They came after my kid

It’s official. Legislation American Atheists developed alongside our partners at the American Humanist Association and the Freedom From Religion Foundation has been introduced in my own state! 

This week, Pennsylvania Representative Christopher Rabb announced that he’s sponsoring the Promoting Liberty & Upholding Rights of All Learners (PLURAL) Act to protect students from religious coercion and discrimination in public schools — the kind of discrimination that changed my own family’s lives forever. 

And Pennsylvania is just the beginning. Our Secular Advocacy Teams are working nationwide to advance proactive policies like the PLURAL Act. Will you donate today to support this vital work? 

I didn’t plan on living in Philadelphia, and I certainly didn’t intend to go to law school. I actually studied to become a software engineer and was looking forward to establishing roots with my husband in a picturesque corner of West Virginia. 

Then, everything changed. 

Our kid came home from school one afternoon with an audio recording. It was from her health class, and the teacher could be heard asking students what the Bible said about sex: “If you look at the Bible, it says sex isn’t for love. It’s for… what?” A short pause. Then a student said, “Marriage!” That was the ‘correct’ answer.

The teacher told the kids — our kid — not to listen to their atheist parents because atheists lack morals. She lamented that she couldn’t force the students to believe in God but promised to squeeze in Bible lessons as often as she could without getting in trouble.

We were horrified. We sought legal counsel. When that failed, we went public.

That backlash was even worse. Our neighbors turned into an angry mob. Our child was harassed. Someone started a petition targeting her. Others suggested kidnapping her so she wouldn’t be raised by atheists. After a school employee released our address, we received credible death and arson threats.

We fled our home in that picturesque corner of West Virginia and never returned.

That’s why I went to law school. And it’s why I’m so proud of American Atheists’ work on the PLURAL Act. It’s legislation that could have protected my kid. And I want to make sure other nonreligious families have safeguards that ours didn’t. 

Because, unfortunately, our story isn’t unique. 

White Christian Nationalists are working overtime to pass Released Time For Religious Instruction (RTRI) laws that will turn our public schools into proselytization centers. My colleague, Melina Cohen, wrote to you about these programs last week and about how the students who don’t participate will be excluded, ridiculed, and harassed.

The best shield we have against the proliferation of RTRI policies is the PLURAL Act. 

It would help prevent groups like LifeWise Academy from using underhanded tactics to recruit students into their program, and it would ensure that no child is forced to endure religious shaming by their peers or the adults in the room.

Please help us pass the PLURAL Act here in Pennsylvania — and in all 50 states — by donating now. 

In solidarity,

Victoria Anderson
State Policy Specialist