Friday, March 19, 2010

Todd Stiefel and the Secular Coalition for America


Todd Stiefel is a 35-year-old North Carolinian atheist. He is also a billionaire.

After graduating from Duke University, he became the Chief Strategy Officer for Stiefel Laboratories. He recently sold the company to GlaxoSmithCline for a whopping $2.9 billion. He has since become one of atheism's biggest benefactors.

Last month, he donated $500,000 to the Secular Coalition for America, $100,000 to American Atheists and $50,000 to the Secular Students Alliance.

I wish I had the money to be able to do something like that. The atheist movement has many lofty goals, such as ending discrimination, repealing unjust religious laws (like those protecting neglect caused by "faith healing"), and protecting the teaching of rational, evidence-based science in our classrooms. When these goals are accomplished, it will be thanks to the Secular Coalition for America.

The SCA is a 501(c)4 lobbying organization; you can visit this page to view all the current legislation they are working on. It includes promoting stem cell research and fighting a Constitutional amendment that would allow school prayer. It was the SCA who met with the Obama Administration. These people are secularism's boots on the ground, the men in Washington fighting to accomplish our goals. 

We, as atheists, have a lot on our plates. We are concurrently expanding our ranks and broadening our reach. Awareness campaigns like the "Good without God" billboards will increase our prominence in the press and society, thereby strengthening our collective voice. The Secular Coalition for America will be the ones using that voice to bring about the changes we seek.

So, good on Todd Stiefel for giving the Coalition the single largest donation in its history. They need it. And we need them.

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