RI Atheists celebrate Day of Reason at State House ceremony
“In a time when misinformation often spreads faster than facts, and public trust is being shaken by chaos and division, a recommitment to reasoned thinking could not be more urgent or patriotic."
The Rhode Island Atheists celebrated the National Day of Reason at the State House on Tuesday with a short speaking program in the Bell Room. The National Day of Reason celebrates a concept almost all Americans can support. It seeks to raise public awareness about the persistent threat to religious liberty posed by government intrusion into the private sphere of worship. This year, under the overt Christian Nationalism of the Trump Administration, this feels particularly trenchant.
This year’s celebration featured Rhode Island elected officials, including Secretary of State Gregg Amore, Senator Bridget Valverde, and Representative Jennifer Stewart.
Here’s the video:
“Today we celebrate humankind’s most amazing talent: rational thought,” said John Mertus, a member of the Rhode Island Atheists who served as emcee. “We are here to celebrate its impact on the world today. From medicine to our phones to our view of freedom, we celebrate its offshoots, the scientific method, critical thinking, and the law. We are also here to support the institutions that foster reason: the universities and the courts. We come here to defend these institutions and our right to critical thinking. This Day of Reason brings together a diverse but united group of speakers to address these issues and to celebrate, support, and defend rational thought. Let’s keep reason legal.”
“I’m a person of faith, and because I’m a person of faith, there is nothing I value more than the wall that the Constitution’s First Amendment has rightfully erected between church and state,” said Secretary of State Gregg Amore. “We stand in a city where that wall was first constructed here in America, a wall that protects the freedom to practice religion from government interference while at the same time ensuring government does not drift toward or even entertain theocratic tendencies. This wall, like democracy itself, is not promised. It is not guaranteed.
“Democracy, as the late great John Lewis said, is not a state. It is an act. We are in one of those tenuous periods in American history where we must act to preserve and protect this liberal democracy. How do we do that? A government of the people by the people and for the people cannot be sustained if the people do not engage in civic life, if they do not have the requisite knowledge of the foundational principles of our democracy, if they are not aware of the value of separation of powers - a system of checks and balances among the branches - if they are not familiar with precedent setting cases that have changed the course of American history, and if they are not as familiar with their rights under the Bill of Rights as they are with the lyrics of their favorite songs.
“Abraham Lincoln referred to this essential knowledge as a civic creed fashioned not from divinely revealed truth, but from the solid quarry of sober reason. Thomas Jefferson, the author of Virginia’s Statute of Religious Freedom and the person who coined the phrase, “wall of separation between church and state,” included in his first inaugural address a call for the establishment of a rational political faith founded in the essential principles of American government and democracy. Jefferson and Lincoln were talking about a civic religion based on reason, evidence, and perspective that is only gained through the study of history.”
“Today is not just a celebration of knowledge, reason, and free thinking. It’s a reaffirmation of a founding principle of our democracy - that governance should be guided by evidence, exchange of ideas, and the collective pursuit of truth,” said Senator Bridget Valverde: “In a time when misinformation often spreads faster than facts, and public trust is being shaken by chaos and division, a recommitment to reasoned thinking could not be more urgent or patriotic. The National Day of Reason was established not in opposition to belief or religious observance, but in defense of fairness and secularism. It exists to promote a government that represents all its citizens regardless of creed and to honor the vital role that reason, critical thinking, and science play in shaping the policies that improve our lives.”
“It’s an honor to participate in this year’s Day of Reason, marking the importance of reason, religious freedom, and separation of church and state in Rhode Island,” said Representative Jennifer Stewart. “And I guess reason is really important, but so is being unreasonable in your commitment to reason. I’m going to do something that maybe some people would say is not exactly reasonable. I’m going to share a pretty recent story with you.
“In honor of today, I was going to put forward a resolution in the House to mark the occasion. Interestingly, but maybe not surprisingly, I was thwarted in my efforts to put forward a resolution acknowledging the day for immediate consideration. I want to share the text of the resolution so you can judge the decision not to allow it to go forward.
