SecularDefense.com is committed to factual accuracy, rigorous sourcing, and intellectual honesty. This page explains how content on this site is produced, reviewed, and held to account.
How articles are produced
Articles on SecularDefense.com are produced using AI-assisted research and drafting tools under direct human editorial direction. The site’s editorial framework — its strategic focus, rhetorical approach, source standards, and argumentative positions — is developed and maintained by the site’s human editor. AI tools are used to accelerate research, organize evidence, and produce initial drafts. Every article is reviewed, directed, and published by a human editor who takes full responsibility for its content.
This is the same relationship a researcher has with a research assistant, or a writer has with an editor — the tool accelerates the work, the human directs it and stands behind it.
Source standards
Every factual claim on this site requires a citation. Our source hierarchy is:
- Primary sources first: court records, legislative texts, archival documents, founders’ writings
- Peer-reviewed scholarship and major academic press publications second
- Established legal encyclopedias and bar association resources third
- Major news organizations for current events only — never for historical or legal claims
- Advocacy organization materials are labeled as such and never used as evidence for historical or legal claims
If a claim cannot be sourced to this standard, it does not appear on the site.
Corrections policy
If you find a factual error on this site, use the Contact page to report it. Verified errors will be corrected promptly and noted in the article. We do not delete corrections — we publish them transparently.
What this site is and is not
SecularDefense.com is an advocacy resource for secular democracy and church-state separation. It is not a neutral academic publication. Its editorial position — that Christian nationalism is a political program that threatens constitutional government — is stated openly. Within that position, every factual claim is held to the source standards above. Opinion and argument are distinguished from documented fact throughout.
A note on AI-assisted content
The use of AI tools in content production is increasingly common across journalism, research, and publishing. We disclose it here because we believe readers deserve to know how content is made. We also believe the disclosure is most meaningful when it is accompanied by a clear statement of what human oversight looks like in practice — which is what this page is.
How we use AI tools
SecularDefense.com uses AI tools in two distinct roles under human editorial control. For research, we use web-connected assistants to surface primary sources, peer‑reviewed scholarship, and legal analysis, which are then checked against the original materials before inclusion. For writing, we use large‑context language models to help generate outlines, first drafts, and revision suggestions based on our documented Strategy Guide, Voice and Style Guide, Article Production Workflow, and Content Master Plan. In every case, a human editor is responsible for directing the work, verifying all factual and legal claims, enforcing our tone and sourcing standards, and approving the final text. No article is published without passing our three tests (Historian, Centrist, and Secular Reader) and meeting the evidence and citation rules described on this page.
This article was researched and drafted with AI assistance and edited, directed, and verified by the author. All factual claims are sourced to the standard described in our Editorial Standards and Disclosure page.