Image credit: Scott Jacobsen.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the publisher of In-Sight Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-0692343) and Editor-in-Chief of In-Sight: Interviews (ISSN: 2369-6885). He writes for The Good Men Project, The Humanist, International Policy Digest (ISSN: 2332-9416), Basic Income Earth Network (UK Registered Charity 1177066), A Further Inquiry, and other media. He is a member in good standing of numerous media organizations.
Author Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organization, institution, or entity with which the author may be affiliated, including Humanists International.
Sean Faircloth is an American attorney, author, and former politician known for his passionate advocacy of secularism, children’s rights, and social justice. Born in Bangor, Maine, Faircloth served five terms in the Maine Legislature, where he was elected Majority Whip and championed over 30 laws, including the impactful “Deadbeat Dad” child support law, later incorporated into federal legislation. As Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America and Director of Strategy at the Richard Dawkins Foundation, Faircloth promoted church-state separation and greater acceptance of nontheistic perspectives. In 2012, Faircloth authored Attack of the Theocrats!, critiquing religious influence in politics, followed by The Enchanted Globe, a children’s book designed to teach geography through fantasy. Elected Mayor of Bangor in 2016, he launched EnergySmart Bangor to reduce energy costs and advance local climate efforts. His continued public speaking addresses the vital role of secularism in maintaining a fair and inclusive society.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How would you characterize the evolution of secular activism? Personally, the 2000s version of secular activism seems to differ in character rather than in intent in some distinct ways.
Sean Faircloth: I don’t claim expertise on this evolution. I can tell you my goal focuses on policy. I adamantly support the principle that government strictly separates religion and government as America’s founders intended and that this separation grow and be implemented worldwide.
Jacobsen: People change in their humanism over time. How has your experience and growth in life changed your approach to humanism?
Faircloth: I’ve recently finished Marcus Aurelius’ book. (I recommend the modern translation The Emperor’s Handbook by Hicks). While good old Marcus is not exactly a contemporary writer (maybe the first in the self-help genre!), his ideas persuade me. I prefer a completely evidence-based approach to life. This “good” emperor emphasized that there is no need for anger, even when anger is an understandable human reaction to a harm or injustice. Rather one must move toward positive action within oneself, even with people who you deem wrong or hostile. View them first as beings toward whom compassion is warranted. (Admittedly, this gets challenging with someone like Trump!)
Jacobsen: Championing 30+ laws in Maine, what ones have been the most impactful, and what can other states learn from this work? As always, it’s a local, community effort linked to global ideas. People watch.
Faircloth: Of my legislative work, the so-called Deadbeat Dad law had perhaps the biggest impact as that was replicated at a national level. I don’t like the term deadbeat dad law. It’s sounds angry. The law simply provides that if one could afford a snow mobile or pickup truck payment one could also afford to pay child support owed. And though it was generally men who ignored legally ordered child support, some women do this as well. The law contained a sanction that one could lose one’s license if someone was not paying court ordered child support which a judge had found you could afford to pay. Some opposed it saying, if the parent couldn’t drive because they lost their license, they’d not work and not be able to afford payments. In fact, this almost never happened. Because the court order was found to be affordable in the first place, they almost always paid up, kept their license, and the duly adjudicated support was paid. This was replicated at the federal level and put food on the table for many low income children.
Jacobsen: What did you learn as the Mayor of Bangor City, Maine?
Faircloth: I try to study current policy and find pragmatic mechanisms to change policy to help people. Voting yes or voting no is important in any elective office. More important to me is coming up with new ideas based on research then working through a process which inevitably involves tinkering and modification as this or that concern arise. At that time, the two policies was first an EnergySmart program, utilizing a small low-cost subsidy supplementing state funds, thus dramatically increased heat pump usage with relatively little taxpayer funds. Second, data indicates that immigrants start businesses at a higher rate than native born Americans, and are quite entrepreneurial. I started the Maine Multicultural Center focused on welcoming immigrants. Maine has an aging population. This program helps grow and diversify our economy.
