Is God’s Omniscience Biblical Or Just Assumed?

I AGREE, I Just Don’t Like Your Tone!! :( | Atheist Debates

Mike Feels That Your Feelings Feel Wrong

Our Public Servants Must be Futurists

From Policy and Political Director Rachel Deitch

So, in case you haven’t heard, there’s an election in less than a month. It’s a big one; they say it’s the most important election of our era. (Aren’t they all?) And based on the data we have from past elections, the odds are that–in this century-defining moment–the average eligible voter didn’t vote in the primary election. But that same eligible voter in Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Maine will vote in the general. And those same odds say that the average eligible voter in Texas, South Carolina, Illinois, or California won’t vote. 

If you are a humanist, though, odds are that you plan on voting. Odds are that you’ll vote early, and that you voted in the last midterm election (if you were eligible). Odds are that you and other humanists in your community will vote for the same candidates. And odds are that you see yourself as a voter. 

The odds (or in this case the peer-reviewed study) show that your humanism will be a stronger predictor of if you vote and who you vote for than your income, education, or geography. That’s because voting is a moral act of construction. 

Now, I’m not dense. Yes, of course voting about gas prices, and health insurance premiums, and if your brother is going to be deployed to some stupid (qua violently unnecessary) war. But, we aren’t casting our votes based on where we are now. We are casting our votes based on what our “public servants” (remember that dusty phrase?) promise to create in the future, and how much we trust that promise. Because every politician at this point promises to lower gas prices, but they have different reasons for doing it and a different way they plan to get it done. There’s an undervalued job requirement of our public servants (yes, I refuse to give up the phrase): they must be futurists. They have to be able to stand where we are now and see something different. And then they have to convince us they can craft and enact the policies that get us there. And then we get to vote for them–or not.

And deciding what kind of world you want to create with your vote is absolutely a moral question. But if that’s where the analysis ends, then every person with a moral code would vote. But we know that’s not true, and that humanists and atheists vote at higher rates than their religious counterparts. 

Now this is where I depart the data completely and offer my own untested hypothesis: humanists vote at the astoundingly high levels we do because we aren’t only futurists; we’re futurists who know that the only way we get to the future we want is if we make it. And it starts, on November 3, with our vote. 

If I’m losing you at this point because this seems naive or pollyannish, I offer this: In our awful current system (looking at you, Citizens United and whatever bullcrap election-day interference we might expect), politicians and special interest can try to buy our vote or convince us that it’s a waste of time to cast a ballot. But they can’t actually buy it, and – for the most part – they can’t actually prevent us from walking into the voting booth. Voters still get to walk into the polls and vote. And the data shows that the voters who show up will vote their conscience.

But I don’t take stake in the odds that you’ll vote. When 40% of eligible voters sit out elections, that includes not insignificant numbers of our community – numbers that could make a real difference in who represents you from school board to Senate. 

So, I’m not going to trust it will happen, I’m going to ask you to join me and your fellow humanists in voting this year. The data says that the best question I can ask you is: What’s your voting plan? Answer for yourself: what day you’ll vote, what time, how you’ll get to the polls (or drop off your ballot) and who you’ll bring with you. Odds are, if you take the time to answer those questions, you’re much more likely to cast your ballot. If you don’t yet have a voting plan, make one today. 

In a year where the odds are that a third of races will be decided by margins of 10% or less, humanists know better than to count on the odds. Instead, we’ll make the future we want to see.

For humanity,

Rachel

The post Our Public Servants Must be Futurists appeared first on American Humanist Association.

Fake-Nice Theist Smugly Avoids Answering Questions

Does The New Covenant Erase The Old Law Or Just Rebrand It?

Fact Checking the Gospel Anonymity “Fact Check”

Colorado Ends Twelve-Step Mandate for Parolees, Opening Door to Secular Recovery Options

The Colorado Department of Corrections is implementing multiple protections from American Atheists’ recovery options legislation.

The post Colorado Ends Twelve-Step Mandate for Parolees, Opening Door to Secular Recovery Options appeared first on American Atheists.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Questioning Christianity

Freethought Radio – October 15, 2026

We listen to highlights of FFRF’s “Great American Freethought Songbook” concert series. Then, Dr. Bradley B. Onishi describes his new book “American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords are Turning America Into a Monarchy.“

The post Freethought Radio – October 15, 2026 appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.