October 1, The Reverend Patrick J. Conroy U.S. Capitol, Room HB25 Washington, DC 20515

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1 October 1, 2015 The Reverend Patrick J. Conroy U.S. Capitol, Room HB25 Washington, DC The Reverend Dr. Barry C. Black U.S. Capitol, Room S332 Washington, DC Dear Reverends Conroy and Black, The 355 undersigned humanist, atheist, secularist, and nontheist organizations write to respectfully request that an accredited humanist chaplain be given the opportunity to offer an opening invocation at the start of a congressional day. Humanism encompasses a variety of nontheistic views while adding the important elements of a comprehensive worldview and a set of positive ethical values values that are grounded in reason, empathy, and driven by a desire to meet the needs of all people regardless of religious belief, gender, sexual orientation, race, or other factors. An accreditation organization, the Humanist Society, is recognized in all 50 states and maintains a rigorous endorsement process for all humanist chaplains and celebrants, all of whom are qualified to provide a humanist invocation. In addition, the humanist educational and advocacy organization Center for Inquiry sponsors a secular celebrant training program whose validity has been recognized by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. A humanist invocation is essentially a short speech that calls upon the audience s shared human values for assistance and authority in their public discourse. Unlike a traditional invocation, a humanist invocation does not call upon a supernatural entity as a guide. Instead, these invocations emphasize our common human values and remind us of our responsibilities to each other and the world around us. Our organizations are aware of the proud history of both the House and Senate chaplaincies regarding religious diversity in opening prayers and invocations, as both offices have invited Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, Buddhists, and other religious groups to open the congressional day with a prayer or message. We ask that this courtesy also be extended to a qualified humanist chaplain, especially given the rise in humanist invocations at local government meetings following the ruling in Town of Greece v. Galloway which requires that invocation practices for public meetings be inclusive.

2 We would be happy to send several representatives to meet with both of your offices so as to further discuss this issue and identify qualified candidates to give a humanist invocation. Further contact should be directed to Matthew Bulger, legislative associate at the American Humanist Association, who can be contacted by at mbulger@americanhumanist.org or by phone at We thank you for your consideration, and eagerly await your reply. Respectfully, National Organizations American Atheists American Humanist Association Atheist Nexus Camp Quest Center for Freethought Equality Center for Inquiry Ex-Muslims of North America Freethought Society Recovering from Religion Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science Secular Coalition for America Secular Student Alliance Secular Woman Stiefel Freethought Foundation Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association State and Local Organizations Agnostic and Atheist Student Organization of the University of California, Davis Alaskan Atheists Albany Georgia Atheists American University Humanist Community Appalachian Humanist Association Arkansas Society of Freethinkers Ark-La-Tex Freethinkers, Atheists, Agnostics and Humanists Asimov Humanists of Montgomery County Association of Freethinkers and Humanists of Palm Coast

3 Ateístas de Puerto Rico Atheist Advocates of San Francisco Atheist Coalition of San Diego Atheist Community of Austin Atheist Community of Tulsa Atheist Humanist Society of Connecticut and Rhode Island Atheist Society of Kern, Inc. Atheists at Oakland University Atheists and Freethinkers of Denver Atheists and Other Freethinkers Atheists for Human Rights Atheists of Greater Lowell Atheists of Rutland Vermont Atheists of Utah Atheists United Atheists United for a Rational America Atlanta Freethought Society Auburn Atheists and Agnostics Backyard Skeptics Baltimore Ethical Society Baltimore Secular Humanists Bay Area Humanists Beltway Atheists Billings Association of Humanists Birmingham Atheists Meetup Black Freethinkers of Kansas City Black Nonbelievers of Atlanta Black Nonbelievers of Detroit Black Skeptics Los Angeles Boston Atheists Boulder Atheists Camden County Humanists Campus Atheists Skeptics and Humanists Capital District Humanist Society Central Colorado Humanists Central Florida Freethought Community Central Florida Secular Alliance Central New York Humanist Association