Jacobsen: What was the feedback to Attack of the Theocrats?
Faircloth: Well, the religious right sure didn’t like it. I got called some names. Ha. Sadly, Trump, who’d I’d suggest has no fixed ideology. Trump is simply a grifter, happy to exploit any tool at hand. Many in the religious right like authoritarianism. Trump is happy to find common ground. As we have seen in too many instances to count these mega-ministers lecture one way and pocket big money from parishioners while having lots of sex outside marriage (a private matter were it not directly hypocritical), often exploiting the people who are not of age of consent. Trump is sympatico with Christian nationalists. The guys at the top pocket the money, do whatever they like sexually, and lecture everybody else. So my book provided facts, but the grift, sad to say, grows exponentially under Trump. Most religious people are good decent people. My concerns are policy based. You generally won’t find some Anglican, Unitarian-Universalist, or reform Jew engaging in “God says I get to live in a mansion.” But Trump and Christo-Nationalists are in on the same grift. Violence has become an increasingly accepted part of their “righteous” arsenal. The authoritarian grift I describe in my books is even more powerful today, with an even stronger thread of violence.
Jacobsen: What did you learn about the state of secularism in the United States as the Executive Director of the Secular Coalition of America? There is a profound and deep promise in some of the ideals of the United States with the separation of religion and government.
Faircloth: One can look optimistically at the cause of separation of church and state in that more and more Americans do not identify with religion and thus should be allied with groups like the UU’s, Reform Jews and so on. Sadly the religious groups withsecular values do not have sway with the soon-to-be most powerful person earth. The Christian nationalists like Trump because when you pull of the mask this is about money and power with no ethical constraints. They have their very strict “moral” laws – but those only apply to underlings who cough up the cash. The money (often illegally gained) and sex (sometimes illegally procured) are free flowing with those in the Trumpian power center. The non-religious and the ethical religious must find common cause and unite for basic decency. With Trump in power it is not going to be easy.
Jacobsen: Do support for gender equality–child support legislation–and environmentalism–EnergySmart Bangor program and a gold medal from Environment Maine–factor into the work for secularism, or are these separate agendas to you?
Faircloth: Every policy I’ve advocated must first be convincing to me as evidence-based with the goal of greater human flourishing. It would never cross my mind to say God requires women to forgo control of their own bodies. I commend the many religious people who share this view a secular policy view. I flat reject the premise that “here is an ancient [allegedly] god-given rule, therefore it is ethical and therefore moral law to be followed.” My life mission is to seek out changing my mind based on evidence.
Jacobsen: “Stop the Religious Right: Four Steps You Can Take” gives four ways to combat religious overreach. That was 12 years ago. What is the same or different in these steps, even the number of steps?
Faircloth: I’d like to see these same steps implemented. The non-religious must do so in alliance with the many religious groups who do not support the even more dastardly turn that the religious right working in collaboration with Trump seek to implement. Christo-fascism was simmering and growing twelve years ago. Sadly it’s chief enabler has helped it exponentially and is now coming to unprecedented power. The reality objectively is ominous. Courageous people must push back.
Jacobsen: Do you plan to retire, or is the work for activism a lifework for you?
Faircloth: For me life is getting results. I will work until my last functional day. Whether in starting the Maine Discovery Museum, in elective office, or in other cause-focused organizations, my goal is to be able to look myself in the eye and say, at least in some way, I’m working for a better world. And to quote a certain Beatle: “couldn’t get much worse.”
Jacobsen: What are your favorite humanism coda quotes?
Faircloth: “I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no ‘brief candle’ for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” – George Bernard Shaw
And my own, ha!
“I’m a militant agnostic. I don’t know! — and you don’t either!” I’m proud of my continual willingness change my conclusions based on evidence. If I die and I wake in heaven to a box of chocolates and free pizza without ever getting fat, fine with me, but I expect no such thing. To me the only “reward” I expect is to, as best I can, continue to learn, change, evolve myself, evolve my mind, and become a better human while I’ve got this extremely brief opportunity to carry the human torch of enlightenment.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Sean.