As our nation was slammed with Christian nationalist incursions by the federal government this past week, the Freedom From Religion Foundation took many strong actions to defend our secular government.
Media outlets often make note of our responses to the outrages currently bedeviling our country. Our reaction to President Trump’s recent theocratic declamation at the Museum of the Bible received good play.
“The Freedom From Religion Foundation, the nation’s largest freethought association, condemned Trump’s speech, writing on its website that the hearing looked more like a church service than a government meeting,” an Oregon TV station reported. “‘From the Christian prayers to the Christian nationalist lineup of speakers, this commission is not protecting religious liberty — it’s promoting Trump’s political agenda and a false narrative that America is a Christian nation,’ said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.”
A prominent news and commentary portal, Common Dreams, actually gave our social media post pride of place in its coverage of the issue.
America doesn’t want to pray!
We upbraided the White House’s unveiling of an overtly Christian “America Prays” webpage. It claims that this campaign is preparation for the 250th birthday of the United States, but President Trump has no civil, legal or moral authority to tell America to pray or otherwise direct our religious exercises.
State Department should quit its theocratic ways
We have demanded that the State Department immediately remove unconstitutional Christian nationalist posts from its official social media accounts. In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, we objected to recent posts on the department’s official X account that falsely promote Christianity as the foundation of the government of the United States and promise to eradicate policies that “demean the Christian faith.” (Not surprisingly, the FFRF Action Fund, our legislative arm, chose Rubio as its “Theocrat of the Week.”)
HUD needs to stop pushing faith
We denounced Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner’s promotion of religion during a department “faith-based disaster recovery event” at the National Mall on Sept. 6, in which Turner prayed publicly and proclaimed “faith is back in our government.” “HUD’s role is to serve all Americans in times of need — not to privilege one faith or host Christian nationalist worship on federal property,” FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line wrote to Turner.
Our brief refutes religious bias in a death penalty case
We filed a brief before an appeals court to refute the state of Texas’ contention that a defendant’s religious beliefs can be taken into account when sentencing him to death. The petitioner, Irving Alvin Davis, was entitled to a sentencing hearing free of bias and prejudice, but the state of Texas fell short of that guarantee, we contended.
No coach should impose prayer
We protested an Ohio cross-country coach’s violation of the First Amendment right of student-athletes to be free from religious indoctrination. We reached out to the school district to advocate for the right of students to be free from school-sponsored religious practices. “Coaches may not coerce their athletes into praying to play in district sports,” says Annie Laurie.
An unconstitutional ‘Bible Day’
The FFRF Action Fund has had its hands full, too. It denounced a new Christian nationalist proposal in Congress that seeks to inappropriately entangle government with sectarian religion. Reps. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, and Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., introduced a joint resolution to designate today, Sept. 12, as a “National Day of the Bible.” “This is yet another Christian nationalist attempt to rewrite history and impose one religion’s holy book onto all Americans,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, president of the FFRF Action Fund.
Sen. Hawley’s godly imposition
The Action Fund deemed un-American Sen. Josh Hawley’s new bill imposing the “In God We Trust” motto on federal buildings. At a time when the nation has never been more divided by politics and religion, the promise embodied in the original motto, “E Pluribus Unum” should once again be elevated and revered.
Rep. McBride welcome addition to Freethought Caucus
The Fund applauded Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., for joining the Congressional Freethought Caucus, a vital group of lawmakers dedicated to defending separation of state and church and the rights of conscience of all Americans, including nonbelievers. The FFRF Action Fund looks forward to working with McBride and the caucus to counter the growing threats of Christian nationalism and to advance policies grounded in evidence, science and reason.
Sen. Kaine ‘Secularist’ for challenging concept of ‘God-given rights’
The FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularist of the Week” is Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., for challenging the notion that God-given rights serve as the foundation of the U.S. government. President Trump’s attack on Kaine for his remarks only supports the senator’s argument that deriving rights from a Creator, and not laws and government, fuels theocratic control.
Argentine junta’s ‘Christian values’ killing spree
On Freethought Radio this week, after we reported on the myriad activities FFRF is engaging in, co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor interviewed journalist Haley Cohen Gilliland, author of “A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children,” about right-wing Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla, whose government kidnapped, tortured and killed thousands of protesters and stole hundreds of their babies to be raised with “Western Christian values.”
Jair Bolsonaro’s evangelical base in Brazil
On the global affairs show I co-host on Madison’s community radio station, I spoke with University of Wisconsin Professor Patrick Iber about recently convicted ex-President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro, including his evangelical base of support that refuses to leave him. (Any similarities with the U.S. political situation are purely “coincidental,” as we jokingly remarked during our discussion.)
We condemn political violence
Following the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, our co-presidents, Dan and Annie Laurie, join the national outcry denouncing political violence. It is essential to affirm that in a democracy, political differences must be resolved through open debate and fair elections — free of the fear of violence, they write in a blog.
Dan Barker’s recent travels to Latin America
Dan has a wonderfully engaging blog on his recent travels to Peru and Paraguay (both on my bucket list!) to provide solidarity to Latin American freethinkers in their fight against Catholicism historically and evangelicalism more recently. Dan made a number of media appearances. All the details and links are here.
Whether we are propagating freethought at home or in slightly more distant locations, we are able to do it only due to you and your generosity.
