The Center for Inquiry (CFI), a secular humanist group based in Amherst, N.Y., has filed a federal lawsuit in Texas seeking the right for its secular celebrants to perform weddings in the state.
Texas law says that only “officiants associated with organized religion” and judges can preside over legal marriages. In its lawsuit, filed in late October, the group argues that this policy discriminates against people who wish to have non-religious ceremonies.
“Human rights are universal and should not be predicated on one’s religious belief or nonbelief,” Richard Conn, CFI’s general counsel, said in a media statement. “Requiring religious affiliation in order to celebrate a marriage in Texas — and imposing criminal penalties on those who would choose otherwise — turns nonbelievers into second-class citizens. We believe this statutory requirement is unconstitutional and must be changed.”
CFI has challenged similar restrictions in other states. The group has won the right of secular celebrants to preside at marriages in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. In addition, it lobbied to change the law in Oregon to allow for secular celebrants.
However, the organization’s earlier challenge to the Texas statute was unsuccessful, and the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the lawsuit.
“This is a fundamental question of rights,” Conn said. “The law must not be allowed to discriminate based on religious belief or provide special privilege for believers over nonbelievers.”
The case, Center for Inquiry and McCutchan v. Nicholson, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.