Well, if you were paying attention to the news this week, you likely already know that the Freedom From Religion Foundation won a major victory for religious freedom and state/church separation!
A federal district court issued a preliminary injunction in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1 prohibiting the school district defendants from implementing an Arkansas law that requires all public schools to permanently display the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library. That’s a big win!
Several media outlets covered the court’s ruling, including the Associated Press, USA Today, Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette and policy-driven outlets such as K-12 Dive (which provides in-depth reporting on K-12 education) and Talk Business (which covers business, politics and culture in Arkansas).
But, because the case involves just four districts, FFRF and three other organizations this week sent a letter to the rest of the public school superintendents across Arkansas, warning them not to implement the unconstitutional state law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments.
The letter (from FFRF, ACLU of Arkansas, ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State) explains: “Even though your district is not a party to the ongoing lawsuit, all school districts have an independent obligation to respect students’ and families’ constitutional rights. Because the U.S. Constitution supersedes state law, public-school officials may not comply with Act 573.”
Column on anti-blasphemy law published in Pennsylvania
FFRF Regional Government Affairs Manager Mickey Dollens has written an op-ed that has been published in both the PennLive Patriot-News newspaper and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“Here’s a fascinating piece of Pennsylvania history most people don’t know: The state still has an anti-blasphemy law on the books that dates back to the 1700s,” Dollens begins. The state is one of just six states with anti-blasphemy laws on the books, including Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming. “These outdated statutes originate from America’s colonial era, before the U.S. Constitution, when church and state were entangled and religious orthodoxy was enforced by law.”
FFRF rips anti-science assaults on public health, environment
While FFRF and Arkansas students got good news this week, the Trump administration continues to wreak havoc on public health and the environment. “Health” Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced this week that he will end mRNA contracts for flu and Covid vaccinations. Health and Human Services declared “a coordinated wind-down” of mRNA projects at the government’s biodefense agency. Contracts will either be altered or canceled, affecting nearly $500 million in mRNA-related projects, including some focusing on creating an H5N1 bird flu vaccine.
Meanwhile, the dismantlement of environmental protections continues apace at the so-called Environmental Protection Agency. Last week, EPA Secretary Lee Zeldin proposed to repeal a watershed scientific finding enabling the federal government to regulate greenhouse gases.
Ugh.
FFRF tells West Point to remove crest from bibles
FFRF this week urged Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll to rescind his recent directive requiring the U.S. Military Academy to place West Point’s official crest on bibles in the Cadet Chapel. Driscoll justified the move in a statement to Fox News, describing why a decision by the Biden administration against affixing the crest was “far-left politics” and claiming that emblazoning West Point’s name on bibles is necessary to uphold “Duty, Honor, Country.” FFRF’s letter strongly rebukes that claim, noting that religious neutrality is not a partisan act but a constitutional and ethical obligation under the First Amendment.
“Secularists of the Week”
“South Park” masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been named FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularists of the Week” for their bold satire of Christian nationalism in this season’s premiere episode, aptly titled “Sermon on the Mount.” The Season 27 premiere episode, which debuted to 5.9 million viewers across Comedy Central and Paramount+, pulls no punches in its takedown of the religious right’s takeover of American institutions, including public education.
“Theocrat of the Week”
Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll is named FFRF Action Fund’s “Theocrat of the Week” for ordering the return of the official West Point crest to bibles distributed in the academy’s cadet chapel. This action blurs the line between church and state in one of the most prominent institutions of the U.S. military.
Beloved Dick Hewetson: Former minister to gay atheist activist
FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor offers a touching tribute to Dick Hewtson, a longtime FFRF member who was a former Episcopalian minister turned atheist and gay activist. Dick died by doctor-assisted suicide on July 19 at age 95.
Annie Laurie writes: “Dana [Treadwell] later told us that as Dick was resting before falling into a final slumber, he requested that a recording of [Dan Barker’s] ‘Nothing Fails Like Prayer’ be played several times. Dick, poignantly, wiggled along with his toes. We’re glad Dick went out on his own terms, after being in hospice for some months, as we should all be allowed to do, and that he was lucky enough to be living in California where medical aid in dying is lawful.”
Contraception next on the Christian nationalist cutting block
And, just today, Annie Laurie penned this blog post about how the Trump administration is now coming after contraception. From closing Planned Parenthood Centers to planning to incinerate almost $10 million of contraceptives to proposing to eliminate the Title X program from its 2026 budget to pushing pronatalist ideas, it’s the start of a downward path.
“Folks, this is only the beginning,” she writes. “Anti-abortion Christian zealots in state and federal governments aren’t stopping with their endless war on abortion rights. The crazies are coming for your contraception, and they are deadly serious.”
Freethought Radio
On this week’s Freethought Radio, we announce our Arkansas victory, hear the Tom Lehrer song “I Got it from Agnes” (as commentary on RFK’s attacks on vaccines) and listen to the superb talk given at the Scopes Trial Centennial last month by Brenda Wineapple, author of “Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial that Riveted a Nation.”
That’s it for this week from FFRF! Thanks for being a member!
