Young voters are increasingly secular. To grow the youth vote, Republicans face a challenge in keeping religious conservatives on board while expanding their reach to atheists and the ‘religiously unaffiliated.’

Conservatives made history this year. For the first time, an avowed atheist addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, the big annual gathering of conservative activists. And atheists occupied an exhibitorÔÇÖs booth, another first.

Jamila Bey, an African American journalist and board member of the group American Atheists, didnÔÇÖt exactly wow the crowd, for whom professions of religious faith and a belief in God are standard fare. But she wasnÔÇÖt booed either. For the atheists, long held at armÔÇÖs length by Republicans, thatÔÇÖs progress.

ÔÇ£Embrace me. Let me vote for GOP candidates,ÔÇØ Ms. Bey said last week at the 41st annual CPAC.

Read more at csmonitor.com

SPI at CPAC - The Secular Policy Institute hosted at table at the annual Conservative PAC event at the National Harbor.  SPI CEO Edwina Rogers is photographed on the right discussing the importance of separation of religion and government with two Liberty University students.  After a protracted discussion, the students even decided to join. In fact, in the end, hundreds of conservatives agreed to the mission of SPI and joined the Think Tank; although many were already secularist or non-theists.

The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union(ACU).

All of the major Republican presidential hopefuls made appearances. ┬áRand Paul won the CPAC high-profile straw poll for a third straight year Saturday. ┬áThe Kentucky senator carried 25.7% in the Conservative Political Action Conference poll, while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker finished second with 21.4% ÔÇö a closer-than-expected tally in this early test of political strength among conservative Republican activists. ┬áSen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, finished third with 11.5%, followed closely by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson with 11.4%. ┬áFormer Florida governor Jeb Bush ÔÇö perhaps the most criticized candidate at this conservative conclave ÔÇö finished fifth at 8.3%. ┬áOther potential presidential candidates ÔÇö including Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, and Rick Perry ÔÇö had less than 4% in the straw poll. Paul also won CPAC contests in 2013 and 2014. ┬á Attendees┬áagreed on the need for a conservative nominee but said the GOP needs to reach out to moderates who may hold different views on immigration, education and foreign policy and will be needed to win the presidential vote in 2016.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu┬áin a speech this week in Washington struck a conciliatory tone, saying that despite controversy surrounding his Tuesday address to Congress, Israel and the United States “will weather this storm.”

Polling has shown Americans disapprove of House Speaker John Boehner’s move to invite Netanyahu to speak to Congress without notifying the White House. That, and the timing of the speech so close to the Israeli election, has critics accusing Boehner and Netanyahu of politicizing the issue of Iranian nuclear talks.

But in his address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Prime Minister challenged those critics, insisting that his┬áTuesday speech is “not intended to inject Israel into the American partisan debate,” and reaffirming his support for President Barack Obama.

Netanyahu instead framed his congressional address as part of a “moral obligation” to sound the alarm on Iran, which he warned has “vowed to annihilate Israel.”

The world must not enter into the nuclear arms deal with Iran that is now being negotiated between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a joint meeting of Congress.

The proposed deal “paves Iran’s path to the bomb” and leaves the world with a threat of a nuclear war, Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader said Iran is playing a game of “hide and cheat” with international nuclear inspectors and that no deal should come until Iran stops its aggression toward its neighbors, stops supporting terrorism around the world and stops threatening Israel.

US House - The U.S. House passed a clean funding bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through September, sending the bill to President Barack Obama and averting a partial shutdown of the department. The vote was 257-167.

House Speaker John Boehner relented by allowing the vote without provisions blocking the President’s actions on immigration.

US Senate - The Senate will turn to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (S. 615) next after the Ambush Elections CRA and Keystone override votes.  The Senate still plans to move to Human Trafficking legislation this five week work period.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday the chamber was moving toward debate on a bill that would require President Barack Obama to submit any final nuclear deal with Iran for Congress’ approval.

The White House has said Obama would veto the Iran Nuclear Review Act, which was introduced by Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the panel.

McConnell, a Republican, told his weekly news conference that he intended to debate the bill in the Senate next week.

Harry Reid, the top Democrat in the Senate, suggested that lawmakers wait to debate the bill until they know what has happened in the talks, given that there are only three weeks left before negotiators pledged to have the outlines of a final agreement.

