The name of the document they wrote is Restoring Constitutional and Patriotic Pluralism in the White House. It was drawn up in November of last year, by the Secular Democrats of America PAC in preparation for the new administration-to-be under President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris.Restoring Constitutional Secularism
It is a 27-page document that includes such topics as Patriotism and Sincere Inclusion: Protecting the Rights and Dignity of Nontheists, Dignity of Nontheists, and ends with the rather lengthy (7-8 page) Humanists for Biden Advisory Council Endorsements.
It starts out with a Preamble, which states the following: “The Secular Democrats of America PAC (SDA) has prepared this document for the Biden-Harris campaign to provide recommendations that will not only reverse the damage done by the Trump administration but boldly restore a vision of constitutional secularism and respect in the land for religious and intellectual pluralism.”
They ask the transition team of Biden-Harris, now well ensconced into their position, to actively work at dismantling what they call the “Christian nationalist movement” or the “religious right.” They claim that the movement has been on constant display under the Trump-Pence administration and that its political ideology is anti-democratic and anti-scientific; they claim it is a cover for White supremacy.
They ask the incoming administration of Biden-Harris to counter that “Christian nationalist movement” by actively working to dismantle its grip on our government and counter its inaccurate and revisionist messaging around our nation’s founding. (According to Wikipedia, while not the greatest source of information, the United States has about 26 percent of its population that claim to not believe in God, while Pew Research Center states that about 16 percent of the world’s population are not affiliated with a religion. One can obviously believe in God without being part of an “official” religion. It is perhaps worth noting that China has the most atheists in the world.
In Section II, the document states: “We strongly recommend coordinating closely with the Congressional Freethought Caucus(CFC) on issues in Congress Affecting Religious Freedom, separation of church and state, and scientific integrity.”
Section II ends with this statement: “The rise of White Christian nationalism is a national security threat. We recommend you: encourage the Department of Homeland Security and Patriotic Pluralism to dedicate resources to deradicalization programs aimed at hate groups, including, but not limited to, White nationalists; increase monitoring of such groups, including the online environment, and take action to address increased hate crimes toward minority faith communities; and shift rhetoric to label violent White nationalist extremists as terrorists.
Section IV, under the subhead of Reframing Patriotism, states that we should avoid phrases like “God and country, since, they claim,
approximately 30 percent of service members are not affiliated with religion. (We restate that not being affiliated with religion does not mean that they do not believe in God. And even if they do not believe in God, since most people do, should that be reason enough to remove the word God from their everyday speech? Do we remove alcohol from liquor store windows, or never serve such drinks to our company because one, two, or more of our guests don’t drink?)
Under Inclusion of Nontheists, it states, “When responding to national crisis and tragedy, the President plays a critical role as
Healer-in-Chief by demonstrating moral leadership, providing comfort, and bringing the nation together. In these moments, it is critical to keep in mind that millions of Americans who do not pray or subscribe to a religious faith must feel included in the President’s message to the nation. Prayer or scriptural references must be accompanied by an acknowledgement of the nonreligious, who have just as much of a need to heal and feel part of a greater good as everyone else.”
While most Americans heartily agree with the concept of inclusivity, they likely might have trouble with the concept of making God
disappear for the sake of those who do not believe in him. Those same Americans may not believe in many things the nontheists believe in and advocate, but chances are they would not go on a or start a riot to make their point that God exists. To each his own thoughts and beliefs, even if they are on the far side of our own.
May we suggest that God may well have had something to do with the founding of this nation?
—“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” —Declaration of Independence
—“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” —John Adams
—“God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? —Thomas Jefferson
—“While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher
duties of religion….” —George Washington well, people forget.
God bless us all. And we mean that, inclusively.
Follow