Atheists of Silicon Valley

The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."
— The Treaty of Tripoli, written during President George Washington's term, signed by President John Adams, and unanimously approved by the Senate.

So much for the “Christian” foundation of our country!

How many of our first six presidents were Christian?
Answer: None.

How many of these founding fathers – Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Franklin, Washington - were Christian?
Answer: None.

" ... no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
— Article. VI, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,..."
— 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

"Free exercise and enjoyment of religion without discrimination or preference are guaranteed..."
— Article 1, Section 4 of the California State Constitution

"The day that this country ceases to be free for irreligion, it will cease to be free for religion ... except for the sect that can win political power."
— Robert H. Jackson, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 1952

"A government cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that God prefers some."
— Harry A. Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, majority opinion in Lee v. Weisman, 1992

"Religious beliefs worthy of respect are the product of free and voluntary choice by the faithful. Government must pursue a course of complete neutrality toward religion."
— Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 1985

"The lessons of the First Amendment are as urgent in the modern world as the 18th Century when it was written. One timeless lesson is that if citizens are subjected to state-sponsored religious exercises, the State disavows its own duty to guard and respect that sphere of inviolable conscience and belief which is the mark of a free people."
— Anthony Kennedy, Supreme Court Justice, quoted from "The Case Against School Prayer," a Freedom From Religion Foundation pamphlet

"The Ten Commandments are undeniably a sacred text in the Jewish and Christian faiths, and no legislative recitation of a supposed secular purpose can blind us to that fact ... the first part of the Commandments concerns the religious duties of believers: worshipping the Lord God alone, avoiding idolatry, not using the Lord's name in vain, and observing the Sabbath day."
— The U.S. Supreme Court, Stone v. Graham, 1980

"The government may acknowledge Christmas as a cultural phenomenon, but under the First Amendment it may not observe it as a Christian holy day by suggesting that people praise God for the birth of Jesus."
— The U.S. Supreme Court, Cnty. of Allegheny v. Am. Civil Liberties Union Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, 492 U.S. 573, 601 (1989)

"... religious beliefs need not be acceptable, logical, consistent, or comprehensible to others in order to merit First Amendment protection."
— The U.S. Supreme Court, Thomas v. Review Board, 1981

"(W)e do not count heads before enforcing the First Amendment."
— Sandra Day O'Connor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Government Action Update

• New Health Care Bills Promote and Subsidize Faith-healing! 9/30/09
• Mike Honda on The Pledge of Allegiance
• ACLU Civil Liberties Update

Separation of Government and Religion

• Atheists in office: Déjà vu all over again by Herb Silverman
• Franklin, Jefferson & Madison: Religion & the State by Gregory Schaaf
• Bible Course Becomes a Test for Public Schools in Texas
• Founders mindful of harm by and to religions
• Military Religious Freedom Foundation: Help Build The Wall!
• Redefining Religious Freedom - What is Religious Freedom?

Your Government

• Phone the White House at (202) 456-1111
• Find the name of your National Representative
• Find the name of your National Senator
• Find the name of your CA state Legislator
• CA Senate website
• CA Legislature website
• FirstGov Your first click to the U.S. government
• Progressive Letter Writing Cooperative sends out progressive emails to govt. on peace, ecology, civil rights and other issues
• The United States Constitution
• Thomas - U.S. Congress on the Internet

Relevant Legal Rulings

• 2002 Newdow 9th Circuit ruling: "under god" in Pledge is unconstitutional
• 2010 Newdow 9th Circuit ruling: "under god" in Pledge is Constitutional.   Dissent by Judge Stephen Reinhardt
• Torcaso v Watkins 367 U.S. 488 (1961) - State religious requirements are unconstitutional
• Allegheny v ACLU (1989) - creche barred from gov't building
• Six Significant Court Decisions Regarding Evolution/Creation Issues
• 9th Circuit Court OKs Medicare/Medicaid payments to Christian Science sanatoria
• USCA for the 11th Circuit AFFIRMS ruling against Roy Moore
• Lee vs. Weisman 505 U.S. 577 June 24, 1992 (clergy offering prayers at graduation is unconstitutional)
• City council can't recite a prayer before meetings.
• Roe v. Wade
• Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism are called religions (1961 footnote - nonbinding dictum)
• Govt. cannot aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another
• Epperson v Arkansas (1968) It is unconstitutional to prohibit the teaching of evolution in public schools
• Edwards v Aguillard (1987) It is unconstitutional to require the teaching of "creation science" in public schools
• Ten Major Court Cases about Evolution and Creationism

Papers by Founding Fathers

• James Madison's Papers
• Thomas Jefferson's Papers

Papers and Books on the Constitution

• The True Meaning Of The Establishment Clause by Edward Tabash
• The Godless Constitution by Isaac Kramnick & R. Laurence Moore
• U.S. Law and the History of English Common Law by Mister Thorne
• An Exodus to a Past by Mister Thorne 6/27/2005
• The Evolution of the Constitution of the United States

State Governments' (un)Constitutional Limitations for Atheists

• State Constitutions that Discriminate Against Atheists
• State Constitutions that Discriminate, compiled by Atheist Coalition of San Diego
• Discrimination in Court Testimony, compiled by Atheist Coalition of San Diego
• The Republican Party of Texas affirms the USA is a Christian Nation
• California Constitution Preamble:
  "We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure and perpetuate its blessings, do establish this Constitution."

Comments on the Government

• The government, religion, and the 10 Commandments
• Christian Nation Nonsense by Jonathan Rowe
• One Nation - Dedicated to the fact that the U.S. is not a Christian nation
• Do religious symbols abound in U.S. capital buildings and the words of America's founders?
• Is American Law Based on the Ten Commandments? by Chad S. Inman
• Does the 1796-97 Treaty with Tripoli Matter to Church/State Separation? by Ed Buckner, Ph.D.
• Atheism hasn't hurt Fremont Rep. Pete Stark 3/17/2007

Politicians' Statements, Judges' Opinions>

• Senator Feinstein (D-CA), on National Day of Prayer