We at the Freedom From Religion Foundation get a special warm feeling when our work stirs up public interest.
The dismissal of the baseless SLAPP lawsuit that Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters initiated against us for our persistent constitutional vigil is receiving major media coverage in the Sooner State and elsewhere.
“A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by state Superintendent Ryan Walters against the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF),” says a story on a Fox TV station affiliate in Oklahoma. “The lawsuit, filed on March 31 by Walters and the Oklahoma state Department of Education, aimed to penalize FFRF for sending advocacy letters to school districts objecting to religious activities in public schools.”
A leading Oklahoma news portal featured the story prominently.
“A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by State Superintendent Ryan Walters against a group that works to enforce the separation of church and state,” stated an Oklahoma Voice piece. “Walters and the State Department of Education filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District in March against the Freedom from Religion Foundation.”
And this is just a sample. At the national level, the leading libertarian publication in the country (Reason magazine) actually republished on its website the entire court order in our favor!
“We are so pleased that Walters’ frivolous lawsuit seeking to muzzle FFRF and our free speech rights was promptly dismissed,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.
Media outlets notice our fed guidelines pushback
Our vigorous pushback against the Trump administration’s appalling new federal workplace guidelines got noticed nationwide.
“In an Aug. 8 letter, the Secular Coalition for America and 18 allied organizations urged the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to rescind its new guidelines for religious expression in government workplaces,” said a story in the Religion News Service, the premier news organization covering belief and nonbelief. “Signatories of the letter included American Atheists, American Humanist Association, Center for Inquiry/Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, Freedom From Religion Foundation Action Fund, Ex-Muslims of North America, and Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers.”
Local media outlets also took note.
“The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting separation of church and state, described the memo as ‘outrageous and unconstitutional,’” a Texas TV station stated. “‘These shocking changes essentially permit workplace evangelizing, but worse still, allow supervisors to evangelize underlings and federal workers to proselytize the public they serve,’ said Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. ‘This is the implementation of Christian nationalism in our federal government.’”
Irish-American publication covers our tussle with Hegseth
Our ongoing tussle with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made it to a major Irish-American newspaper.
“The Freedom From Religion Foundation called out Hegseth for his ‘rallying cry for theocracy,’” noted a piece in the Irish Star. “They said, ‘Pete Hegseth promoting Doug Wilson, a Christian nationalist who openly calls for a biblical takeover of America, is a warning sign. The U.S. is a secular nation. We will fight to keep it that way.’” (More on Hegseth and us later.)
Newsweek includes our perspective
And Newsweek thought our perspective on theocratic Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis important enough to be included in a profile of hers:
Freedom From Religion Foundation, on X: “Concerned about the ‘sanctity’ of marriage? Gay male couples actually divorce less than straight couples. But, Kim Davis’ four marriages are really helping to skew the numbers in their favor.”
Leading Wyoming paper publishes our op-ed
An op-ed of ours that is part of an anti-blasphemy law campaign was published in Wyoming’s second-largest newspaper. The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle is the latest newspaper to run a column from FFRF Regional Government Affairs Manager Mickey Dollens calling for an end to state-level blasphemy laws.
“Wyoming Statute § 1-29-106 says that the state’s libel laws do not authorize the publication of ‘blasphemous or indecent matter,’ creating potential civil liability for publications that are deemed ‘blasphemous,’” Dollens writes in his piece in the Cheyenne newspaper. “Wyoming is one of just six states still having anti-blasphemy laws, alongside Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.”
Hegseth and his fundamentalist buddies
Both FFRF and its legislative arm, the FFRF Action Fund, have been castigating Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his fundamentalist buddies. As part of that focus, we’ve raised the alarm over the deepening political influence of Christian nationalist pastor Douglas Wilson. A new church affiliated with Wilson’s extremist Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches has recently opened its doors just blocks from the U.S. Capitol. Attending the inaugural service was Hegseth.