Looking Ahead:

Legislative items that are possible during this work period include:  Nominations, Ambush Election Resolution of Disapproval, Keystone Override, Human Trafficking bills, and the Budget Resolution.

The weekly update on SPI coalition members
by Johnny Monsarrat

SPI coalition member Rationalist International is starting an eBook publication on a wide variety of secular topics. The first book is a secular analysis of the Hindu holy text Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavad Gita A Critical Study. It was formally released by Mr. Ashok Kumar Sharma, Indian Ambassador to Finland, as shown here in this photo with author and the head of Rationalist International, Sanal Edamaruku.

Edwina Rogers, the head of the Secular Policy Institute, is traveling in New Zealand this week, and we notice that SPI Coalition member The New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists is also welcoming Americans and secular podcasters Matt Dillahunty and AronRa, at an event on March 10.

Did you know that SPI Coalition member American Atheists has its own television channel? It’s called Atheist TV and you can get it on the internet-streaming service Roku, which is sort of like Netflix plus a set top box.

Many SPI coalition members wrote heartbreakingly┬áabout the murder of an American atheist in Bangladesh. Our favorite is this piece from the Center for Inquiry, Statement on the Murder of Dr. Avijit Roy, Bangladeshi Ally and Friend, because they had worked closely with the victim. They also present Dr. Roy’s final and unpublished article which comes out in CFI’s Free Inquiry magazine next month.

SPI coalition member Foundation Beyond Belief raised $20,000 this month to benefit the Syrian American Medical Society Foundation (SAMS) in honor of Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, three college students tragically killed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The hate crime against Muslims resonates especially loudly with secular people, of course, because we face our own form of discrimination.

Finally, this week we welcome three new national groups to the SPI coalition:

• Peruvian Rationalist Humanists is a Peruvian group that prefers to explain reality and live according to reason and scientific knowledge.
• Polish Secular Society publishes the bimonthly “Res Humana”, the magazine of humanist, rationalist, and secular culture
• Technoprog, the French Technoprogressive Association calls for “democratic transhumanism” through its website and conferences, promoting justice, democracy, and social harmony.

Would your group like to discuss the benefits of joining the Secular Policy Institute’s coalition, the world’s largest coalition of secular groups? See our list of 259 members worldwide and then contact johnny@secularpolicyinstitute.net.

By Greg Neimeyer

In an unprecedented finding, scientists have now observed a direct connection between the rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and an increase in the amount of thermal radiation that strikes the EarthÔÇÖs surface. The finding confirms a keystone premise of the theory that humans have contributed to worldwide warming in recent decades, the researchers report in an online February 25 of Nature.

Like other greenhouse gasses, carbon dioxide can absorb and re-radiate infrared light back down to Earth, warming the earth by trapping thermal energy around the planet that would otherwise dissipate into space. To determine how large an effect recent human-generated CO2 increases have had on EarthÔÇÖs energy balance, climate scientist Daniel Feldman of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and colleagues monitored the amount of thermal radiation hitting sites in Alaska and Oklahoma on cloudless days. Because CO2 emits light within a signature range of wavelengths, the researchers could differentiate between energy balance changes caused by CO2 and those caused by a range of other factors, such as water vapor.

Over 10 years of systematic observations, the team found that a rise in CO2 concentrations of 22 parts per million elevated the amount of incoming thermal radiation from CO2 by .20 watts per square meter, an increase of about 10 percent. The researchers say their results agree with the theoretical predictions of CO2-driven warming used in simulations of future climate.

Policy Statement – These findings provide some of the most definitive data to date regarding the human contributions to global warming and climate change, and throw into high relief the responsibility we bear for global policy making to continue monitoring and reducing greenhouse gasses to help reduce or reverse the adverse impact of human contributions to global climate change.

The person, Farabi Shafiur Rahman, had called for Avijit Roy’s death in numerous Facebook posts, according to Roy’s parents.

And within minutes after the Thursday attack, Rahman posted photos of the crime scene, said Col. Ziaul Ahsan of Bangladesh’s elite anti-crime unit, the Rapid Action Battalion.

In a Facebook comment last year, Rahman allegedly wrote, “Avijit Roy lives in America. So it’s not possible to kill him now. But when he returns home, he will be killed then.”

