The weekly report on global politics and secularism
by Edwina Rogers

Remembering Christopher Hitchens

398303-christopher-hitchensChristopher Hitchens, the secular leader, award-winning author, and world-class debater, died in the month of December, so every Christmastime it’s nice to remember him. It’s a time of year when many secular people feel crowded out by the overwhelming influence of Christmas.

But things are looking up for secularists all over the globe. Even in the United States, only 70% of citizens are now Christian, as you’ll read in the original report, the SPI Secular Resource Guide. This year, as you’ll read in the SPI World Future Guide 2016, the SPI has funded, organized, or promoted dozens of secular projects around the world, including campaign letters and political meetings in the US and abroad that have influenced public policy.

And we still have videos of Christopher Hitchens that are so powerful that they’ve been dubbed Hitchslap. While we prefer to celebrate our ties with religious people who support our goals, and Hitchens can be sometimes caustic, this video also contains warm moments to help you through┬áthe Winter Solstice. And below is some other good cheer from the word of politics.

US Budget Deal Reached

House Speaker Paul Ryan told Republican members that congressional leaders reached an agreement on a $1.1 trillion bill to fund the government through September.

The Senate reports┬áLegislative text for the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill and the tax relief package —

  1. Amendment #1 is the FY16 Omnibus Appropriations bill
  2. See a section-by-section summary of the government funding measure
  3. Amendment #2 is the Tax Relief Package
  4. See a section-by-section summary of this tax relief package.

Also, the Appropriations Committee in the House has provided the following individual summaries of each of the 12 Subcommittee components of the FY16 Omnibus —

Education Bill Passed

The House passed a “sweeping bill”┬áoverhauling the controversial No Child Left Behind law┬áby ceding authority back to states and school districts to monitor student and teacher performance.

Last week┬áthe White House hosted an event entitled Celebrating and Protecting America’s Tradition of Religious Pluralism.┬á ┬áThe keynote speaker discussed the evolving religious landscape and provided an empirical grounding for the broader conversation about religious inclusion, freedom, and cooperation.

Here is a preview of some quick facts Covered regarding religious pluralism in the U.S.:

  • The future religious landscape will have fewer white Protestants and Catholics, more Hispanic Protestants and Catholics, plus more religiously unaffiliated Americans.
  • Inter-religious families and multi-religious identities are on the rise.
  • Compared to just a few years ago, fewer Americans today say the U.S. is a Christian nation.
  • Religious and ethnic diversity is increasing, but most Americans’ close friendships remain with people who share their own faith.

What are the World’s Young People Doing?

This new infographic, “What are The World’s Young People Doing?,” draws from data gathered by the World Bank, ILO, and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs to offer a snapshot of young people’s activities, including education, employment, and forced work. One of its critical findings: ÔÇ£more young people are in illegal, forced, and/or hazardous work than are enrolled at the university level.ÔÇØ┬á┬á

Critical Quote

ÔÇ£They had to catch up, and the quickest way to do that is to take technology from Western companies.ÔÇØ
ÔÇöJames A. Lewis, on the roots of Chinese cyberespionage.
Source: Politico.

Beijing Red Alert

Beijing had another day under an air quality ÔÇ£red alertÔÇØ, with schools still closed, half of all cars kept off the roads and factories shut, as the┬áNew York Times’ ┬áEdward┬áWon┬áreports.

Paris COP21

Paris’ COP21 ended with┬áSecretary of State John Kerry proposing┬ádoubling U.S. grant-based public spending on climate change, from $430 to $860 million. According to the┬áPRRI/AAR climate change survey, Americans are divided on where climate change’s solution will come from: private businesses and the free market (41 percent) or government policies (42 percent). Regardless, most (69 percent) think the government needs to do more to address the issue.