Donald Trump, the Pentagon, a satanic controversy and the death penalty
We at the Freedom From Religion Foundation have been dealing with the welcome situation of our past work continuing to resonate even while we engage in fresh action.For example, we filed an appellate court brief (along with the American Humanist Association) asking for our major district court win against an Arkansas Capitol Ten Commandments monument […]
Enough is enough — abolish the death penalty now
The botched recent execution of a Tennessee prisoner calls to mind the reason why my home state of Wisconsin became in 1853 the first to abolish the death penalty. The very first execution in Wisconsin, a horrific public hanging, provoked the state Legislature’s crisis of conscience: Nearly 3,000 spectators witnessed John McCaffary struggling for five […]
Weekly Wrap: Pete Hegseth, evangelicals, blasphemy laws and the importance of voting
We at the Freedom From Religion Foundation have recently been in overdrive mode — and many are noticing. We filed an appellate friend-of-the-court brief earlier this week in a case that involves an IRS provision forbidding nonprofit politicking; the brief in support of the Johnson Amendment’s prohibition has gotten cited in a number of places. […]
Weekly Wrap: A Trumpian list, Pete Hegseth, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins and a global warming tragedy
We at the Freedom From Religion Foundation have been utilizing our legal system to preserve our secular rights. “A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments Sept. 22 in a lawsuit filed to block Arkansas from implementing its law mandating Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms,” says a piece from a few days ago […]
Weekly Wrap: Thomas Paine, Javier Bardem, Justice Antonin Scalia and Hindu nationalism
There’s a lot to report about Freedom From Religion Foundation actions this week to further our mission — and how these efforts are getting well-deserved recognition. The foremost news service covering belief and nonbelief quoted our advocacy affiliate’s critique of an extremely problematic religion scion who the Trump administration has just appointed as an ambassador-at-large […]
We’re not ready for the death of Employment Division v. Smith
Antonin Scalia (yes, that Antonin Scalia) issued a warning that deserves much more attention right now than it’s getting. The Supreme Court warned in 1990 that allowing religious beliefs to exempt individuals from otherwise valid laws would elevate “the professed doctrines of religious belief” above “the law of the land,” effectively allowing “every citizen to […]
FFRF salutes Hispanic Heritage Month
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, below are highlights of the many distinguished Hispanic and Latinx individuals, past and present, who have made known their dissent from religion. For more information, see FFRF’s Freethought of the Day series. Jessica Alba Actress Jessica Alba, whose California-born paternal grandparents were both children of Mexican immigrants, was raised […]
Weekly Wrap: JD Vance, Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a ‘near-death experience’
The end of summer has been marked with good tidings for us here at the Freedom From Religion Foundation. A ruling the day after Labor Day allowed our hometown case against unconstitutional church property tax exemptions to move forward. We’re emphasizing in our lawsuit that the exemption harms all property taxpayers in Madison, including plaintiffs Annie […]
Is she out of her mind?
An investigation of a near-death experience I participated in a panel at the annual conference of the Society of Biblical Literature (jointly with the American Academy of Religion) in Boston in November, 2025. Sponsored by the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the event included readings from Debating God’s Existence: Believers and Skeptics in Friendly Conversation (Eerdmans, […]