FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2026
Contact: Fish Stark, 304-382-8448, fstark@cfequality.org
Center for Freethought Equality was first PAC to donate to Rabb’s Campaign
(Washington, DC) – Yesterday, Chris Rabb's victory in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District Primary marked a historic milestone for humanist and atheist Americans. When elected in November, Rabb will become the first member to enter Congress as openly nonreligious.
The Center for Freethought Equality (CFE) PAC was the first PAC to donate to Chris Rabb’s congressional campaign during its exploratory phase–as part of CFE’s mission to build political power for humanists and atheists.
“In his victory speech, Chris said ‘they told me this wasn’t possible.’ We’re not known for believing in things, but we believed in Chris from day one, so it's not surprising that the crowd erupted into cheers when Chris thanked atheists from the podium,” said Fish Stark, executive director of the Center for Freethought Equality. “In 250 years of American history, no one has entered Congress as openly nonreligious. We will only have religious liberty in this country when everyone is able to be honest about what they believe. Chris’s courage and victory signals to the 30% of nonreligious Americans that no one has to hide who they are.”
“Chris proved that humanist values are winning values,” continued Stark. “His campaign was built on human dignity, peace, and the belief that better things are possible if we work for them. And our community was ready to make it happen; we raised money, organized events and volunteers locally, and drew national attention to Chris’s campaign.”
While Rabb’s campaign marks a historic first, he will join a growing group of lawmakers in Washington who identify as humanist, agnostic, and atheist. He will also join a larger number of lawmakers who are committed to defending religious liberty for all people through the Congressional Freethought Caucus. The 36-member caucus, which has positioned itself as the counterweight to Christian Nationalism, has grown 80% since Trump retook office.
The Center for Freethought Equality PAC has endorsed more than 200 candidates of all beliefs who are committed to protecting the separation of church and state in the 2026 elections. Rabb is also part of the Secular Seven – a CFE project mobilizing humanists and atheists nationwide for key races from State Houses to Congress.
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The Center for Freethought Equality (CFE) is the political and lobbying arm of the American Humanist Association. CFE is dedicated to building political power for humanists and atheists in the United States. Alongside its advocacy and organizing efforts, CFE has an affiliated political action committee whose mission is to achieve equality for our community by increasing the number of open humanists and atheists, and allies, in public office at all levels of government.
