FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularist of the Week” is a Montana state representative who won his reelection bid earlier this month. We also celebrate the many other nonreligious elected officials who were successful in the recent elections.
On Election Day, Montana state Rep. Bob Carter was reelected to a second term in the Montana Legislature, representing the state’s 96th District. Notably, Carter is an open atheist elected in the red state of Montana.
Carter’s campaign website lists various organizations he financially supports or volunteers for, such as FFRF. He is involved with a multitude of nonprofit, childhood and education-related causes in the Missoula area, and FFRF is thankful to be one of the organizations Carter supports. (Also included in the list is the Missoula Area Secular Society, a nonprofit fostering a community of nontheistic individuals.)
Carter told FFRF: “As a proponent of our public education system, I feel strongly that a child’s education needs to be protected by a secular umbrella because that sphere of knowledge, values, and actions that we pass on to future generations needs to be independent of any religious authority.”
Carter is a third-generation Montanan who grew up working on farms and ranches. After getting a degree in computer science and working in Silicon Valley, Carter and his wife Laurie moved back to Montana to raise their family. Carter volunteered to take on the primary caregiver role as a stay-at-home dad while volunteering for various nonprofits and organizations and taking on an active role in his community. Carter and his wife are also licensed as foster care parents. Some of the principles that Carter lists on his campaign website include public education, human rights, critical thinking, science and the scientific method.
The number of openly nonreligious elected officials generally increased this year. In 2022, there were 72 openly nonreligious elected officials at the state or federal level nationwide, and this year, there will be at least 77, with some races not yet called. Once the newly elected officials are sworn into office, there will be more than 75 humanist and atheist elected officials at the federal and state levels serving in 33 states. The progress the nonreligious community has made cannot be overstated. Prior to the 2016 election, there were only five openly humanist and atheist elected officials serving in state legislatures across the United States.
We thank Carter and his fellow nonreligious elected officials for representing their humanist and atheist constituents and fighting for the separation of state and church. In 2025, we will continue to work with nonreligious elected officials nationwide to protect our secular democracy.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.