Are you going to be attending an event this election cycle where you will have an opportunity to ask candidates for the Presidency, Senate, House of Representatives or any other public office questions? Make your voice heard and express your concerns about secular values.  Below is a list of questions that can be asked of our elected officals that will reveal their stances on secular values.     

Protecting our Secular Community and Government

* Our Founders established our nation by creating a completely secular document, the U.S. Constitution. The religious right and their allies are promoting the lie that our country was founded as a "Christian nation" and our laws should reflect their narrow interpretation of Christianity. Would you work to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government as the best guarantee of freedom for all Americans?

* The displaying of religious symbols on government property and in government buildings is a violation of the separation of church and state. Would you work to keep our secular government spaces free of religious symbols?

* The courts have historically been the arena where people seek their constitutionally guaranteed protections. Would you oppose legislation that would limit the jurisdiction of the courts with regard to Establishment Clause issues?

* The U.S. Constitution is a wholly secular document free of theological definitions. Would you oppose constitutional amendments to define marriage as between a man and a woman (which would impose on our founding document a theological definition of a civil contract)?

Opposing Faith-Based Initiatives

* Religious organizations using their own funds can hire exclusively from members of their own religion; however, civil rights laws should prohibit religious discrimination by organizations when using federal funds. Would you ensure that religious discrimination in employment is not allowed for any organization receiving federal funds?

* Faith-based initiatives are fraught with constitutional problems: religious discrimination in hiring, advancing the mission of the religion through the guise of government services, coercion of aid recipients to participate in religious activities, and proselytizing using government funds. Would you work to cut federal funding of faith-based programs?

Guaranteeing a Secular Military

* Our volunteer military represents the diversity of religious and nonreligious Americans who make up our nation. Would you work to curtail the efforts of senior officers and military chaplains who put their perceived religious obligation to proselytize above their duty to serve all members of the military?

* If elected, how will you address the U.S. military's well-documented culture of religious intolerance and proselytism now jeopardizing the freedoms and safety of non-religious service members?

Ensuring Reason and Science Drive Public Policy

* Science curriculum is a local issue; however, the scientific literacy of our citizens is a national issue. To promote science, would you endorse the teaching of evolution and refute efforts to introduce intelligent design (i.e. creationism) into our classrooms?

* There is wide consensus among experts in the field that embryonic stem cell research has the potential of producing enormous health benefits. Would you lift the restrictions President Bush has imposed and expand embryonic stem cell research?

* Currently, federal money supports theologically based abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education. Would you support the replacement of abstinence-only programs with science-based comprehensive and age-appropriate sex education programs?

From the Secular Coalition for America