For Immediate Release

Contact:

Merrill Miller, 202-238-9088 ext. 105, merrillmiller@americanhumanist.org

(Washington, D.C., June 15, 2015)—The American Humanist Association is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Anne Nicol Gaylor, a prominent atheist activist and co-founder of the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

Gaylor was a champion of equality for atheists and humanists as well as for women. After advocating for women’s right to abortion in the 1970s, Gaylor started the Freedom from Religion Foundation to address the role of religion in women’s oppression and to promote the separation of church and state. For her extensive efforts on behalf of reproductive rights and freethought, the American Humanist Association’s Feminist Caucus honored her with the Humanist Heroine award in 1985. Her tireless work for a secular America will continue through the Freedom from Religion Foundation, now presided over by her daughter, Annie Laurie Gaylor and her son-in-law Dan Barker.

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Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the American Humanist Association works to protect the rights of humanists, atheists and other nontheistic Americans. The AHA advances the ethical and life-affirming philosophy of humanism, which—without beliefs in any gods or other supernatural forces—encourages individuals to live informed and meaningful lives that aspire to the greater good of humanity.