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Friday, December 30, 2016

An act of kindness by a socially conscious President

President Obama signed into law the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act that, among many other things, “protects atheists, humanists, and other freethinkers around the world [including America] from religious persecution.” What that means for American Secular Humanists, agnostics, atheists and other nonreligious persons is that they are now explicitly named as “a class” protected by an “Act” that was quietly and unceremoniously signed into law last week. The new law was an update, and a much-needed upgrade, to the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act that states:
The freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is understood to protect theistic and non-theistic beliefs as well as the right not to profess or practice any religion.”
Of particular note is the Act’s explicit condemnation of any group or government entity that specifically “targets non-theists, humanists, and atheists because of their beliefs” as well as attempts to forcibly legislate or compel “non-believers or non-theists to recant their beliefs or to convert.”
The reason this is so important in America is that each and every one of the Republicans calling themselves “social conservatives” (evangelical fanatics) who attempt to force other Americans to bend to their religious will are imposing their evangelical religion on the entire population. Now women, atheists, Muslims, and the LGBTQ community have a law that prevents religious Republicans from legislating or “compelling” other Americans to comply according to the social conservatives’ bastardized interpretation of Christianity.

With One Pen Stroke President Obama Protects Non-Believers from Religious Republicans

Freedom of religion isn't just about the right to practice religion. It's about the right to have your own views about religion including being agnostic and atheistic.

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