IIt’s been a big week for the return of state/church separation around the country. After what seems like years of our rights being reduced or removed, the courts this week have come back around to the side of constitutionality (and sanity).
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is on top of these cases (and hundreds more) and strives every day to uphold our rights.
Judge’s commandment
In the biggest news of the week, a federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction requiring certain public school districts in Texas to remove Ten Commandments displays by Dec. 1 and prohibiting them from posting new displays.
The order is in response to a lawsuit filed Sept. 22 by a group of 15 multifaith and nonreligious families with children attending schools in the districts. FFRF and other state/church groups represented the plaintiffs in the case.
In his order, U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia wrote that “displaying the Ten Commandments on the wall of a public-school classroom as set forth in SB 10 violates the Establishment Clause.” He added, “It is impractical, if not impossible, to prevent plaintiffs from being subjected to unwelcome religious displays without enjoining defendants from enforcing SB 10 across their districts.”
Supreme Court says it loud and clear
FFRF is also celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to leave in place a victory for the rights of students and families to be free from state-conveyed religious coercion. The court’s denial of certiorari — issued with no noted dissents — in Cambridge Christian School v. Florida High School Athletic Association lets stand both its landmark 2000 ruling in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, barring school-sponsored prayer at football games, and a strong 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision finding that pregame messages over the public-address system at state championship games constitute government speech. The Supreme Court’s quiet refusal to take the case is a loud affirmation that public school events cannot be transformed into religious revivals.
FFRF ends coach-led prayer in Ohio district
FFRF stood up for the First Amendment rights of student athletes in Lake Local Schools, after a cross country coach in the Uniontown, Ohio, school district led students in prayer before meets.
A district parent reported that a cross country coach at Lake Middle High School told the team, “Let’s continue to pray before every meet like last year.” FFRF also was informed that coach-led prayer was common across sports teams in the district. FFRF’s parent-complainant and student complainant reported feeling helpless, awkward and embarrassed that the child was forced either to pray against their own conscience or risk ostracization by not participating in the unconstitutional prayer.
FFRF’s efforts proved successful, and the district superintendent confirmed that student rights would be respected going forward.
Florida AG called out for his actions
FFRF strongly criticized Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier for a series of misleading and unconstitutional actions in which he falsely accused private and public institutions of “anti-Christian discrimination.” His recent threats against Microsoft, the American Bar Association and the city of Pensacola represent a troubling misuse of government power and a fundamental misunderstanding of the First Amendment.
In the span of one week, Uthmeier issued three separate letters accusing these entities of anti-Christian bias. Each claim collapses under basic constitutional scrutiny.
FFRF warns that these escalating efforts to badge ordinary regulation and protected speech as “anti-Christian discrimination” are part of a deliberate attempt to dismantle the separation of church and state.
A little reason in the season
Ohio’s Dayton Daily News has published an op-ed written by an FFRF staffer warning against passage of a particularly troubling piece of legislation.
“Benjamin Franklin died in 1790. Yet Ohio House Bill 486, the ‘Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act,’ urges teachers to tell students that Franklin urged Thomas Paine to burn ‘The Age of Reason,’ a book Paine didn’t begin writing until 1793,” FFRF Regional Government Affairs Manager Mickey Dollens begins his column.
Dollens’ op-ed also digs into the problematic bill by detailing the myriad historical inaccuracies it uses in an attempt to instill Christian nationalist teachings on Ohio public school students.
We’re glad to see the Dayton Daily News found Dollens’ column is an important message to deliver to the masses.
The Bell tolls for thee
The FFRF Action Fund, FFRF’s legislative arm, has signed on to a letter sent by the National Women’s Law Center to oppose the confirmation of Trump nominee T. March Bell to the position of inspector general in the Department of Health and Human Services.
During the first Trump administration, Bell helped create the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within HHS. This division created an avenue for health care providers to invoke their personal religious beliefs to deny others health care. Bell is a staunch anti-abortion advocate, too. In 2015, he was chief counsel for a $1.6 million investigation into Planned Parenthood to determine whether the organization was profiting off donated fetal tissues. The investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing. He also has ties to a number of anti-abortion extremists.
Props to Prop 50!
The FFRF Action Fund is celebrating the success of California’s Proposition 50, a major win that reinforces the separation of state and church and LGBTQ-plus rights.
This victory reflects the results of a strategic partnership between the FFRF Action Fund and Equality California that helped educate and mobilize secular and pro-equality voters throughout the state while building momentum for the 2026 midterm elections. Working together, the two organizations hosted a virtual town hall with Rep. Jared Huffman, co-chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, to discuss how redistricting affects secular governance and equality. Rep. Zoe Lofgren joined FFRF’s podcast, Freethought Radio, to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the legislative process that shaped the measure and explained how Prop 50 strengthens California’s democratic leadership in the face of growing national threats.
Shining a ‘Spotlight’ on religious dogmas
On this week’s episode of FFRF’s “Secular Spotlight,” FFRF Co-President Dan Barker and IT Director Scott Knickelbine are joined by bible scholar and media personality Dan McClellan.
The trio discusses McClellan’s critiques of common religious dogmas like biblical inerrancy, divine inspiration and the belief that the bible speaks with one unified voice. McClellan explains that these ideas lack evidence and are often used to reinforce power structures, such as Christian nationalism. He also shows how certain believers selectively reinterpret or ignore conflicting passages to fit their ideology.
‘We Dissent’ discusses ‘conversion therapy’ ban
The newest episode of “We Dissent” takes on a difficult topic — the potential overturn of a ban on “conversion therapy” for minors. On Episode 48, FFRF Deputy Legal Director Liz Cavell and Americans United Legal Director Rebecca Markert cover Chiles v. Salazar, the case before the Supreme Court seeking to strike down a Colorado law banning mental health professionals from practicing conversion therapy on children. They explain the details of the case and discuss the hypocrisy of a ruling striking down the ban.
Jon Stewart is ‘Secularist of the Week’
FFRF Action Fund has named renowned comedian and satirical news show host Jon Stewart its “Secularist of the Week” for his recent remarks delineating his lack of religion, alongside his consistent critiques of Christian nationalism and defense of American democracy.
When an audience member asked “The Daily Show” host whether faith plays a role in his life, Stewart quipped, “No. OK, what else?”
“I’m not against religion,” Stewart continued. “Religion has given the world a tremendous amount of comfort in a world torn apart by religion, mostly. But the important thing, I just, I’m not a believer.”
Florida legislators are ‘Theocrats of the Week’
FFRF Action Fund’s “Theocrats of the Week” are two Florida legislators who want every teacher in the state to recite “so help me God” as part of a loyalty oath before taking on the duties of a public school teacher.
Florida state Sen. Clay Yarborough and state Rep. Tom Fabricio are leading companion bills in the Florida legislature that would require all teachers in the state to “subscribe” to a specific oath, which notably ends with a reference to God. The Senate bill modifies the oath so it would also apply to administrators, pre-K teachers and college professors.
Fighting for freedom on Freethought Radio
On this week’s episode of Freethought Radio, Herb Silverman tells us how he fought the state of South Carolina to allow atheists to run for public office, and Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, describes the state of abortion rights across the country.
That’s it from FFRF’s home base in Madison, Wis., for this week. Thanks for being a valuable member of FFRF!
One Response
All of you are absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much for all you do for us, every day!