Fearmongering in Camp Verde

By Adriana Clark

It all started with a Pride display in June. Every month, the staff at the Camp Verde Community Library puts together a display of library books and media highlighting a particular theme. The display gathers materials from all areas of the library, including adult fiction and nonfiction, teen fiction and nonfiction, and audio-visual materials. The June theme was “Read with Pride” and featured books by and about the LGBTQ community. Continue reading

Phoenix’s Washington Elementary School District folds to ADF lawsuit

A few weeks ago, we accomplished something big. We called on Phoenix’s Washington Elementary School District to end a teacher training contract with the discriminatory Arizona Christian University, over its policies of hate and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.

Unfortunately, it seems high-powered lawyers from hate group Alliance Defending Freedom have pressured the school district into reversing the decision. Continue reading

What connects evangelicals to QAnon?

Secular AZ recently sat down with Dr. Mia Bloom, author of Pastels and Pedophiles: Inside the Mind of QAnon to talk conspiracy theories in Christian socio-political movements. (Watch the full talk here.)

The conversation illuminated not-always-obvious connections between conspiracy theory culture and religious belief—as well as racism, mental illness, and more. Her conclusions illustrated that separating church and state is becoming an increasingly intersectional issue. Continue reading

Experts: pulling people out of extreme belief hinges on relationship building 

During our Annual Secular Summit, we hosted a panel called Leaving Cults and Conspiratorial Thinking Behind. We gathered three experts with deep backgrounds in the subject, including two which fled extreme beliefs themselves. They discussed what motivates people to become victims of high control groups—including Q-Anon, evangelicalism, MAGA, and ultra-fundamentalist sects—and how we can pull people out. Continue reading

The public must know the truth about health care sharing ministries

by Angela Manion

On July 11, 2022 Congressman Jared Huffman of California introduced H.R. 8324 (the Health Share Transparency Act of 2022) into the House of Representatives. The bill seeks to amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act, requiring health care sharing ministries (HCSMs) to disclose pertinent information regarding HCSMs to consumers. Continue reading

What election results so far mean for Arizona’s secular movement

Counting ballots continues for the 2022 midterm elections—part of the state’s usual process as county recorders tabulate early ballots dropped off on election night.

No winners have been called in most major races yet, and many are too close to call—including legislative races where it is still uncertain whether Democrats will flip key seats.

But regardless the outcome, voters have already sent a clear message: Christian nationalism far from represents an overwhelming majority of the state’s people. Continue reading