The world needs more secular students

Graduation is an important milestone and benchmark of achievement for all students. The class of 2020 enters an increasingly connected and complicated world, in which the values of compassion, equality, and justice are needed more than ever. Our atheist, humanist, and nonreligious graduating students have a unique opportunity to create the future they want to see.

With high schools, colleges, and universities closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic this spring, many students were not able to experience the graduation ceremonies they had been looking forward to for years. The Secular Student Alliance was honored to host a virtual graduation for secular students across the country.

Please enjoy our graduation ceremony and help celebrate our graduates.

Because this is a public video, we have removed some of the students from the live broadcast (per their request). Many of our students come from religious households and may not be able to be completely open about their non-religion at this point in their lives.

Actor John de Lancie shared a stirring commencement address for our students recalling how previous generations found the courage to confront world-changing challenges and a culture of inequality, unsustainable consumption, and rampant magical thinking.

John urges our students to seize this opportunity to transform their communities based on facts, truth, and caring. As the future generation, they must harness their collective power and creativity to organize, solve problems, and vote.

John challenged our students to defy “the forces of bigotry, ignorance, and fear” and “Surprise them. Be smart. Be strategic. Be secular. The world needs you.”

Our atheist, humanist, and nonreligious students are the future community leaders and politicians in our country. Please make an investment in a more secular future by making a donation today.