NAC seeks to bring together individuals and groups from across the globe – no matter whether theistic, atheistic, or agnostic – who advocate public policies for the public good that are based upon scientifically supported evidence and who oppose the influence of fundamentalists and extremists in promoting religious and ideological agendas.

We pursue this mission:

• By committing to campaigns and initiatives that attract, welcome and support advocates of the separation of church and state.
• By broadening the scope of our considerations to encompass new developments, such as the rise of extremism and the "war on terror".
• By producing "action alerts" that can help advocates who need the public to assist in contacting decision-makers on critical issues.
• By publicising and promoting the latest news and views about the issues that are the focus of concern for NAC and its members.
• By issuing a newsletter, "NacNet", sent monthly to email subscribers, highlighting the campaigns and projects of NAC and its advocates.

NAC is deeply concerned with the resurgence of Protestant and Catholic right-wing groups, and their alliance with political-ideological movements to block public policies that are at variance with regressive religious doctrines. Together with the Vatican, these fundamentalist forces are thwarting intellectual and social progress through their unflinching and tenacious commitment to theological dogmas.

Science provides reliable knowledge as a basis for addressing problems of public concern and, with regard to beliefs about natural phenomena, overcomes religious boundaries and ideological borders. The principles that govern public policies must be rooted in deontological conceptions of morality, which require treating every person with respect. When religious positions – no matter whether Jewish, Christian, or Islamic – accord with the standard of always treating persons as ends (as intrinsically valuable) and never merely as means, then religion and morality can go hand in hand in working to resolve political and social problems.

Consider the following statements from a Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism published in 2006 by the Centre for Inquiry, a think-tank headquartered in Amherst, New York:

• Embryonic stem cell research, which promises to deliver revolutionary therapies, has been needlessly impeded by the misguided claim that the embryo and/or the first division of cells in a petri dish (blastocyst) is the equivalent of a human person. This is rooted in a moral-theological doctrine that has no basis in science.
• The nation spends hundreds of millions of dollars on faith-based programs of unproven efficacy, including ill-advised abstinence-only programs in such areas as drug abuse prevention and sex education, which are more successful at promoting misinformation than abstinence.
• Abstinence policies are advocated abroad and promotion of condom use rejected, heedless of the danger of AIDS and of the need for wise policies aimed to restrain rapid population growth.
• Scientific evidence of global warming is dismissed and the destruction of other species on the planet is ignored, driven by the misguided view that the Earth has been given to the human species as its dominion.

These disturbing trends can be illustrated by the push for intelligent design (a new name for creationism) and the insistence that it be taught along with evolution. In the US, some 37 states have considered legislation to mandate teaching religion as though it were science. This is both troubling and puzzling since evolutionary biology is central to understanding the origin of species, including our own. And without scientific knowledge to guide us, even policies based upon a deontological standard may be unable to provide solutions to our problems. Science and religion can work together for the public good as long as respect for persons and reliable knowledge function as the foundation for approaching our social and political problems.

NAC welcomes support from all of those who share its general objectives and goals, without concern for agreement on each and every aim. Our Trustees, Honorary Associates, Advisers and Supporters, our most important source of moral leadership and intellectual support, do not therefore necessarily endorse every position advocated by NAC, but endorse what we are doing in our efforts to examine religion, belief and morality, oppose fundamentalism and extremism, and defeat the abuse of religion - not only the abuse of individual rights by religious authorities but also the abuse of religion by secular officials in promoting their own political agendas. We welcome your support for our efforts to defend human rights.