I’m pleased to announce the formation of a grassroots ad-hoc group — the Coalition for Secular Government (CSG) — to fight for the separation of church and state. The mission of CSG reads:

The Coalition for Secular Government advocates government solely based on secular principles of individual rights. The protection of a person’s basic rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness — including freedom of religion and conscience — requires a strict separation of church and state.

Consequently:

1. We oppose any laws or policies based on religious scripture or dogma, such as restrictions on abortion and government discrimination against homosexuals.

2. We oppose any government promotion of religion, such as the teaching of intelligent design in government schools and tax-funded “faith-based initiatives.”
3. We oppose any special exemptions or privileges based on religion by government, such as exemptions for churches from the tax law applicable to other non-profits.

The only proper government is a secular government devoted to the protection of individual rights.

The Coalition for Secular Government seeks to educate the public about the necessary secular foundation of a free society, particularly the principles of individual rights and separation of church and state.

Currently, my primary aim with the Coalition is to promote secular government in Colorado by fighting the proposed “Definition of a Person” Amendment (a.k.a. Amendment 48) to the Colorado constitution. However, I urge people outside Colorado to join the fight for secular government. Every state in the union is violating the separation of church and state in ways worthy of opposition.

So if you agree with CSG’s mission and wish to actively promote secular government, you can subscribe to CSG’s Activists e-mail list. To do so, you must aim to engage in some form of activism for secular government at least once per month. Activism can be as easy as posting web comments, forwarding e-mails, and speaking to friends about the importance of secular government.

However, if you’d just like to keep informed about CSG issues and activities, you can join the News e-mail list.

Also, I’ll be updating CSG’s blog, Politics without God, about three times per week. I have a few good posts up already; comments are welcome.

(As will be evident to some, the Coalition for Secular Government is modeled on Lin Zinser’s very effective group Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine. The two organizations are not affiliated, however.)