Read More at CNN

A┬áBBC poll gauging sentiments in BritainÔÇÖs Muslim community following the Charlie Hebdo massacre found that more than a quarter harbor some sympathy for the motives behind the Paris attacks that left 17 people dead.

A similar number, 24 percent, suggested that violence against those who publish images of Muhammad can be justified, while 11 percent felt sympathetic towards people who want to fight against Western interests.

A total of 1,000 Muslims in Britain were interviewed in the telephone poll over the course of February. The results were published Wednesday.

Read More at Times of Israel

The weekly update on the SPI Fellows
by Madeline Schussel

SPI Fellow Michael Shermer, Skeptic magazine founder and author of The Moral Arc, interviewed with Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman of the Huffington Post earlier this week. The content of their discussion, as well as of ShermerÔÇÖs book, was how scientific thinking has helped people to become both freer and more caring.

Mitelman asked Shermer if he believes that science and religion are ÔÇ£inherently in conflictÔÇØ. Shermer explained that the source of friction is more specific: that ÔÇ£traditional theologyÔÇØ often counters the Enlightenment language of ÔÇ£natural rightsÔÇØ.

ÔÇ£

The weekly report on US and World public policy
by Edwina Rogers

Secular Policy Institute Holds White House Meeting

On Wednesday, February 25, I met with staff of the Domestic Policy Council to introduce the institute as a resource and ensure our seat at the stakeholder table. A range of matters were covered including the lack of a Humanist Chaplin in the Military and the need for the Humanist designation as religious preference in all branches of the Armed Services. One DPC staff member reported that he had a Humanist wedding. This matter could be solved by Executive Order.

White House Sign On Letter Opportunity

Please let the Center for Reproductive Rights know if your organization would like to sign this letter to the White House strongly opposing special protections for organizations that refuse to provide or even refer for safe abortion services for women who are pregnant as the result of rape or incest, or who face life-endangering pregnancies.

Please let Aram Schvey with the Center for Reproductive Rights know at aschvey@reprorights.org by Friday Feb 26 at 5pm EST if your organization would like to sign the letter.

Oil Pipeline Vetoed

President Barack Obama, exercising his veto power for the first time in five years, rejected a measure green-lighting the Keystone XL pipeline. Obama’s signature denying the Keystone bill kicks off what’s expected to be a flurry of vetoes on measures that Republicans will send to the White House now that they control both chambers of Congress.

Congressional Report

The Senate is in a five-week work period. Most of the week has been focused on HR 240 the DHS Appropriations bill. The Majority Leader announced that he will offer the funding bill without the provisions removing funding for the President’s Executive Order for Immigration in order to prevent Home Land Security shut down.

Looking ahead in the Senate legislative items that are possible during this work period include (not in order):

• Keystone XL Pipeline veto override;
• Authorization for use of force against ISIS;
• CRA re: NRLB ambush elections;
• Human trafficking legislation;
• ESEA reauthorization;
• Iran sanctions;
• Cybersecurity;
• Trade Promotion Authority;
• House-passed Obamacare-related legislation (40-hour workweek, and bills exempting volunteer firefighters and veterans from employer mandates);
• Ayotte GITMO bill;
• SGR/Doc Fix (expires March 31); and
• Budget Resolution (possible the last week of March before the recess)

SPI Congressional Meetings This Week

I met with the offices of Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Rodney David (D-IL) on the House side and Senator Portman on the Senate side. Additionally, I had a very productive meeting with House Judicary Chairman Goodlatte’s committee staff.

Congressional Briefing

As 2015 commences, religious liberty is once again front and center in political debates. On February 24, SPI Staff joined members of the Coalition for Liberty & Justice, a broad alliance of faith-based and secular organizations that works to ensure that public policy protects the religious liberty of individuals of all faiths and no faith and to oppose public policies that impose one religious viewpoint on all. The Congressional Briefing was to highlight recent distortions of religious liberty that are really attacks on reproductive health access, LGBTQ rights and separation of religion and state. The briefing was entitled, Abusing Religious LibertyÔÇöWho Gets Hurt?

Just last week, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to congress in support of the reintroduced refusal bill, HR 940, “the Health Care Conscience Rights Act.”

