CV NEWS FEED// Three lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote a letter to the Department of State demanding to know why it funded efforts to promote atheism and humanism overseas and then refused to supply documents about the decision.
The Aug. 3 letter explained that the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DLR)’s Funding Opportunity (NOFO) “Promoting and Defending Religious Freedom Inclusive of Atheist, Humanist, Non-Practicing and Non-Affiliated Individuals” provided grants to Humanists International, an organization that “work[s] to champion human rights and secularism.”
Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-TX, Subcommittee on Global Health Chairman Chris Smith, R-NJ, and Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman Brian Mast, R-FL, signed the letter.
The lawmakers state that the committee has sent “numerous unanswered inquiries.” When the State Department finally released a statement on June 8 and a document on June 20 explaining who would receive the grants, the Department still left many of the Committee’s questions unanswered, bringing to light “additional concerns regarding the Department’s grant review process.”
The State Department’s June 8 letter stated that the DLR does “not provide funds to any organization with the aim of using such funds to promote or advance specific religious ideologies or beliefs,” even though the NOFO’s title states that its goal is to “promote” atheist and humanist concerns.
There is also a Supreme Court precedent that understands humanism as a specific religion. The letter explains, “For over half a century, the courts have considered Humanism a ‘religion’ protected under the Establishment Clause, and therefore held that Humanism may not be specifically promoted using aid money from the government.”
The letter ended by demanding that the Department release the requested documents and answer several questions about its work with Humanists International.
Earlier, on July 31, McCaul threatened to subpoena the State Department if it did not produce its correspondence with Humanists International by Aug. 6.
