“The Religious Right Is Fighting a Holy War. Here’s Our Plan To Win.” by American Humanist Association Executive Director – Fish Stark

“The Religious Right Is Fighting a Holy War. Here’s Our Plan To Win.” will be presented by Fish Stark at the Sunday, November 8, 2026, meeting of the Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville, 3:00 – 5:00 PM at 227 Edgewood Rd, Asheville, NC. Fish will join us in-person for this presentation and Q&A. A hybrid Zoom option will also be available. All are welcome to attend.

The religious right is waging the most aggressive assault on secular values in a generation — defunding public schools, pushing religion into government, and attacking empathy itself as a weakness and a sin. But the picture isn’t all bleak. Efforts to force the Bible and Ten Commandments into public school classrooms are being defeated in court. The Congressional Freethought Caucus we helped start is now larger than the Freedom Caucus. And humanists are showing what is possible when we show up for our communities. American Humanist Association Executive Director Fish Stark will share insight on recent elections and what the AHA’s legal, policy, and community-building teams are working on with our supporters to fight back and win — in the courts, in Congress, in the culture, and in our communities.

Fish Stark is Executive Director of the American Humanist Association and its advocacy adjunct the Center for Freethought Equality. He’s an organizer, educator, social entrepreneur, and lifelong humanist who has spent his career turning big ideas into bold action in service of belonging, flourishing, and social justice for all people. Fish holds a Master’s in Education with a concentration in child development and psychology from Harvard University, and a Bachelor’s from Yale University with a certificate in Education Studies. While at Yale, Fish served as a student board member of the Yale Humanist Community and received a Dean’s Prize for his work to build a stronger relationship between Yale and New Haven. Fish lives in Annapolis, Maryland, where he is President of the Speaker Mike Busch District 30 Democratic Club, is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis, serves on several nonprofit boards, and is an award-winning stand-up comedian. Originally named Fortney Hillman Stark III, after his father Fortney Hillman Stark Jr. (better known as Pete Stark—the first open atheist in Congress), Fish developed his nickname from his initials. For the full story and more on his vision for humanism see A Boy Called Fish: https://thehumanist.com/magazine/fall-2024/features/a-boy-called-fish.