4 Central Valley Alliance of Atheists and Skeptics Center for Inquiry Austin Center for Inquiry Ft. Lauderdale Center for Inquiry Indiana Center for Inquiry Long Island Center for Inquiry Los Angeles Center for Inquiry Michigan Center for Inquiry Ohio Center for Inquiry New York City Center for Inquiry Pittsburgh Center for Inquiry Portland Center for Inquiry San Francisco Center for Inquiry Tallahassee Center for Inquiry Tampa Bay Center for Inquiry Washington D.C. Charlotte Atheists and Agnostics Chicagoland Freethinkers Columbia Atheists Community of Reason Concord Area Humanists Connecticut Valley Atheists Contra Costa Atheists and Freethinkers Corpus Christi Atheists Corvallis Secular Society DC Region Atheists Delaware Association for Humanism Deltona Humanists Denton Atheists Downeast Humanists and Freethinkers DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church East Bay Atheists East County Heathens El Paso Atheists End of the Line Humanists Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville Ethical Humanist Society of Greater Chicago Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island Ethical Humanist Society of the Triangle

5 Ethical Society of Austin Ethical Society of Boston Ethical Society of Philadelphia Fayette Freethought Society Flagstaff Freethinkers FLASH- Florida Atheists and Secular Humanists Florida Atheists, Critical Thinkers and Skeptics Frederick Douglas Humanist Society of Baltimore Frederick Secular Humanists Fredericksburg Secular Humanists Free Inquiry Group of Greater Cincinnati Free Inquiry Group of Southwest Florida Free Inquiry Group of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Free Thought Society of Jasper Freethinkers Association of Central Texas Freethinkers of Upstate New York Freethinkers Union at McDaniel College Freethought Arizona Freethought Dayton Freethought Fort Wayne Freethought Oasis of Amarillo Gator Freethought Glouster County Humanists Golden Triangle Freethinkers Grand Traverse Humanists Great Southern Humanist Society Greater Boston Humanists Greater Richmond Humanists Greater Worcester Humanists Gulf Coast Humanist Association Hartford Area Humanists Hickory Humanist Alliance Houston Atheists Hudson Valley Humanists Humanism Applied Humanist Action League Humanist Affinity Group Humanist Association of Connecticut

6 Humanist Association of Fort Worth Humanist Association of Greater Philadelphia Humanist Association of Los Angeles Humanist Association of Middle Tennessee Humanist Association of Orange County Humanist Association of San Diego Humanist Association of the Greater Sacramento Area Humanist Association of the Monterey Bay Area Humanist Association of Tulsa Humanist Chaplaincy at American University Humanist Chaplaincy at Rutgers University Humanist Chaplaincy of Harvard University Humanist Club at Barefoot Bay Humanist Community of Central Ohio Humanist Community of Pittsburgh Humanist Community of the Space Coast Humanist Ethical Atheist Rational Thought Society Humanist Fellowship of San Diego Humanist Forum of Central Kentucky Humanist Prisoners Community Humanist Rainbow Community Humanist Round Table of South Illinois Humanist Society of Gainesville Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York Humanist Society of New Mexico Humanist Society of Redding Humanist Society of Santa Barbara Humanist Society of South Texas Humanist Society of the Suncoast Humanist Student Union Humanist Union of Madison Humanistas Seculares de Puerto Rico Humanists and Freethinkers of Cape Fear Humanists and Atheists of Las Vegas Humanists and Freethinkers of New Bern Humanists Doing Good Humanists Helping Humans: Virginia Beach

7 Humanists of Buffalo Humanists of Colorado Humanists of Florida Association Humanists of Georgia Humanists of Greater Portland Humanists of Hawaii Humanists of Houston Humanists of Idaho Humanists of Iowa Humanists of Linn County Humanists of Metro Louisville Humanists of Minnesota Humanists of North Alabama Humanists of North Central Florida Humanists of North Jersey Humanists of North Puget Sound Humanists of Rhode Island Humanists of San Antonio Humanists of Sarasota Bay Humanists of Sheridan Humanists of Southeast Michigan Humanists of Southern Delaware Humanists of the Palouse Humanists of the San Joaquin Valley Humanists of the Shoals Humanists of the Treasure Coast Humanists of the Western Reserve Humanists of Utah Humanists of UUCF Humanists of West Florida Humanists of West Suburban Chicagoland Stateline Atheists Society Indian Hill Humanist Association Inmate Humanist Association Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers IWU Atheist, Agnostics, and Non-Religious Jefferson Humanists Joplin Freethinkers

