Read More American Atheists Cranford, NJ—American Atheists is proud to stand alongside national civil rights organizations and secular advocacy groups today—and everyday—in reaffirming our commitment to vigorously oppose attacks against LGBTQ+ Americans. We unequivocally believe public policy should be based on facts, not faith. For example, when we conducted the largest secular survey ever of over 34,000 nonreligious Americans, 82% of respondents identified protecting LGBTQ equality as an issue organizations like ours should prioritize, with 30% listing it as one of their three most important issues. Given the vitriol LGBTQ+ individuals face in so many faith communities, it is unsurprising nearly half identify as being nonreligious. In fact, religious hostility is the single most cited reason young Americans provide for leaving religion behind. The LGBTQ+ community is an integral part of our secular community. Unfortunately, LGBTQ+ Americans, particularly transgender Americans, are among the groups most impacted by religiously-motivated stigma and anti-scientific misinformation. This misinformation, left unchecked, plays a critical role in producing anti-trans legislation, which has been directly correlated with a statistically significant increase in suicide attempts as compared to states where such laws have not been enacted. Whether anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry is motivated by religious dogma or antiquated pseudoscience, it does not align with our organization’s values or our vision of a society in which all people are guaranteed equality under the law and are free from discrimination in their daily lives. In the latest edition of the State of the Secular States report, American Atheists warned that attacks on trans Americans would continue to escalate in states across the country and at the federal level with the incoming Trump-Vance Administration. Already this year, our policy team is monitoring a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ legislative proposals. Among them are bills that would strip legal recognition from transgender people altogether; books bans that disproportionately target literature featuring LGBTQ+ people and characters; and policies that would force teachers and school professionals to “out” students, even when there is potential for abuse. Despite the recommendation of all major U.S. medical associations, there are continued attempts to limit access to evidence-based health care. It is deeply troubling to see prominent atheists utilize the same bigoted talking points as Christian nationalists and religious extremists. Though they purport to embrace scientific inquiry, they ignore the scientific disinformation> that has shaped public opinion and policy and which fails to withstand scrutiny and the advancement of science. Of course, anti-LGBTQ+ individuals, religious or nonreligious, are free to think, believe, and speak as they will, and they do. Likewise, American Atheists will not remain silent. Although atheists and other religiously unaffiliated Americans are clearly not a monolithic group, an overwhelming majority support, as we do, the rights and dignity of trans people and the entire LGBTQ+ community. “Despite the clear evidence that religious extremists are attempting to foment a moral panic, aimed at pushing LGBTQ+ Americans out of public life—or indeed, out of existence—some people seem content to either ignore this threat or, worse, launder these extremists’ misleading talking points and outright lies,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists. “It’s disheartening to see those who hold themselves out as voices of reason
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