| | Hi Secular Fam, Here are actions to take this week. Speak up against Prop 123: Once again, the AZGOP is attempting to thwart the will of the voters and gut Arizona public schools by expanding vouchers. Specifically, they're planning on shoving universal ESAs into the AZ constitution by tying voucher expansion to teacher pay through Prop 123 (read more), endangering teacher pay raises in order to (further) decimate public education. Supposedly, the House meets tomorrow to hash this out, so... Contact your lawmakers' offices now and tell them to only support a clean version of Prop 123.  Send feedback to Governor Hobbs: We're extremely disappointed that Governor Hobbs chose to sign HB2112. This law requires proof of age before accessing "pornography" on the Internet, but... who decides what constitutes pornography? This bill opens the door to classifying anything that the powers-that-be deem "pornographic," which we all know will be used to target LGBTQIA-related content, reproductive health info, sex education, HIV/AIDs info, and anything else the religious right doesn't like. On the other hand, Hobbs vetoed several bills that threaten church:state separation, including: - SB1002: Would require educators to obtain written parental permission before using a student’s chosen pronouns, if they don’t match student’s biological sex at birth.
- SB1003: Would prevent students from using the bathroom, locker room, sleeping facility, etc. that aligns with their gender identity.
- SB1586: Requires medical professionals to retroactively pay the costs for those who received gender-affirming care as a minor and later want to detransition and “reclaim their God-given gender.”
- HB2700: Requires curriculum with a “specific focus on the Gulf of America” for high school graduation; a ridiculous waste of time and money that forces public schools to disseminate politicized propaganda..
- HB2868: Would ban trainings/education about certain minority or marginalized groups, leading to racism, bigotry and hate while privileging other groups.
Speak out about a bigoted policy under review at Mesa Unified School District: An MUSD board member has proposed a "gender dysphoria" policy that attacks trans and non-binary students, and the board is in discussion about adopting it. The new policy would require parental notification if a student requests a change to their pronouns or name, raising concerns about "outing" transgender or non-binary students. The policy also mandates that students use restrooms and locker rooms aligning with their sex assigned at birth. Read more and contact the Mesa Unified School District Board to tell them to oppose this hateful, harmful policy. |
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| |  | Money, Lies and God Katherine Stewart has been researching and writing about the dangers of Christian nationalism for many years. She joined us last week to discuss her new book, Money Lies and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy. Last year's film God and Country is based on her book The Power Worshippers, and is definitely worth a watch/read, too. If you missed Stewart's talk for Secular AZ, watch on our YouTube channel. Click here to watch |
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 | Judicial ethics? In this economy? Last October, Secular AZ filed a complaint alleging a separation of church and state violation due to the Red Mass, a religious event attended by Arizona judges while wearing their official robes. The Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee initially deemed this unethical, but the AZ Supreme Court withdrew that opinion. Our complaint argued this favored religious discrimination, violating the First Amendment and judicial ethics. The Commission on Judicial Conduct rejected the complaint despite contrary guidance from other legal bodies. This decision allows religious pandering by judges and enables religious privilege. In other words, judges may not use their robes to make a statement against discrimination (e.g. to support LGBTQIA+ by wearing a rainbow flag pin) but they make use their robes to make a statement in favor of religious discrimination. Click here to read the full article |
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| | | Gods of the Smoke Machine Join us on May 23 at 12p (AZ time) as we welcome special guest Scott Latta, author of Gods of the Smoke Machine: Power, Pain, and the Rise of Christian Nationalism in the Megachurch. Scott Latta is an award-winning journalist who has spent a decade reporting for humanitarian organizations on conflict, displacement, and climate change around the world. His writing has been featured in The Believer, CityLab, Modern Farmer, The Awl, and The Southampton Review, which awarded him the Frank McCourt Memoir Prize in 2016. Click here to register for this virtual presentation. |
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Christian Indoctrination in DVUSD Hey, secular supporters in Deer Valley Unified School District: A Christian nationalist organization has plans to indoctrinate your students during regular classroom hours. LifeWise Academy has infiltrated Arizona public schools, and is moving to execute Bible lessons during the school day in DVUSD. If you don't want your children being told they're going to hell if they don't believe, that LGBTQ people are "sinners," on school time in a school setting, it's time to take action. Learn more here. If you're a parent with students in DVUSD, we want to hear from you. Contact us at info@secularaz.org. |
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| | | | SECULAR NEWS Stand up against the real bullies: High school cheerleading coach Alyssa Plaza was terminated by the Yuma Union High School District board for allowing a male student to change in an empty girls' locker room in order to protect the male student from bullying and harassment. Students and community members have rallied in the coach's defense, arguing the decision was unjust and discriminatory, that Plaza is being targeted by the board for supporting LGBTQIA+ students. and urging the board to reinstate her. Read more, sign a petition, and help support Alyssa Plaza. In major newsflash, Tom Horne shocked, simply SHOCKED that Hobbs vetoed hateful bills: Superintendent Tom Horne, perhaps best known for his multiple sex scandals, or for getting kicked out of a polling site, or for his dislike of dual-language instruction, or for pushing disinformation as curricula, or... whew. Anyway, Horne is just SO SHOCKED that Governor Hobbs has vetoed bills that would cause direct harm to trans and non-binary students, even thought she did it before and said she'd do it again. Read more. Not all churches: Over the last couple years, we've alerted you to multiple political rallies held at Arizona churches that appear to violate anti-electioneering laws. But not all churches are falling in line with white Christian nationalist hate. Phoenix Pastor Caleb Campbell, witnessing his congregation transform into militant Trump supporters, lost 80% of his members and now leads a movement against extremism, arguing it's a power-hungry ideology that paints the U.S. as a white Christian homeland. Campbell advocates for love and patience over confrontation, urging Christians to reclaim their faith from extremist influences, and warning of the dangers to democracy if they don't. Read more. Project 2025's authoritarian roots: This week, the Phoenix New Times and Cochise Regional News uncovered what appear to be direct connections between the administration's draconian anti-immigration measures and the Christian nationalist fever-dream laid out in Project 2025. Though Trump denied any involvement pre-election, obtained documents suggest that the group behind Project 2025 has worked closely with Trump to create plans for the AZ border with implications for the rest of the country; many of the authors have "ties to Christian nationalists and other far-right extremists." Read more. |
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| | May 21, 12:30p: American Constitution Society's Virtual Town Hall with State Attorneys General, including AZ's Kris Mayes May 22, 6:30p: CEBV's Letters to the Editor Training May 23, 12p: Scott Latta presents Gods of the Smoke Machine: Power, Pain, and the Rise of Christian Nationalism in the Megachurch May 25, 10a: Humanist Center of Greater Phoenix's Other Sunday Social on Zoom May 26, 7p: Tucson Atheists' Monthly Discussion May 29,4p: Skeptical Inquirer's From Conspiracy Theorist to Debunker May 30, 12p: Dan Barker presents Contraduction May 31, 4p: Opportunity Arizona's Tell Me How You Really Feel Town Hall Jun1, 12p: Lookout's Summer of Solutions Series: Healing Through Drag |
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| | | | Secular AZ
PO Box 47756 | Phoenix, Arizona 85068
6023804810 | info@secularaz.org |
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