{"id":21920,"date":"2023-12-13T17:41:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T17:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920"},"modified":"2023-12-13T17:41:11","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T17:41:11","slug":"mccaul-mulls-subpoena-for-state-in-atheism-grant-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920","title":{"rendered":"McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire<\/a><\/p>\n

By Susan Crabtree
\nReal Clear Wire<\/p>\n

House Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with what they describe as the State Department\u2019s attempts to impede their investigation into the decision to greenlight $500,000 for a program promoting atheism overseas.<\/p>\n

Rep. Michael McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is now mulling his next steps, which could include legislation, subpoenas, or other oversight options aimed at forcing the State Department to comply with the probe\u2019s requests for information, according to panel staff. McCaul and several other House Republicans are demanding more information about the 2021 State Department atheism grant and how the funds are being used.<\/p>\n

Republican lawmakers have complained about what they describe as the department\u2019s slow-walking of their responses to committee inquiries and requests over the last 15 months. They are particularly upset over the agency\u2019s refusal to make key officials available for interviews.<\/p>\n

Since becoming speaker in late October, Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican and vocal Christian, has strongly supported McCaul\u2019s probe into the $500,000 atheism grant. Johnson and others want answers from the State Department about the unprecedented grant award that they say is aimed at promoting and expanding the influence of atheists and humanists in the Middle East and North Africa.<\/p>\n

McCaul and other GOP House members involved in the probe argue the program could be violating the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits the use of tax dollars to promote theocracy or a specific religion because the grant provides funds to certain groups but not others in specific countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not complicated \u2013 the United States shouldn\u2019t be funding atheism anywhere \u2013 not at home, and not in the Middle East,\u201d Rep. Kevin Hern, a Republican from Oklahoma, told RealClearPolitics. \u201cIt\u2019s been over a year, and still no answers from the State Department. What is going on here?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the summer of 2022, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks led the first attempt<\/a> to press Secretary of State Antony Blinken for answers about the grant. He accuses the Biden administration of \u201claundering money to atheists in foreign countries through an unconstitutional and un-American grant program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve sent multiple inquiries over the past year and a half, and the State Department continues to hide basic information about the program from me and the Foreign Affairs Committee,\u201d Banks said. \u201cThis administration has ignored the Constitution, Congress, and the American public in pursuit of its radical, far-left agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

In August, McCaul and GOP Reps. Brian Mast of Florida and Chris Smith of New Jersey, who heads the panel\u2019s human rights subcommittee, wrote to the State Department, pressing the agency to comply with its requests. They also complained<\/a> that the documents the State Department provided either failed to answer their questions or raised new questions regarding the agency\u2019s grant review process. The August letter was addressed to Erin Barclay, acting assistant secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and Rashad Hussain, ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom.<\/p>\n

The lawmakers also took issue with the State Department\u2019s claim that it doesn\u2019t provide funds to any organization with \u201cthe aim of using such funds to promote or advance specific religious ideologies or beliefs.\u201d The Republican trio said the statement \u201cdirectly contradicts the language\u201d in the Notice of Funding Opportunity awarding the grant, which they argued \u201cmakes it clear that the intent of the funded programs was to expand atheists\u2019 presence and influence in the relevant countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2021 $500,000 grant, titled \u201cPromoting and Defending Religious Freedom Inclusive of Atheist, Humanist, Non-Practicing and Non-Affiliated Individuals,\u201d marks the first time the U.S. government has channeled taxpayer dollars to an organization promoting atheism and humanism. The funding notification states that the recipients\u2019 programs should be designed to impact two to three countries across South and Central Asia or the Middle East and North Africa.<\/p>\n

But the lawmakers argue that the program promotes the interest of one specific religious tradition \u2013 humanism \u2013 as opposed to those of all faith-based minorities. The grant eventually went to Humanists International, or HI, a U.K.-based organization aimed at promoting humanism, an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human effort rather than divine or supernatural powers.<\/p>\n

In their August letter to the Department, the House critics asserted that \u201ceven a cursory look into the operations and mantra\u201d of Humanists International calls into question the agency\u2019s claim that it is not providing funds to promote or advance specific religious ideologies or beliefs.<\/p>\n

On HI\u2019s website, the organization requires all of its member organizations to pay dues and support its five objectives, the first of which is \u201cthe advancement of humanism,\u201d the Republicans point out. HI\u2019s grant application specifically states that it will award sub-grants for \u201corganizing events and seminars to promote the positive aspects of humanism and other ethical non-religious worldviews,\u201d including atheism, added McCaul, Smith, and Mast.<\/p>\n

