Last Friday, December 16, at the very end of his mandate, President Barack Obama signed an important law in which, for the first time, atheists and other nonreligious persons are explicitly named as a class protected by the law. This bill amends the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) to state in the congressional findings that the freedom of thought and religion is understood to protect theistic and nontheistic beliefs as well as the right not to profess or practice any religion.
In particular, the new law states: “The freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is understood to protect theistic and nontheistic beliefs as well as the right not to profess or practice any religion.”
Caroline Mala Corbin, professor of law at the University of Miami, pointed out that the new law has some really interesting language in it and added: “It takes an expansive view of religious liberty, saying freedom of religion is not just about the right to practice religion. It is also about the right to have your own views about religion including being agnostic and atheistic.”
Both Christians and atheists have positive comments and reactions to this law. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, called the legislation “a vital step toward protecting conscience freedom for millions of the world’s most vulnerable, most oppressed people,” while Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, called it “a significant step toward full acceptance and inclusion for non-religious individuals.”
The American Humanist Association (AHA) is very pleased with these upgrades of previous law (IRFA) and Speckhardt said “The American Humanist Association is proud to see this historic legislation signed into law and looks forward to working with the US Department of State to ensure religious liberty for non-theists and religious minorities abroad.”
The American Humanist Association mourns the tragic killings of four bloggers in the past six months: Avijit Roy, Washiqur Rahman, Ananta Bijoy Das and Niladri Chatterjee and they expressed their opinion in a press release that explains the importance of the new, updated legislation: “The persecution of openly humanist and atheist writers has become an area of increasing concern especially after the string of murders of secular bloggers and publishers by religious extremists in Bangladesh. “
In a world where atheism in some countries is equated with terrorism and where some free thinkers are punished for their opinions, every step towards the secular values is important and should certainly be celebrated.
Photo Credits: Wikimedia
