This past week has been particularly troubling for secular humanists
and freethinkers, as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the
words "In God We Trust" on American currency and "Under God" as part
of the Pledge of Allegiance are not in violation of the First
Amendment rights of nontheists.
Meanwhile, the conservative majority of the Texas State Board of
Education (whose sheer size and buying power influence textbook
content nationwide) revised its curricula to reflect a less secular
version of history, economics and sociology. Among other revisionist
changes, this reduces the role of President Thomas Jefferson as a
revolutionary author.
This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Sean Faircloth (the new
Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America) about these
troubling current events. Sean also talks about the Coalition's recent
historic meeting with White House officials to open a policy dialog
with the Obama Administration — the first of its kind for American
nontheists.