Roy Speckhardt, the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association, makes a compelling case for a National Day of Reason. He discusses the growing influence of the religious right on Congress and the need to reinforce the separation of Church and State.

Although there are political undertones to this effort, this is really more of a social cause meant to protect our individual religious freedoms. If we allow the revealed religionists to slowly and inexorably gain undue influence over our National dialogue, then the day when our government finally endorses a religion will come.

In our recent discussions on what sustains Deists, one common theme appeared most often: freedom. Many see Deism as a form freedom worthy of supporting in the arena of ideas.

So why should the Unified Deism Community support a National Day of Reason:

(1) Reason, more precisely reflective reason, is part of our core principles. Promoting events that celebrate reason is a natural and logical action for us.

(2) Unified Deism has much in common with the Humanist movement. The National Day of Reason is a wonderful opportunity to support likeminded freethinkers.

(3) Over 80% of the global population believes in a God of some sort, yet only a tiny fraction has even heard of Deism let alone Unified Deism. At some point, we need to band together and publicly promote the beauty, inclusiveness, and logic of our religious life philosophy.

I would like to thank the American Humanist Association and the Washington Area Secular Humanists for co-sponsoring the National Day of Reason website and for allowing fellow freethinkers to join the effort to elevate reason in the National consciousness.