Roy Speckhardt

Representative Pete Stark (D-CA), the only openly nontheist member of Congress, issued a proclamation recognizing the National Day of Reason, a day celebrating reason and its positive impact on humanity. As in previous years, the National Day of Reason is scheduled to be a more universally embraceable alternative...

Today's political climate makes it abundantly clear that American women need to have their rights and freedoms permanently protected through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. New laws and regulations being pushed by the Religious Right are an open violation of every woman's basic dignity by forcing them into a...

Co-authored by U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) and American Humanist Association Executive Director Roy Speckhardt.

On Feb. 12 we'll commemorate the anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, a celebration around the world known as Darwin Day, to appreciate the advancement of human knowledge and the achievements of science and...

Think about the last time you voted. Was it in a school? A government building? What about a church? It's only intuitive that where you vote, and what's visible in the polling location, impacts how you vote. That's why there is a political line 75 to 100 feet or more...

We are once again in the middle of what can now be considered a new American tradition: falsely bashing nonbelievers for being anti-Christian in general, and anti-Christmas in particular. This annual religious right ritual claims that secular Americans are involved in some sort of insidious campaign to stop everyone from...

The holidays are a traditional time to spread a message of good cheer by reuniting with family and friends. To many atheist and agnostic humanists, this time of year transcends religion and deities, which is why it is enjoyed not just by the most faithful, but by all who appreciate...

Congress is at it again. Rather than focusing on the faltering economy or the wars our nation is engaged in, the House of Representatives recently passed a resolution which would reaffirm "In God We Trust" as our national motto. The President appropriately chastised the House, saying "

The public reaction to the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the Vatican and Roman Catholic churches worldwide is causing rank-and-file Catholics to leave the church in droves. But concerned parents need to be wary about more than just the Catholic brand of clergy. The public...

As a child forced to attend long boring Catholic services, I remember the experience sometimes feeling like a jail sentence. Little did I know that a government-sponsored program would later allow criminals to choose the lesser of these two evils. Indeed, a new sentencing program in Bay Minette, Alabama named...

We know too well that each election cycle is less a democratic exercise in choosing the best person for the job, and more a race for church deacon. Candidates on the right are lining up to sign pledges banning porn and same-sex marriage. They're displaying their...

The recent atrocity in Norway is causing the world to examine what factors help drive a person to commit mass violence. On analyzing Anders Breivik's manifesto it's clear that one of the most prominent afflictions present within the chaotic ramblings was his emphatic ingroup-outgroup bias, which lead him to see...

Yesterday, in a letter to the Internal Revenue Service, Americans United for Separation of Church and State called for an investigation into Tom Brown Ministries in El Paso, Texas. Apparently Pastor Tom Brown, in violation of his organization's public charity tax status, endorsed the recall of Mayor John...

During his Iowa Family Leader address, Presidential hopeful Herman Cain solved the entirety of our country's immigration problems in one fell swoop.

"I just got back from China. Ever heard of the Great Wall of China? It looks pretty sturdy. And that sucker is...

Tea-Party presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann has yet to announce a running mate -- many hope that time will never come -- but it has become clear that Bachmann's platform boasts a crowd favorite by her side: God.

"Did God tell you He wanted you to run for the Minnesota...

Abortion divides Americans along religious lines. A 2009 survey from the Pew Forum confirms other reports that nearly all humanists and other nontheists join most Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus in their support for a woman's right to abortion services, while Christians and Muslims are split on the issue. Leading the...

For those of us outside one particular extremist Christian circle, May 21st is expected to be just another Saturday. There are errands to be run and friends to see, sleep to catch up on and bills to be tackled. (And for Washington D.C. residents so inclined, the first...

Today I spoke to over 100 people at the State capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina as part of a celebration of the National Day of Reason with the Triangle Freethought Society. Even along the Bible Belt, in a state whose constitution still requires an oath of belief in a higher...

Some Americans are up in arms about a recent mistake made at the U.S. Mint. Fifty thousand George Washington dollar coins have been struck without the inscription: "In God We Trust." Many believe that a public outcry after such an egregious error is only natural, but why? This so-called gaffe...

The Smithsonian is about to get in hot water again. Just a few months ago, the museum was plunged into controversy around a work of art that included an image of a crucifix with ants crawling across it. It was as if those unassuming ants opened the very gates of...

"I will not allow political correctness to obscure a real and dangerous threat to the safety and security of the citizens of the United States" spoke Representative Peter King at his most recent round of hearings examining the presence of what he fears is homegrown Islamic terrorism. Representative King's laser-like...