New Hampshire Archives - American Atheists

Oppose Religious Coercion in New Hampshire Public Schools!

American Atheists — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 20:45:19 +0000

New Hampshire lawmakers are considering an unnecessary and exclusionary bill (HB 69) that will require every building in every school district to have an “In God We Trust” display. This harmful Christian nationalist legislation has already passed in several other states, but together, we can stop it in New Hampshire! Government-sponsored religious coercion has no place in our public schools. This message of exclusion is the last thing atheist and religious minority students, teachers, and staff need. Join this important effort to stop promotion of religion in New Hampshire schools! Please reach out to the Senate Education Committee and ask them to reject HB 69! HB 69 will result in bullying and harassment of students with minority beliefs. According to a study on religion in America by the Pew Research Center, 36% of New Hampshire residents are religiously unaffiliated. Younger Americans are even more likely to be nonreligious. New Hampshire lawmakers should not stigmatize these students by requiring schools to promote religious messages! National motto display bills like HB 69 are being pushed by special interests as part of Project Blitz, an effort by Christian nationalists to rewrite American history so that it favors their agenda. These bills aim to undermine the separation of religion and government and spread a false narrative that America was founded as a Christian nation. We cannot allow special interests to use our children to achieve their political goals. Please take a moment and ask the Senate Education Committee to oppose this bill today!

The post Oppose Religious Coercion in New Hampshire Public Schools! appeared first on American Atheists.

Atheists: New Hampshire Must Keep Religious Indoctrination out of Public Schools

American Atheists — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 22:29:08 +0000

Concord, NH–Today, American Atheists submitted testimony to support repealing an unconstitutional statue that authorizes recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in public schools. American Atheists supports HB 1306, which provides a clean repeal of the unconstitutional statute, and opposes HB 1334, which repeals the unconstitutional statue but also adds in new unconstitutional language. More specifically, HB 1334 says that school employees may during contract time “take part in religious activities where the overall context makes clear that they are not participating in their official capacities.” This is unconstitutional. First, it is not constitutionally permissible for teachers to engage in religious activities with students even if they are “not participating in their official capacities.” Second, it is unclear who would be in the position to determine if teachers had “made clear” that they are not participating in religious activities as part of their official capacities. What one teacher thinks may qualify would likely differ from other educators, administrators, and certainly students and parents. This provision would leave schools vulnerable to lawsuits by students who are religiously coerced and by educators who feel that their new rights to religious expression are infringed. “The only way to avoid religious coercion and ensure religious freedom in schools is for educators and administrators to not participate in religious activities with students,” wrote Alison Gill, American Atheists’ Vice President for Legal and Policy. “There is simply no need for the religious expression provisions found in HB 1334–school employees are and always have been free to engage in religious exercise in private and when not interacting as a teacher with students and parents,” added Gill. “New Hampshire lawmakers should instead pass HB 1306.”

The post Atheists: New Hampshire Must Keep Religious Indoctrination out of Public Schools appeared first on American Atheists.

Atheists Tell New Hampshire to End Child Marriage

American Atheists — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 19:42:57 +0000

Concord, New Hampshire—Today, American Atheists, on behalf of its New Hampshire constituents, submitted testimony for HB 378. This bill would end child marriage in the state. HB 378 would protect young people in NH from being coerced into marriage against their will. Unfortunately, this harmful and archaic practice happens all-too-frequently across our nation. The harm caused by child marriage is daunting. It destroys the child brides’ health, education, and economic opportunities. It also increases their risk of experiencing violence. Those who marry before 18 have a 70 to 80% chance of getting divorced. Teen mothers who marry and then divorce are much more likely to end up in poverty than teen mothers who stay single. The marriage age in New Hampshire is 18, but the current law allows a dangerous exception. Children can marry if a parent or guardian petitions the court, and a judge approves. However, the requirement of parental “consent” does not remove the danger of forced child marriage. When a child is forced to marry, the perpetrators are almost always the parents. Therefore, New Hampshire’s law currently contains no effective procedural safeguard against the danger of forced child marriage. By adopting HB 378, New Hampshire would effectively eliminate this loophole and join states like NJ and Delaware that have already ended child marriage.

The post Atheists Tell New Hampshire to End Child Marriage appeared first on American Atheists.

Atheists Push NH to End Child Marriage

American Atheists — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 19:47:47 +0000

Concord, NH—American Atheists, on behalf of its constituents in New Hampshire, thanked the NH House Committee on Children and Family Law for considering HB 378, a bill to end child marriage in New Hampshire. This bill would protect young people in New Hampshire from being coerced into marriage against their will, a harmful and archaic practice that happens all-too-frequently across our nation. Find out more below.

The post Atheists Push NH to End Child Marriage appeared first on American Atheists.

American Atheists Submits Testimony Opposing Religious Refusal Law in New Hampshire

American Atheists — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 17:12:15 +0000

Concord, NH—On behalf its members, supporters, and constituents in New Hampshire, American Atheists has submitted testimony in opposition to HB 1787, a bill in the New Hampshire legislature that would endanger the lives of New Hampshire citizens and allow health care providers and institutions to place their own religious beliefs above the health and safety of patients by allowing the providers to refuse to provide necessary medical care. From the letter: HB 1787 is unnecessary. There is simply no evidence that health care workers are regularly forced to provide contraception or reproduce health services such as abortion or sterilization against their religious beliefs in New Hampshire. In fact, the opposite is true. Hospitals and other health care institutions regularly accommodate the desire of workers to avoid certain procedures relating to reproductive services. The number of instances where a worker has been purportedly forced to engage in such activities unwillingly is shockingly low. At the federal level, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights reports that between 2008 and 2016, only 10 complaints were filed by health care workers related to religious belief. […] Moreover, HB 1787 lacks even basic measures to ensure the safety of the patients affected by a provider’s religious refusal. There is no obligation to inform the patient that their health is being subject to religious ideology rather than medical best practices or that certain services will not be provided even if medically necessary. There is no obligation to refer patients to other providers for relevant services – indeed, providers are specifically exempt from referral. The bill makes no exceptions for emergencies – In fact, it does the opposite by expressly clarifying that there is no defense even if the violation was necessary to protect a patient. You can read the full letter here.

The post American Atheists Submits Testimony Opposing Religious Refusal Law in New Hampshire appeared first on American Atheists.