Introducing the Congressional Freethought Caucus
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/01
Another religious group in the United States House of Representatives advocates for the nonreligious.
Democratic Representatives Jared Huffman (CA), Jamie Raskin (MD), Jerry McNerney (CA), and Dan Kildee (MI) helped form a new caucus.
Many people in the United States do not support religion in government. While others do, the point is to advocate for policies based on reason and science.
One may assume “and not faith and revelation.” A press release talked about a mission of the caucus. It is to “promote public policy based on reason and science, to protect the secular character of our government, and to champion the value of freedom of thought worldwide.”
Good.
The point is an area of agreement for both the nominal, liberal, moderate, and ordinary religious and the nonreligious. The point of secularism. They want to promote secularism.
Still more, they may agree on the need to advocate for science in public policy. It could be “the inspiration” of the public policy if you will.
The bigger goal is to reduce the discrimination against the nonbelieving population in the United States. Those people labelled atheists, agnostics, and humanists.
This caucus, as espoused by itself, can help give voice “for Members of Congress to discuss their moral frameworks, ethical values, and personal religious journeys.”
The Freethought Caucus appears to have an interesting take on the implications of the word religion. The implications of a narrow set of traditional definitions.
This may be increased to the more secular ritualistic lifestyles many American take on board. Religion may decline as a formal structure.
However, the practices morph with the times. Even though, this may not be called religion per se.
Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, said, “The very existence of this congressional caucus for freethinkers and humanists is a marker of how far the movement for secular and nontheist equality has come.”
Speckhardt continued, “This significant step is also a new beginning for our country as both religious and nonreligious leaders work to better the nation.”
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