Early in the Biden administration, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a shift away from prioritizing religious freedom over other human rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cReligious freedom is co-equal with other human rights because human rights are indivisible,\u201d Blinken said in May 2021. \u201cReligious freedom is not more or less important than the freedom to speak and assemble, to participate in the political life of one\u2019s country, to live free from torture or slavery, or any other human right. Indeed, they\u2019re all interdependent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, the State Department defended its response to the House Foreign Affairs Committee\u2019s investigation, saying it has been \u201crobust,\u201d involving multiple letters, several congressional staff briefings, and more than 2,000 documents to date. The Office of International Religious Freedom, which manages the grant program, also has briefed House Foreign Affairs Committee staff numerous times, a State Department spokesperson told RCP.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of State does not define what is and is not a religion,\u201d the spokesperson noted in a statement. \u201cConsistent with First Amendment principles, Department of State programs never promote specific religious philosophies or doctrines; rather, they promote the rights of all people [to] live free from abuse or discrimination on the basis of whatever their chosen religion or beliefs may be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPrograms are designed to provide tools and support to individuals and communities facing persecution, abuses, harassment, discrimination, and violence on account of their religion, beliefs or non-beliefs,\u201d the spokesperson continued.<\/p>\n

The State Department official also pointed to the contents of the 2016 Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, or IRFA, which states \u201cthat religious persecution and the specific targeting of non-theists, humanists and atheists because of their beliefs is often widespread, systematic, and heinous.\u201d The law also states that religious freedom includes the protection of both theistic and non-theistic beliefs and the right not to profess or practice any religion.<\/p>\n

The Republicans counter that the State Department only provided documents to the committee a year and a half after their first request, and that the briefings did not satisfy the requests and occurred before the committee had the relevant documents. The lawmakers readily acknowledge that the law states that nonbelievers and atheists have a right to exist free of persecution but also argue it says nothing about requiring grants to subsidize atheistic beliefs or expand the presence and influence of atheists and humanists overseas.<\/p>\n

The Republicans also want to know why the State Department does not define what is and is not a religion because any group could self-define as religious for purposes of IRFA and apply for religious freedom grants.<\/p>\n

In the case of this $500,000 grant, the Republicans contend, there\u2019s no question that it is helping to promote humanism and atheism overseas despite the constitutional issues it raises. In their August letter, McCaul, Smith, and Mast also stressed that HI works closely with member organizations that file lawsuits designed to promote humanism domestically, \u201coften to the detriment of other religious creeds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The organizations include the American Humanist Association, or AHA, which shares a Washington, D.C. address with HI and American Atheists.<\/p>\n

\u201cFar from advancing religious freedom, AHA often takes actions that are antithetical to the idea of religious freedom,\u201d they wrote. \u201cHI\u2019s close association with AHA speaks volumes about the true objectives of HI and should be of grave concern to the [State] Department.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.<\/strong><\/div>\n

The post McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe<\/a> appeared first on The Gateway Pundit<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire By Susan Crabtree Real Clear Wire House Republicans are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMcCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe - Sasquatch News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe - Sasquatch News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire By Susan Crabtree Real Clear Wire House Republicans are\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sasquatch News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-13T17:41:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/?p=21920#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/?p=21920\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-13T17:41:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/?p=21920\"},\"wordCount\":1409,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/?p=21920#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/?p=21920\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/?p=21920\",\"name\":\"McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe - Sasquatch News Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-13T17:41:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/?p=21920#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/?p=21920\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/?p=21920#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Sasquatch News Online\",\"description\":\"Simple News Aggregator for Tall Furry Mammals\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe - Sasquatch News Online","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe - Sasquatch News Online","og_description":"This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire By Susan Crabtree Real Clear Wire House Republicans are","og_url":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920","og_site_name":"Sasquatch News Online","article_published_time":"2023-12-13T17:41:11+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe","datePublished":"2023-12-13T17:41:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920"},"wordCount":1409,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920","url":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920","name":"McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe - Sasquatch News Online","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-12-13T17:41:11+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=21920#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"McCaul Mulls Subpoena for State in Atheism Grant Probe"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/","name":"Sasquatch News Online","description":"Simple News Aggregator for Tall Furry Mammals","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","darknews-slider-full":"","darknews-featured":"","darknews-medium":"","darknews-medium-square":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?author=0"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">Uncategorized<\/a>","tag_info":"Uncategorized","comment_count":"0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21920\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}