Adopted by the Board of Directors
November 2022 | Washington, DC/Teleconference
Res. 2022-001
The American Humanist Association recognizes that:
Bias and prejudice against nonbelievers continues to be a serious problem in the United States and around the world. In the U.S., 40% of Americans say they would refuse to vote for a qualified atheist for president. A 2014 study by Pew Research found the 49% of Americans said they would be upset if an immediate family member married an atheist,
Few public officials in America openly identify as nonbelievers. A 2020 study the University of Washington found that Muslims and atheists were the groups most likely to experience religion-based discrimination in America,
A 2021 study published in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality found that people were supportive of Christians, Muslims and Jews who posted symbols of their faith in a workplace but were less likely to support an atheist’s right to post symbols, Elsewhere, nonbelievers in some nations face prosecution, imprisonment and even death for blasphemy, apostasy and other “crimes” against religion,
The situation is all the more disturbing in light of the fact that the U.S. Constitution guarantees everyone the right to practice a faith or practice no faith and this right is also supported by the United Nations in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Therefore, the American Humanist Association proposes that:
Whereas, humanists oppose all forms of prejudice and bias and support every individual’s right to worship or not as guided by conscience and in conformity with U.S. law,
And whereas, the right to question religious dogma and bias, and frame one’s worldview free of theism and supernaturalism is a fundamental human right,
Be it resolved that the American Humanist Association actively and steadfastly opposes all forms of government-sponsored prejudice and bias against nonbelievers and pledges to work to eradicate social prejudice as well; the AHA calls on all governments on all levels to take steps to eradicate such biases in their official policies and actions and ensure that the freedom to be a nonbeliever is as protected as the right to believe.