8 Kanawha Valley Atheists and Agnostics Kansas City Atheist Coalition Kingwood Humble Atascocita Atheists KOL HADASH LaGrange Humanists Lake County Humanists Last Frontier Freethinkers Lehigh Valley Humanists Leisure World Humanist Association Lexington Atheists LGBTQ Humanist Council of Baltimore Lincoln Atheists Lincoln Secular Humanists Long Island Atheists Long Island Secular Humanists Louisville Atheists and Freethinkers Lubbock Atheists Macon Atheists and Secular Humanists Maine Atheists and Humanists Marshall County Atheists and Agnostics MASH Fort Bragg Memphis Atheists Memphis Freethought Alliance Metroplex Atheists Mid-Michigan Atheists and Humanists Mid-Ohio Atheists Minnesota Atheists Minority Atheists of Michigan Mississippi Gulf Coast Humanists Mississippi Humanist Association Montgomery Area Freethought Association Montgomery Humanists Morgantown Atheists Mountain State Freethinkers MU Skeptics, Atheists, Secular Humanists and Agnostics Myrtle Beach Humanists and Freethinkers Nashville Secular Life NEPA Freethought Society

9 New Jersey Humanist Network New Orleans Secular Humanist Association New York City Atheists Newark Area Atheists North Alabama Freethought Association North Florida Atheists North Kitsap Unitarians Northeast Ohio Humanist Association NOVA Atheists NWA Humanists Ocala Atheists O'Fallon Freethinkers Oklahoma Atheists Omaha Metro Area Humanist Association Omaha Atheists Orange County Atheists Orlando Humanist Association Owensboro Humanists Oxford Humanist Educational Association Palm Beach Humanists Panhandle Humanists Pennsylvania Non-Believers Pennyrile Area Humanists Piedmont Humanists Pikes Peak Atheists Prescott Freethinkers Pueblo Humanist Directions Rationalist Society of St. Louis Rationalists of East Tennessee Rebirth of Reason Red Bank Humanists Red River Freethinkers Reno Freethinkers Riverside Atheists and Free Thinkers Rosmoor Atheists Roswatheists San Francisco Atheists Santa Cruz Atheists

10 Santa Fe Atheist Community Sarasota-Manatee Atheists and Secular Humanists Seattle Atheists Secular Hub for Humanists, Atheists and Freethinkers Secular Humanist Society of East Texas Secular Humanist Society of New York Secular Humanists in Prison Secular Humanists of Santa Cruz County Secular Humanists of the Low Country Shenandoah Area Secular Humanists Siouxland Freethinkers Skeptics Freethinkers Agnostics and Atheists South Alabama Humanist Association South Jersey Humanists South Plains Humanist Group Southeast Wisconsin FreeThinkers Southwest Arkansas Atheist Community Springfield Freethinkers Springfield Skeptics St. Joseph Skeptics St. Petersburg Atheists Freethought Group Stanislaus Humanists Sunday Assembly Los Angeles SWiFT Tallahassee Atheists Tampa Humanist Association Texas Secular Humanists The Chicago Freethought Project The Fellowship of Humanity The Great Southern Humanist Society The Humanist Association of Waco The Humanist Chaplaincy at the University of Southern California The Humanist Community of Central Ohio The Humanist Community of Silicon Valley The Humanist Community-Ventura County The Humanist Fellowship of San Diego The Jefferson Center The Secular Segment

11 The Tallahassee Atheists Group Treasure Coast Atheists Tri County Secular Humanist Society of South Carolina Triangle Freethought Society Tri-City Freethinkers Tri-State Freethinkers Tucson Atheists UA Alabama Atheists and Agnostics UAH Non-Theists Unitarian Universalist Humanists of Springfield United Assembly for Humanism University of Kansas Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics UNT Freethought Alliance Upstate Atheists UU Humanists of Clearwater Washburn Freethinkers Washington Area Secular Humanists We Are Atheism West Alabama Freethought Association Westchester Atheists Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers William Paterson University Secular Student Alliance Williston Atheists Wise Free Thinkers and Skeptics WNC Atheists WNC Humanists Yale Humanist Community