Bill of Rights for Unbelievers

The freedoms of thought and expression count among our
most fundamental and cherished rights, and promote
both individual welfare and the common good in a democratic
state. Historically, however, unbelievers such as secular
humanists, atheists, agnostics, rationalists, and freethinkers
have faced prejudice, intolerance, and discrimination for
their opinions and discoveries.
In the firm conviction that the principle of Church-State
separation guarantees the equal rights of the religious and
non-religious, we the Campus Freethought Alliance, on this 12th
day of July, 1998, hereby present the following Bill of Rights
for Unbelievers.


Unbelievers shall have the right to:

1. Think freely and autonomously, express their views forthrightly,
and debate or criticize any and all ideas without
fear of censure, recrimination, or public ostracism.


2. Be free from discrimination and persecution in the workplace,
business transactions, and public accomodations.


3. Exercise freedom of conscience in any situation where the same
right would be extended to believers on religious grounds alone.


4. Hold any public office, in accordance with the constitutional
principle that there shall be no religious test for such office.


5. Abstain from religious oaths and pledges, including pledges
of allegiance, oaths of office, and oaths administered in a court of law
until such time as these are secularized or replaced by non-discriminatory affirmations.


6. Empower members of their community to perform legally-binding
ceremonies, such as marriage.


7. Raise and nurture their children in a secular environment,
and not be disadvantaged in adoption or custody proceedings
because of their unbelief.


8. Conduct business and commerce on any day of their choosing,
without interference from laws or regulations recognizing religious
days of prayer, rest or celebration.


9. Enjoy freedom from taxation supporting the government employment
of clergy, and access to secular counseling equivalent to that provided by chaplains.


10. Declare conscientious objection to serving in the arms forces
under any circumstance in which the religious may do so.


11. Live as citizens of a democracy free from religious language
and imagery in currency, public schools and buildings, and government
documents and business.