Plaintiff Opportunities (In God We Trust)

Mike Newdow is searching for plaintiffs willing to join federal challenges to the mandatory inscriptions of “In God We Trust” on the nation’s money. There are seven circuits that have not yet heard such challenges, and Mr. Newdow is planning to file in each. It appears that the Supreme Court’s now unanimity in three of three RFRA cases* should unequivocally lead to a victory here. After all, forcing Atheists to bear on their persons the declaration that “In God We Trust” is surely at least as great a burden on their free exercise as not being able to drink a hallucinogenic tea (O Centro), fearing your tax payments may be used for a contraceptive which may cause the demise of a zygote (Hobby Lobby) or not being allowed to grow a 1/2″ beard (Holt).

Mike needs about ten individuals (some of whom have children) and organizations in each of the given circuits (which are comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin).

* Although Hobby Lobby was a 5-4 decision, every opinion accepted that strict scrutiny is required under RFRA. So did every one in O Centro and Holt.

If you or your organization can assist please contact Mike Newdow at 916-201-6078 (cell), 707-739-6837 (Google voice) or email at FirstAmendmist@gmail.com

International

SPI was invited to join Hummay, International Humanist Support Network.

Hummay was founded in 2004 to provide members of the Uganda Humanist Association with a means to contact humanist/secularist/Human Rights organisation leaders worldwide in case they were in trouble. A Ugandan humanist leader had been warned, after a conference in 2004, that things might be ‘different’ for him after foreign visitors had returned home.

The group has acted on other occasions as an effective early warning system, for example alerting humanists across the globe to the arrest of Leo Igwe founder of the Nigerian Humanist Movement. Action by many members almost certainly contributed to his swift release. Apart from being a warning system Hummay is also intended as a way for humanists/etc. in African countries and in developing world countries to inform leaders of organizations and individuals worldwide of their good and bad news. This membership is by invitation only and SPI looks forward to participating.

By Greg Neimeyer, Ph.D.

While the U.S. economy may have improved, money continues to be a top cause of stress for Americans, according to the most recent annual survey, Stress in America: Paying With Our Health, released by the American Psychological Association. ÔÇ£Regardless of the economic climate, money and finances have remained the top stressor since our survey began in 2007. Furthermore, this yearÔÇÖs survey shows that stress related to financial issues could have a significant impact on AmericansÔÇÖ health and well-being,ÔÇØ APA CEO and Executive Vice President Norman B. Anderson, PhD, said.

The survey, conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the APA, polled 3,000 adults throughout the U.S. and found that 72 percent of Americans reported feeling stressed about money with twenty-two percent indicating that they experienced extreme stress about money during the past month. For the majority of Americans (64 percent), money is a somewhat or very significant source of stress, which was especially true for parents and younger adults (77 percent of parents, 75 percent of millennials).

Stress about money and finances appears to have a significant impact on many AmericansÔÇÖ lives. Some are putting their health care needs on hold because of financial concerns. Nearly one-quarter of Americans say that they have either skipped (12 percent) or considered skipping (9 percent) going to the doctor when they needed health care because of financial concerns. Stress about money also impacts relationships: Almost a third of adults with partners (31 percent) report that money is a major source of conflict in their relationship.

The good news is that, on average, AmericansÔÇÖ stress levels are trending downward, with the average stress levels down to 4.9 on a 10-point scale, compared to 6.2 when the survey began in 2007. Even still, ÔÇ£This yearÔÇÖs survey continues to reinforce the idea that we are living with a level of stress that we consider too high,ÔÇØ Anderson said. ÔÇ£Despite the good news that overall stress levels are down, it appears that the idea of living with stress higher than what we believe to be healthy and dealing with it in ineffective ways continues to be embedded in our culture. All Americans, and particularly those groups that are most affected by stress ÔÇö which include women, younger adults and those with lower incomes ÔÇö need to address this issue sooner than later in order to better their health and well-being.ÔÇØ

A Pew Research Center poll carried out in November 2014 has shown that out of the total 390 million people on the continent, the number of atheists in Latin America is currently at an all-time 60 million high.

WhatÔÇÖs more? This number seems to be increasing by the year.

This is evident in the fact that even as 92% of Latin Americans identified as Catholic back in 1970, the number had grossly fallen over the years to just about 69% in present day, the poll uncovered.

Read More at World Religion News