Core Values Statement of Kansas City Atheist Coalition, Inc.
Whereas the Kansas City Atheist Coalition is explicitly a secular organization;
Whereas the purpose of this organization as defined in its bylaws is:
- To advance atheism through activism, philanthropy, education, and by cultivating a positive secular community; and
- As a nonprofit charitable and educational corporation, to promote atheism and atheistic values; by performing philanthropic activities expressly as atheist, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheist, and work with organizations in pursuit of common goals
Whereas “atheistic values” have heretofore been undefined;
May it be resolved that the Kansas City Atheist Coalition define “atheistic values” for organization-wide activist, philanthropic, and educational purposes as values which are based in a current understanding of reality through science and empirical and academic research and evidence.
May it further be resolved that under this definition, the Kansas City Atheist Coalition states the following as organizational positions:
- Whereas the separation of church and state is crucial to maintaining the integrity of an inclusive and functional society, the Kansas City Atheist Coalition supports, in all cases, the separation of church and state and the right to legal recourse for instances of religious favoritism and/or religious discrimination against atheists and nontheists;
- Whereas an education free from religious indoctrination and based in current scientific understanding is crucial to the development and progress of young people, the Kansas City Atheist Coalition:
- Opposes the teaching of creationism as fact or as having equivalent validity to evolutionary theory;
- Opposes mandated prayer of any kind from any religion in public schools;
- Opposes all other forms of religious favoritism or religious supremacy;
- Supports socio-economic equity in the resources and administration of public schools;
- Supports comprehensive, LGBTQIA inclusive, sex ed in public schools; and
- Supports comprehensive and inclusive education of history in public schools
- Whereas the security of human rights is integral to a humane society aligned with atheistic values, the Kansas City Atheist Coalition:
- Supports the right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression including the right to blaspheme;
- Supports the right to a speedy and fair trial and *proportional justice;
- Proportional justice here defined as punishment proportional to crimes, this opposes such practices as minimum sentencing and cruel and unusual punishment.
- Condemns police and societal *violence against those in disenfranchised groups including but not limited to: Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), members of the LGBTQIA community, and the People with Disabilities community, understanding the disproportionate harm done to such communities;
- Violence here defined as physical, economic, and mental harm and disenfranchisement
- Supports the reproductive rights, including the right to choose, of those able to become pregnant, understanding the lasting physical, economic, and mental harm which can result from the prohibition of choice in such matters;
- Maintains a position of anti-racism and anti-colonialism; and
- Supports economic and housing justice, understanding the ongoing effects of historical economic disenfranchisement and of housing insecurity;
- Whereas the mitigation of the harmful effects of climate change is crucial to the continuance of human life on this planet, the Kansas City Atheist Coalition supports scientifically backed efforts to combat climate change locally, nationally, and globally.
May it be it declared that these positions are aligned with the atheistic values held by the Kansas City Atheist Coalition, and that official positions held by the Kansas City Atheist Coalition may be added or changed as scientific and academic evidence offers further insight and clarification.
Point of Reference
BYLAWS OF Kansas City Atheist Coalition, Inc.
ARTICLE I
PURPOSE
The Corporation is organized as a Kansas not-for-profit corporation and shall be operated exclusively for the following purposes, all of which shall be conducted in such a way as to qualify the Corporation for tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended:
- to advance atheism through activism, philanthropy, education, and by cultivating a positive secular community; and
- as a nonprofit charitable and educational corporation, to promote atheism and atheistic values; by performing philanthropic activities expressly as atheist, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheist, and work with organizations in pursuit of common goals.