Dear Friend,
Today is Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, and what better way to celebrate a Founder who advocated for secularism than to support the National Day of Reason resolution?
As you may have heard, H. Res. 670 was introduced yesterday by Rep. Mike Honda and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton following a lobbying campaign by the American Humanist Association. This resolution seeks to continue our Founders’ efforts to keep religion and government separate while ensuring that reason is the basis for public policy.
The National Day of Reason also serves as an alternative to the National Day of Prayer, during which government officials at the federal, state, and local level ask their constituents to join them in sectarian prayer. Not only do government officials use National Day of Prayer to participate in an egregious violation of the separation between church and state, but they also alienate millions of humanists like you and me and others who look to reason—not prayer—to solve problems.
The National Day of Reason—a concept all Americans can support—was created as an alternative to the National Day of Prayer to raise awareness of unconstitutional religious intrusion in government. This bill also aims to encourage Americans to use “reason, critical thought, the scientific method, and free inquiry to the resolution of human problems.”
The AHA’s lobbying team has worked hard over the years to convince our elected officials that observances which benefit from government support must strive to include all Americans, not just those of certain religious beliefs. Can you take just a moment to support this important resolution by contacting your Representative in support of the National Day of Reason?
Sincerely,
Roy Speckhardt
Executive Director
P.S. We’ll be working hard to get more co-sponsors for this bill, but as a constituent you hold even greater influence. It’s simple to use our action alert form—send a message to your Representative right now, and let’s get Congress to support reason. Thank you!