“This resolution was based on a resolution that Jamie Raskin put forward last year in recognition of the Day of Reason. The text is as follows:
Recognizing May 6th, 2025 as the National Day of Reason in the State of Rhode Island and affirming the central importance of reason in the betterment of humanity."
Whereas the application of reason has been the essential precondition for humanity’s extraordinary scientific, medical, technological, and social progress since before the founding of our country;
Whereas reason provides vital hope today for confronting the crises of our day, including the civilizational emergency of climate change, for advancing civil liberties for all - including the rights of LGBTQIA individuals and access to reproductive healthcare- and for cultivating the rule of law, democratic institutions, justice, and peace among nations;
Whereas America’s founders insisted on the primacy of reason, knowledge, and public life, and drafted the Constitution to prevent the official establishment of religion and to protect freedom of thought, speech, and inquiry in civil society;
Whereas James Madison, author of the First Amendment and fourth president of the United States stated, "the advancement of science and the diffusion of information as the best aliment to true libertythe advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty" and "knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and the people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives."
Now therefore it be resolved that this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby recognizes May 6th, 2025 as a National Day of the Reason, and be it further resolved that we encourage all citizens, residents, and visitors to join in observing this day and to focus on the central importance of reason ,critical thought, the scientific method, and free inquiry to resolving social problems and promoting the welfare of humankind.
“It is important to keep in mind that freedom of thought and freedom of inquiry are the foundations of any democratic society. And as you’ve heard, and know, they are under attack today,” noted Steven Brown, executive director of the RI ACLU. “It’s important to recognize, as we’ve heard from the history teacher, that this is not new. One of the first acts of Congress was the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which allowed newspaper publishers to be thrown into jail.
“But we also all recognize that we are near a dangerous precipice today. When you have individuals whisked off the street by hooded agents merely because they have written an op-ed expressing opposition to government policy, something is very seriously wrong. Closer to home, we know that just a few years ago, a school librarian in Westerly was threatened with felony charges of obscenity merely for being a good school librarian.
“These are troubling issues, but what’s important to keep in mind is that we all can contest them, at least for the moment. The courts have been pushing back against the federal administration and issued a series of rulings that have countered some of the steps the federal government has taken. Here in Rhode Island, we have the Freedom to Read Act in response to what happened in Westerly. It’s been introduced in the General Assembly, and I’m convinced that, because of its rightness, the General Assembly will pass it this year and protect individuals, because those opportunities are still available.
“Because we still live in a democracy, it’s important for all of us to exercise the rights that the Constitution gives us. The Day of Reason is a perfect opportunity to be here at the State House, one of the major places where you can make a difference, and what I would encourage all of you to do this Day of Reason is to find your legislators and give them some reason. Tell them why they should do the right thing.”
“Today we come together to celebrate one of the defining features of our democracy, and it’s something that often feels as though it’s in short supply: reason,” said Victoria Anderson, State Policy Specialist at American Atheists, a national organization dedicated to defending the civil liberties of atheists and advocating complete separation of church and state. “When our nation’s founders laid the groundwork for American democracy, they built it not on religious doctrine, but on reason, knowledge, and consent of the governed.
“Rather than allow religious beliefs alone to dictate the future of our country, the founding fathers drew a bright line between church and state. They understood that the only way forward was as a pluralistic society where the rule of law reigns supreme and reason serves as the cornerstone to public policy. For the American experiment to succeed, we needed a democracy that served everyone and was accessible to all, religious and non-religious alike.
“If there’s one thing that Rhode Island, the state known for Church/State separation, knows how to do better than anywhere else in the country, it’s advocating for a secular government that represents all citizens regardless of religious or non-religious belief. We have braved storms to come here, both metaphorically and physically, and we are here to show the rest of the country that you, the Rhode Islanders, are on the front lines doing what you do best: advocating for reason-based government. Thank you so much for what every one of you does every day, and thank you so much for allowing me to celebrate the Day of Reason with you.”
See also: Secretary of State Gregg Amore speaks at RI Atheists’ Day of Reason event
Very timely!