We’ve been responding to a deluge at the Freedom From Religion Foundation in recent days.
Sometimes, our efforts occupy prime spots in the media. FFRF Co-President Dan Barker took part in an NPR debate a few days ago that also featured U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy on the issue of “Can Religion Cure the Loneliness Epidemic?” You can listen here to the engaging back and forth that was broadcast nationally.
We’re the big potato
Idaho’s leading newspaper gave pride of place to our complaint against the Boise State coach’s over-the-top religiosity.
“Boise State football coach Spencer Danielson has always been open about his faith, regularly referring to Jesus Christ and religion before he answers questions about games, players, opponents and outcomes,” stated a piece in the Idaho Statesman. “As a result, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for the separation of church and state has filed a complaint with Boise State regarding Danielson and his actions at a public university. The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to Boise State’s Office of the General Counsel this week, asking the university to ‘address unconstitutional religious coercion,’ according to an FFRF news release.”
An Idaho TV station also provided us with prominent coverage.
Texas and Oklahoma media love us
An East Texas TV station had FFRF State Policy Manager Ryan Dudley on at length to express our opposition to a Lone Star Legislature bill proposing to impose the Ten Commandments on all public classrooms. Ryan provided a convincing refutation.
And when perennial FFRF adversary, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, put in a request for purchasing bibles, the state’s media outlets turned to us for a reaction.
“It appears that Ryan Walters wants to blatantly violate the U.S. Constitution and the Oklahoma Constitution. He wants to violate his oath of office to push his religious beliefs, not only on families and students but also on educators throughout the state,” a TV station quoted FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott as saying.
We made a Tenn. police dept. comply with the law
A Tennessee police department is in constitutional compliance thanks to us. A concerned community member had informed us that the Kingston Police Department had been placing a bible reference in official press releases. “Please allow this email to serve as official notification that the reference to Proverbs 20:7, as addressed in the attached letter, has been removed from department letterhead,” the Kingston city manager replied to our impassioned letter.
The W.Va. Legislature’s alarming biblical attempt
We denounced a proposal in the West Virginia Legislature to enshrine Christian nationalism into the state Constitution by falsely declaring the bible as the “divinely inspired, inerrant foundational document for our society and government.” “This resolution is a shocking and brazen violation of the Establishment Clause,” said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. Fortunately, it still faces many legislative hurdles.
Montana proposal wants to bow to ‘King Christ’
We flagged a copycat Montana Christian nationalist resolution (that is just like a failed North Dakota resolution) to “acknowledge the Kingship of Jesus Christ.” We strongly condemned this alarming proposal as a blatant violation of the fundamental principle of separation between religion and government and an affront to the constitutional rights of all Montanans.
A heartbreaking measles death
We drew attention to a child’s death from measles in Texas and asked if it is a tragic sign of public health breakdown in times to come. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been in office only a few days, and the national health disasters have already started.
The welcome growth of the ‘Nones’
It was not all bad news that we were responding to. We saluted the growth of the “Nones” to 29 percent of the adult population — the largest “denomination” in the country. It’s indeed something to cheer about.
We provided legislative input
FFRF also provided input on important legislative measures all over the country. FFRF Regional Governmental Affairs Manager Mickey Dollens and FFRF Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne submitted written testimonies to legislatures of states as varied as Kentucky, Missouri and Vermont.
Does God really have a plan?
Our legislative arm, the FFRF Action Fund, has been active, too. Its “Theocrat of the Week” is a member of Congress. Rep. Mark Alford, who told constituents frustrated with extensive federal job cuts that “God has a plan.” Alford needs to listen to Missourians and not use God as a shield when refusing to address the concerns of his constituents.
Curbing religious health care entities
The Action Fund’s “Secularist of the Week” is an Oregon state representative, Rob Nosse, who recently introduced a bill to rein in “health care cost sharing” plans — predominantly operated by Christian ministries and most often left unregulated. The Fund wholly supports legislative fixes to address the abuse of junk coverage operating under the guise of religion.
Our home state’s obsession with ‘In God We Trust’
We addressed a wide range of subjects on our broadcast programs this week. Our Facebook Live “Ask an Atheist” show featured FFRF’s Liz Cavell and Ryan Jayne discussing a bill in Wisconsin that would require all public school classrooms to display the phrase “In God We Trust.” They provided a brief history of the motto and warned about the larger implications of the bill.
Dan Barker’s ‘contraductory’ TV appearance
In an inversion — or contraduction — the co-host of our TV show is the guest on its latest episode to talk about his new book titled … “Contraduction.” “A contraduction is an inversion of reality,” Dan explains his coinage to “Freethought Matters” co-host Annie Laurie Gaylor. You can already watch the fascinating discussion in part debunking the fine-tuning argument for the existence of God on our YouTube channel. Or find out where and when to catch it on television Sunday.
The CDC’s dismaying trajectory
On the latest episode of Freethought Radio, co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor first talked with Mandisa Thomas, founder and president of Black Nonbelievers, about the upcoming Revival of Reason conference in Atlanta that FFRF is co-sponsoring. Then, they spoke with public-health expert Professor Patrick L. Remington, who is on the board of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly,” about the threats to the CDC and public health from anti-vaccination and anti-science federal actions.
Steve Bannon’s appalling gestures
Annie Laurie was alarmed by Steve Bannon’s recent Nazi-seeming salute followed by an “amen” at a conservative gathering.
“We’re in a time of great danger for the future of democracy in the United States when those with an inside ear to the president are openly and unashamedly dog-whistling Nazi salutes and anti-democratic, antisemitic, anti-atheist, white supremacist slogans,” she concluded a recent blog. “No one should be saying ‘Amen’ to that.”
Instead, such gestures require the correct response — which we’re able to provide in instance after instance only due to your unwavering support.
P.S. Don’t forget to make your plans to attend the “conference of the century” celebrating the centennial of the Scopes Trial in Tennessee this July.
