policy objective and as part of a larger agenda of promoting human rights.
Secular Democrats of America was proud to co-author this letter with our friends at Center for American Progress, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Interfaith Alliance.
Signatories included leaders from prominent national secular organizations, including American Atheists, Freedom Freedom From Religion Foundation, Secular Student Alliance, Secular Coalition for America, American Humanist Association, American Ethical Union, Society for Humanistic Judaism, Humanists for Biden Advisory Chair Greg Epstein, and others. You can read the letter in its entirety here.