House Republicans on Wednesday accused the State Department of engaging in a “pattern of subterfuge and denial” by using taxpayer money to promote atheism overseas.
The problem is that $500,000 grant The award was solicited in April 2021 by the Ministry’s Department of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and was ultimately awarded to organizations that promote humanism (the idea of not believing in God, the supernatural, life after death, or anything beyond). Awarded to a Humanist International (HI). The source of moral values.
The State Department has long maintained that the grants are used to support religious freedom programs and promote tolerance toward religious minority populations abroad, and that efforts to recruit people for humanitarian causes are denied that it was happening.
The agency did not acknowledge the potential misuse of taxpayer funds until last month, after it sent congressional investigators PowerPoint slides that HI allegedly used to create the program in Nepal, though the State Department later acknowledged they “were not actual slides provided at the training.”
“We write to address the first-time in the history of U.S. diplomacy: the State Department’s admission that it had misrepresented to Congress the scope and nature of programming that sought to promote atheism overseas under the guise of ‘religious freedom.'” Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Brian Mast (R-FL) wrote in their letter. I wrote in a letter It was sent to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma on Wednesday.
The lawmakers alleged that the State Department misled Congress by attempting to “expand atheist networks abroad in violation of the Separation of Church and State Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
“In fact, it was in 2024 that, 15 months after we brought this issue to our attention, the Department of Defense finally expressed ‘deep concern’ about the program and said it would take ‘appropriate accountability measures.’ It wasn’t until April 29, 2017,” McCall, Smith and Mast said.
“It is hard to believe that a State Department official would refuse to read the words in front of them, but we don’t know what else happened,” they added, noting that the State Department’s approved program text called for participants to “engage in advocacy and membership activities that promote humanism” and “expand and diversify their membership network.”
The letter highlights Verma’s testimony to Congress in March, in which he claimed: [Promoting atheism] That’s not the purpose of the grant, that’s not the purpose of the job. ”
“We would never approve such grants,” the Biden administration official added, “and we have not seen evidence of grants to promote atheism in Nepal.”
Congressional investigators found a constitutional violation because the slides used in the HI presentation in Nepal were different from those previously provided to Congress by the State Department.
“The content of the slides provided at the training, now in the committee’s possession, is reprehensible,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Indeed, despite all the evasions by the State Department, this grant promotes atheism, expands the network of atheists abroad, and, unlike atheists and humanitarians, actually works in relevant regions of South Asia. It is now clear that the persecuted Christian and Muslim minorities were ignored.
“In fact, the program was designed to recruit new members to grantee organizations in violation of the Separation of Church and State Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” they said.
The three House Republicans concluded their letter by expressing “skepticism” about the State Department’s claims that it would “take immediate action” and “recover misappropriated funds,” but Verma said They requested that Congress be kept informed of the State Department’s future corrective actions.
