We at the Freedom From Religion Foundation pride ourselves on our persistence.
That’s why we are persevering in our legal action against the Ten Commandment law in Louisiana even after a concerning court ruling.
“A federal appeals court on Monday vacated an earlier ruling that struck down Louisiana’s controversial law requiring public schools and colleges to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, setting the stage for a new round of arguments in the high-stakes case,” states an article in the Baton Rouge paper. “‘We look forward to presenting our clients’ case to the entire court of appeals, and we remain confident that the constitutional values and principles at the heart of the First Amendment, which guarantee religious freedom for all students and families, will prevail in the end,’ said a statement from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Louisiana and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.”
Our determination to fight on made it to even Newsweek.
“A federal appeals court will reconsider its recent decision that declared a Louisiana law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms of the state’s public schools and universities ‘plainly unconstitutional,’” says a piece in the storied publication. “The ACLU, ACLU of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, who are serving as pro bono counsel in the case, said in a statement: ‘We look forward to presenting our clients’ case to the entire court of appeals, and we remain confident that the constitutional values and principles at the heart of the First Amendment, which guarantee religious freedom for all students and families, will prevail in the end.’”
We’ve filed a lawsuit in South Carolina to defend atheist rights
This week, we had an exciting legal development: filing a suit in federal court on behalf of a South Carolina FFRF member challenging an unconstitutional requirement that poll workers must swear a mandatory religious oath.
“Jim Reel, a veteran who wants to continue serving his community as a poll worker, should be congratulated, not barred simply because he is an atheist,” commented FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “This legal challenge seeks to put an end to this discriminatory and blatantly unconstitutional practice.”
Madison radio interviews Annie Laurie at length
Our tenacity on behalf of the Constitution is attracting notice on our home turf. Our local community radio station did an extensive interview with Annie Laurie about our organization, its genesis, its battles, and the scourge of Christian nationalism.
Our work is getting attention in Kentucky
Our objection to a mandatory elementary school Christian concert struck a chord in the Bluegrass State.
“Freedom From Religion Foundation officials said in a news release that a parent reported 3 Heath Brothers, a nationally known Christian boy band, performed Sept. 16 for all students, including those as young as 6 years old, at Breathitt Elementary School in Jackson for a school-sponsored assembly,” says a story in the Lexington paper. “Parents reportedly received no notice about the religious assembly, the news release said. Freedom from Religion’s purpose is to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state.”
It sure is.
We corrected Trump
We had the audacity to correct President Trump: We told him that you don’t need God to be good. Trump recently claimed that his own motivation for goodness is to “prove to God you’re good so you go to that next step” and added that he believes it is “very hard to be a good country” without religion. We called the comment a classic Christian nationalist talking point that falsely ties morality to piety.
We’re troubled about book-banning
This week is Banned Book Week, so we expressed our concern at the alarmingly unacceptable level of censorship in the United States, as revealed by a recently released PEN America banned-books report. There’s no true freedom of thought, conscience or even religion, unless our government and its public schools and libraries are free from religion and its control over thought. The very notion of “banned books” is anathema to a free society.
Florida school district needs to cease its chaplaincy
We are calling on a Florida school board to end its newly created chaplain program and rescind the appointment of Rev. John “Jack” Martin as the state’s first school chaplain. FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line has written to the board, “Rev. Martin has openly promoted Christian nationalism and disparaged public education itself. His stated views are incompatible with the religious neutrality required of public schools and threaten to undermine the trust and inclusivity essential to serving Hernando County’s diverse student body.”
FFRF Action Fund’s Virtual Town Hall on California’s Prop 50
Our legislative arm is also tenaciously persisting. Along with Equality California, Congressional Freethought Caucus Chair Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Oklahoma state Rep. Mickey Dollens, one of our legislative staff, it held a lively virtual town hall with FFRF Action Fund and Equality California members to discuss how California’s Proposition 50 could determine the balance of power in Congress. The forum had answers for many audience questions about Prop 50, a nationally significant referendum, so if you missed the town hall, watch it here.
Member of Congress provides us the lowdown on Prop 50
We had a distinguished guest on this week’s episode of Freethought Radio to talk about Prop 50, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who explained to co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor how the proposition is trying to fight religious-right authoritarianism. Also featured was Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow Kyle Steinberg, who explained FFRF’s newest lawsuit challenging the South Carolina law requiring poll workers to attest to belief in a god.
Competing theocratic and secularist lawmakers
The Fund’s theocrat and secularist picks this week are national lawmakers.
Its “Theocrat of the Week” is Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., for co-sponsoring a resolution with theocratic underpinnings to establish a “Religious Education Week.” The Fund condemns Tuberville’s false claims that the United States was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and the “love of God,” as well as his disregard for our secular democracy and public schools that serve students of all religions and nonreligion.
The Action Fund honors U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., as its “Secularist of the Week” for spearheading a resolution that defends state/church separation and opposes the Christian nationalist vision of the Trump administration. “The strength and vibrancy of the United States lie in its diverse, multicultural, and religiously pluralistic society, as well as those who identify as nonreligious or agnostic,” the resolution contends.
Supreme Court pessimism
FFRF Contributing Writer Kat Grant’s latest column expresses deep judicial foreboding.
“It’s October, which means the U.S. Supreme Court has begun its new term,” Kat writes. “And once again for those of us who care about secular government and equal rights, it is a time for pessimism.”
Find out the reasons for Kat’s uneasiness.
Secular Day of the Dead online event on Nov. 1
We have multiple treats for you coming up — one virtual and the other in-person.
On Saturday, Nov. 1, the traditional Secular Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos Secular International Online Event will take place at 2 p.m. Central. This event is hosted by David Tamayo, Margaret Downey and Memo Benumea. We are among the co-sponsors of the event. Dan will pay tribute to editorial cartoonist Steve Benson. And Annie Laurie will honor the life of Freedom From Religion Foundation Life Member Dick Hewetson, a former Episcopalian priest turned atheist. For more details and to sign up, click here.
Our convention is coming up!
Our annual convention is next week in Myrtle Beach, S.C.! We have an exciting line-up of events and speakers — and look forward to seeing those of you who plan to attend.
Our persistence is only possible due to our members — including you.
One Response
Why do religious leaders or followers continue to push to have religion taught in public schools? Is it because Christianity in the U.S. is losing its followers and they want a new group of sponges to absorb the grooming that they do? Is it because they need money? Could it be because the church is pushing politics and preaching to the congregation who their next GOP congressman should be instead of the teachings of Christ. Maybe if the church was used for religion instead of politics, they wouldn’t have to usurp the Constitution and try to groom a new group of children. Religion should be an individuals freedom of choice and not an individuals mandatory sentence of guilt.