This post originally appeared on TheHumanist.com.
By Sarah Levin
This is part of The Humanist’s monthly series highlighting openly nonreligious elected officials across the nation. Because of the work of the Center for Freethought Equality, the political and advocacy arm of the American Humanist Association, there are over 120 elected officials at the local, state, and federal level who identify with the atheist and humanist community serving in 34 states across the country. Join the Center for Freethought Equality to help politically empower the atheist and humanist community—membership is FREE!
The Center for Freethought Equality’s advances have been groundbreaking. Prior to the 2016 election, there were only five state legislators and no members of Congress who publicly identified with our community; because of its efforts, today we have seventy-three state legislators and a member of Congress, Jared Huffman (CA-2), who publicly identify with our community. It is critical that our community connect and engage with the elected officials who represent our community and our values—you can see a list of these elected officials here.
Representative Farrah Chaichi
Representing Oregon’s 35th District
“Being open about myself and my experiences shows people that their secular government has secular members who will prioritize the needs of the people. And for the people who are nonreligious, especially the youth who need our support, my openness about not being religious demonstrates that they have an advocate at the legislature, and that they can be their authentic selves.”
Representative Chaichi was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2023. She serves as Vice Chair House Committee on Gambling Regulation and she serves on the Judiciary Committee and Ways and Means Subcommittee on General Government.
A lifelong resident of Beaverton, she first got involved in human rights issues when she joined Amnesty International while attending Beaverton High School. Her work with the organization inspired her to study criminal justice and political science in college. Chaichi earned her Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and political science from Seattle University, and then went on to earn her Master’s of Professional Studies in paralegal studies from George Washington University.
In 2014, she got more deeply involved in politics and was appointed to the Beaverton Human Rights Advisory Commission (HRAC), where she served for six years. Seeking to make a bigger impact on human rights is what led her to run for (and win) public office in her district.
Sarah Levin: What motivated you to run for office?
Rep. Chaichi: Because I value people, striving to overcome human suffering and indignity motivates my social and political work. In our world of instability, inequality, and intolerance, we are responsible for whether our neighbors, near and far, are treated with the inherent dignity we all deserve, regardless of how we identify ourselves. That includes race, gender, sexual orientation, level of ability, economic status, and, of course, religion or being nonreligious.
Our current systems still produce the inequities that I have spent my adult life working to overcome. As children, many of us were taught that hard work and resilience would be enough to build stability and success for ourselves. Yet our economic and political systems retain the same mechanisms that have oppressed people for centuries, despite the promises we have told and been told about freedom.
A decade ago I was appointed to the Beaverton Human Rights Advisory Commission (HRAC). My time serving on HRAC gave me a chance to examine some of our local issues with human rights closely, but an “advisory commission” position came with limited power to impact those issues. So I got involved everywhere I could to make a difference. I started attending political meetings, joined organizations, hit the pavement for candidates, and protested in the streets. When the opportunity to run for a seat in the state legislature came up, the chance to leverage my impact ultimately swayed me to get involved in this capacity.
Levin: What are your policy priorities and how does your nonreligious worldview impact your policy platform?
Chaichi: The attention to the lived experiences of my communities motivates how I approach my role as a legislator. I recognize the responsibility of my privileged position as a State Representative to ask and answer, “How will my decisions uplift and validate the full worth of the people of my district, of Oregon, and anywhere across the world?”
At the end of the day, an elected official’s responsibilities are to the people, not to money or profits, not to the traditions or “the way we’ve always done it,” and not to worldviews that prioritize oneself over everyone else. When people are the priority, we can serve them to the best of our ability. We need leaders who will bring together our diverse community into a movement towards justice, equality, compassion, and solidarity.
I recognize human rights to housing, healthcare, education, a habitable planet, and strong union representation. These are my policy priorities because I believe society is responsible for the conditions of the people within it. Everyone needs shelter, care, support, safety, and reliable conditions to live, work, play, grow, and thrive.
Levin: Why was it important for you to be open about your nonreligious identity?
Chaichi: My nonreligious identity has just been part of who I am for so long that I didn’t consider if I should be open about it. It was never a question for me. Being open about myself and my experiences shows people that their secular government has secular members who will prioritize the needs of the people. And for the people who are nonreligious, especially the youth who need our support, my openness about not being religious demonstrates that they have an advocate at the legislature, and that they can be their authentic selves.
Levin: How did voters respond (if at all) to your openness about your nonreligious identity?
Chaichi: People respond well to my focus on issue-based legislating, human rights, and policies that will improve our lives. As an atheist (which to me just means an absence of god) I don’t find my nonreligious identity a relevant talking point with voters because I’m not at their doors to convert them. I’m there to talk about their needs, which helps them see I am here for them, not an ulterior agenda.
The issues that matter affect real people where they are. I get the privileged opportunity to work for the people of Oregon House District 35 because the people who live here are a super diverse mix of communities, perspectives, practices, and traditions, and I believe they want the respect of an elected official who supports each of them regardless of their chosen religious or nonreligious stances.
To learn more about Representative Farrah Chaichi:
