Church/State Separation Week

Many freethinkers have adopted the week of Thanksgiving (~November 24) as Church/State Separation Week, to offer concerned and active citizens an opportunity to educate others about the importance of a clear division between Church and State. The hope is that this secular holiday will rally us and provide a platform to celebrate one of this nation’s finest contributions to civilization. Secularist societies such asAmericans United for the Separation of Church and State (http://www.au.org/), the Institute for First Amendment Studies (http://www.ifas.org/), the Freedom From Religion Foundation (http://www.ffrf.org/), the American Atheists (http://www.atheists.org/) and the Institute for the Secularization of Islamic Society (http://www.secularislam.org/), as well as others united for a secular government, have supported this celebration. In humanist circles, some also celebrate November 24 as Evolution Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_Day), marking as it does the anniversary of the first publication of The Origin of Species (Nov 24, 1859). For the most, however, the focus is on church/state separation this week. Carles Darwin has his own secular holiday (see: February 12).