LOBBYIST REPRESENTS THE NONTHEISTIC VIEW: ADVOCATE MEETS WITH N.J. HUMANIST NETWORK, BASED IN MORRIS TWP., AT COOKOUT
Written by Tien-Shun Lee

MORRIS TWP. -- Lobbyist Lori Lipman Brown told members of the New Jersey Humanist Network on Sunday that she learned how much her role was needed during the first 24 hours she served as a voice for the Secular Coalition for America.

"I started getting phone calls from people near tears saying, 'I am so glad you're there. I don't know anyone else out here who's a humanist, or an atheist,'" she said, addressing an informal gathering of about 25 humanists at a summer barbecue in Lewis Morris Park. Lipman, who began lobbying for the Secular Coalition for America in September 2005, is one of the few people on Capitol Hill that actively represents a nontheistic viewpoint in issues ranging from Hurricane Katrina victims to stem cell research.

After Hurricane Katrina swept through the southern United States, Lipman fought to stop federal money from being funneled to religious schools in the form of school vouchers for children who were victims of the hurricane.

After Eagle Scout Darrell Lambert was thrown out of the Boy Scouts in 2002 for being an atheist, Lipman supported him and declared the Boy Scouts to be an discriminatory organization that should not receive federal funding.

In the past year, Lipman also supported stem cell research and fought against stripping federal courts of the power to decide on cases involving prayer in school.

"It's been quite an eye-opener,"said Lipman of her one-year experience as a lobbyist. "I had no idea how bad the church-state stuff was."

Sometimes, Lipman is alone in her lobbying efforts, like the time she fought against a section of a large defense appropriations bill that would have allowed for chaplins to proselytize military personnel any time they liked.

Stem cell campaign

Other times, Lipman is part of a group of lobbyists, like when she supported stem cell research.

"I have absolutely no problem working with people who have completely different beliefs than I do," the humanist lobbyist said. "When I worked with the homeless, I worked with Catholic charities and Franciscan monks. I did it because I wanted to do good while we're here, and to leave the world a better place; they did it for a different reason. It didn't matter that we were doing it for different base reasons -- we were both doing good."

Lisa Ridge, the president of the NJHN, who lives in Hopatcong, met Lipman in May at an annual conference of the American Humanist Association in Tampa, Fla., and decided to invite her to Morris County as part of a fundraising effort for the Secular Coalition of America.

A wine and hors d'oeuvres reception at a private home in Hopatcong on Saturday night raised about $1,000 for the organization, Lipman said, and a few more donations were collected at the Sunday barbecue.

While $1,000 may not sound like a lot, it is not trivial given that Lipman's total budget for the year is $140,000. Almost all the donations that the Secular Coalition for America receives are between $25 and $100, Lipman said.

"I think we need to stop sitting around and complaining about what the reality is, and get the message out that we have people speaking for us," Ridge said on Sunday. "The Secular Coalition of America is one way to make what we want happen."

Both Ridge and Lipman agreed that the need for an organized secular coalition became stronger after Sept. 11, 2001.

"Before 9/11, my husband and I were fairly content as atheists and not really joiners," Ridge said. "After 9/11 happened, we began to feel uncomfortable. There were memorials with long prayer services, and we didn't know how we could express the pain that we felt, because we're doers, we're not prayers."

'Better place'

Lipman added that it did not comfort her when people told her that the victims were in a "better place with God."

Ridge and her husband, Tim, decided to join the New Jersey Humanist Network to be among other people who held similar viewpoints of humanity, including the ability of humans to solve problems with intelligence and perseverance, and the belief that humans should be held accountable for their actions.

"One of the things that's appealing to me in humanism is that instead of leaving things to some power to be taken care of, you have to be answerable to everything you do. You actually make amends. There's more responsibility, more ethical standards," said Lipman, who was influenced to by her family to start thinking about humanism between the ages of eight and 10.

Before becoming a lobbyist, Lipman was a private practice lawyer, then a Nevada State Senator from 1992 to 1994, then a high school English and drama teacher, and, most recently, a faculty member of the University of Phoenix, where she taught constitutional and education law, and American history.

Aside from providing humanist-friendly forums to discuss politics and other issues, the NJHN also hosts a book club, a bi-weekly movie night, and seminars.