Five Ethical Culture representatives and nine other organizations met with White House staff on Friday (2/26/2010) to discuss issues of importance to America’s nontheistic community. On the agenda were protecting children from the neglect and abuse of medical faith-healing; ending military proselytizing; and fixing faith-based initiatives. The ten organizations comprise the Secular Coalition for America (SCA), the only lobbying group exclusively representing nontheists. Ethical Culture’s national organization, the American Ethical Union (AEU), is an SCA member organization. Friday’s briefing is thought to be the first such event, and was reported on by Jack Tapper of ABC News.
Representing Ethical Culture were Katharine Archibald (AEU Executive Director), Frank I. Brown, Esq. (ECS/Bergen member), Dr. Joseph Chuman (Leader ECS/Bergen & NYSEC), Arnold Fishman (AEU and SCA board member) and Oliver Pergams (EHS/Chicago member). Pictured here from left to right are Brown, Archibald and Chuman:
