As 2025 draws to a close, it’s impossible to ignore the increasingly challenging global landscape. We’ve all watched as illiberal movements, often fueled by Christian Nationalism, threaten to roll back decades of hard-won progress on secularism, reproductive rights, and inclusive governance. While the most obvious examples are south of the border, their tactics are being increasingly mirrored by reactionary forces in our own politics.
In this rising tide of religious fundamentalism and political nationalism, our work at the BC Humanist Association has never been more vital.
Looking back, 2025 wasn’t just a year of advocacy; it was a year of resilience and victory. Your commitment and generosity, have let BCHA stand as a beacon of reason and progress in the storm. Every brief we submitted, factum filed, council meeting monitored and community event hosted was made possible by you and our growing community.
Thank you for ensuring that in a deeply challenging year, we can claim major victories for secularism and human rights.
Secular Victories You Made Possible
Your support allows us to punch far above our weight in the legal and political arena. In 2025, you funded landmark policy work and legal interventions that will shape Canada's legal landscape for years to come:
- "Prayer Free BC": This year, we achieved a historic milestone: We declared BC Prayer Free on the tenth anniversary of the Saguenay decision. The findings confirmed that municipal council meetings across British Columbia are now free of unconstitutional prayers. To mark this incredible victory, numerous municipalities including the City of Vancouver declared April 15 "Religious Neutrality Day."
- Bringing secularism to court: We intervened in multiple critical cases regarding religious neutrality:
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- In March, the BC Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the privacy rights of the ex-religious. We'd intervened to argue about the importance of privacy rights and personal autonomy. That case is headed to the Supreme Court of Canada next year.
- We argued to the Supreme Court of Canada that the principle of secularism is inherent to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and can't be overruled by the notwithstanding clause.
- We also successfully gained leave to intervene in the high-profile case challenging the denial of MAiD services at St. Paul’s Hospital, ensuring that the need for religious neutrality in public healthcare is heard clearly.
Fighting for Fairness and Rights
The fight for human rights demands persistent advocacy. Your donations keep me and the team at the BCHA working tirelessly to protect vulnerable groups and ensure government policies are fair to everyone:
- Protecting Reproductive Rights: Hundreds of you demanded the government uphold its promise and strip charitable status from anti-abortion organizations. We continue to stress that taxpayers should not subsidize organizations actively working against human rights.
- Standing Against Intolerance: I was proud to speak at the No Tyrants Vancouver Rally in October, joining fellow citizens to push back against growing authoritarian and Christian Nationalist influences.
- Challenging Religious Privilege: Our calls for tax fairness reached the mainstream with prominent coverage on CTV News earlier this month.
Our Community Comes Together
While our advocacy is critical to the change we want to see, the heart of the BCHA is our community. It has been a privilege to meet so many of you at our events throughout the year:
- Annual Gatherings: We hosted our first Summer Solstice Gathering and are looking forward to the upcoming Winter Solstice Gathering. The tenth annual Let Peace Be Their Memorial ceremony let us reflect on the high cost of war even as countries around the world increase their military spending.
- Conferences with Humanists: Once again, we joined freethinkers in Calgary for the annual WeCanReason conference. We also spoke to academics on death and nonreligion. Next year, we look forward to meeting our global partners at World Humanist Congress in Ottawa.
- Deepening Our Understanding: Our Burnaby Lake walk and Victoria Meet and Greet let us connect in person. While our discussions on Death Beyond Belief and child rights and our other livestreams let us delve deep into critical issues.
Invest in the Fight
From ending municipal prayer in BC to challenging the presumed benefit of religion, our victories this year are a testament to your power. When you back our work, we get results.
But the year is coming to an end and our opponents are organized and well-funded. We rely on you to ensure the BCHA can:
- Keep fighting for tax fairness and reproductive rights.
- Continue our legal interventions to entrench protect the duty of religious neutrality.
- Grow our community and educational outreach across British Columbia.
Help carry this momentum into 2026. Please consider making a year-end gift today. Every dollar directly translates into advocacy, legal work and community building.
Thank you again for making 2025 such an extraordinary year. I look forward to fighting alongside you in the new year.
An initial draft of this post, along with the banner image, were generated with Google Gemini and Canva AI.