Not surprisingly, Hegseth is once again the “Theocrat of the Week” pick of the FFRF Action Fund (our legislative arm) for praising a recent CNN segment on pastor Doug Wilson. A government official in a key position within the presidential cabinet should not hold reactionary beliefs while serving our secular democracy, let alone publicly endorse them on social media.
Reps. Huffman and Raskin ‘secularists’ for opposition to fed guidelines
The Action Fund has bestowed its “Secularists of the Week” awards to longtime allies, U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin, for opposing the new theocratic federal workplace guidelines mentioned above. It thanks Huffman and Raskin for their compelling letter and their efforts in combating the Trump administration’s attack on state-church separation.
Secretary Duffy needs to remove painting from merchant academy
FFRF has chastised a second cabinet member in addition to Hegseth. It has asked Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy not to install a sectarian painting featuring a floating Jesus in a prominent space in the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. FFRF is urging Duffy to reaffirm the academy’s commitment to respecting the First Amendment rights of all cadets.
A horrible act of nonbelief persecution in Bangladesh
Looking internationally, we deplored the brutal mob assault and arrest of 25-year-old Bijoy Debnath in Bangladesh — an appalling act of religious persecution simply because he wished “Happy Birthday” to Asad Noor, an atheist in exile. FFRF stands with Debnath, Noor and all those persecuted for rejecting or questioning religion.
How we are fighting back
Mark Dann, our man on the (Capitol) Hill, has an inspirational blog on how we have fought back effectively after theocratic electoral gains.
“When the polls closed in November 2024, and we saw that Donald Trump would return to the White House, and an anti-secular majority would control both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, we knew we were going to be battling against Project 2025 and empowered Christian nationalists for the next four years,” Mark begins. “We quickly saw opportunities to make our stand using the electoral prerogatives of the FFRF Action Fund in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, and also in working with the Congressional Freethought Caucus to advance our legislative goals.”
Don’t revive a 19th century misogynist law
The Action Fund is also raising the alarm about a coordinated anti-abortion campaign to revive a 19th-century law with the aim of blocking the mailing of abortion medication nationwide. The possible revival of the Comstock Act needs to be combated vigorously.
Judicial picks need to be thoroughly scrutinized
In the wake of Emil Bove’s confirmation as circuit judge despite a marred record, the Action Fund has spearheaded a letter from numerous civil rights, legal and advocacy organizations demanding that the Senate Judiciary Committee reject all future judicial nominees advanced by the Trump administration unless they can demonstrate commitment to the Constitution rather than loyalty to President Trump. Bove’s confirmation is a preview of what’s to come: judicial nominees chosen for their partisan loyalty rather than for their qualifications or impartiality.
Two video treats for you
We have uploaded videos for you on our website recently that are a treat. In the first one, FFRF Co-President Dan Barker provides you with a tour of Freethought Hall, our headquarters in Madison, Wis. It is quite an inside glimpse!
The second video consists of highlights from the Scopes Trial centennial celebrations in Dayton, Tenn., that we co-hosted a couple of weeks ago. Catch the speakers, the events — and much more.
A warning about Christian fascism
Our Freethought Radio show starts off this week with the good news of our case dismissal in Oklahoma, including an interview with FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. Then, we hear a chilling warning from author Katherine Stewart about encroaching Christian fascism.
What’s up with ‘debanking’?
FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line has an illuminating blog debunking the Christian right ‘debanking’ conspiracy, providing a step-by-step explanation of what’s really going on. “This is yet another example of how Christian nationalist talking points are being translated into federal policy — with real-world consequences for corporate freedom, public safety and secular governance,” he concludes.
Let me finish my weekly wrap by borrowing the words with which my colleague Mark Dann ends his Capitol Hill dispatch about fighting back in the age of Trump: “We couldn’t be here without your support. Thank you. Because of you, we’re not just in the fight — we’re leading it. And with your continued support, we will win.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
