The Freedom From Religion Foundation was recently part of a huge gathering in Dallas for the first-ever National Religious Freedom in Public Schools Summit.
The summit, organized by Interfaith Alliance, had more than 150 advocates, educators, clergy members, nontheists, secular voices and community leaders from 22 states. The location was fitting, as the Lone Star State has been relentlessly passing laws putting religion into its public schools. Such recent laws include: allowing unlicensed chaplains to replace school counselors, passing a $1 billion voucher bill to funnel public dollars into private religious schools, and approving a bill mandating that the Ten Commandments must be displayed in every classroom. Similar model bills are popping up across the country. There was a strong sense of urgency — to say the least.
Just hours before the two-day summit kicked off early last week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court delivered a significant win by halting the new, extremist K-12 social studies standards pushed by state Superintendent Ryan Walters. The lawsuit’s lead plaintiff, Mitch Randall, a Baptist minister, was there in person.
That wasn’t the only good news. Attendees were also riding the momentum of recent court victories in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas, where judges paused laws forcing schools to display the Ten Commandments. These legal wins, in which FFRF was involved, are reminders that collective action works.
At a time when political violence and division are tearing at our nation’s fabric, the collaboration at the summit was exactly what we needed. Hindus, Baptists, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, humanists, atheists, people from diverse backgrounds, came together to champion the same thing: strong, secular public schools.
I was there with my colleagues, FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence and FFRF Legal Fellow Kyle Steinberg. Sammi and Kyle led an engaging breakout session on FFRF’s legal strategy explaining how and when we decide to take cases to court. My presentation was a behind-the-scenes look at what’s really happening with the National School Chaplain Association and its mission to spread Christian nationalism inside public schools.
Throughout the summit there was a theme: Go on the offensive to defend state/church separation. Many attendees were excited about our KPOP (“Keeping Proselytizing Out of Public Schools”) Act, a model policy designed to safeguard students from religious coercion at the state level.
The summit wasn’t all strategy and lawsuits, it was also about making connections. I especially enjoyed meeting Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and strong defender of state/church separation whom I’d interviewed earlier for our online show “Ask an Atheist.”
As the summit wrapped up, I left feeling optimistic. For two days, labels didn’t matter. We weren’t divided into atheist, Baptist, Hindu or Jewish. We were united in our commitment to protect students from state-sanctioned religious coercion and to keep public schools a place for education, not indoctrination.
A big thank you to Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons of Interfaith Alliance for bringing this diverse group together. His vision and leadership made this summit possible and gave advocates across the country the tools and inspiration to keep fighting.
The forces pushing religious extremism into our schools are loud and well-funded, but they’re not unstoppable. After this gathering in Dallas, I’m more convinced than ever that when faith leaders and secular coalitions come together we can be effective in protecting religious freedom for all people.
