Weekly Wrap: Supreme Court briefs, RFK Jr., messing with Texas, and a card-carrying FFRF member

Even though spring seems to be around the corner in Wisconsin, we here at the Freedom From Religion Foundation are keeping our nose to the grindstone.

We filed two friend-of-the-court briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, including one in defense of more inclusive readings in a Maryland school district. The case stems from religious objections by parents to a few LGBTQ-themed books being included in their children’s elementary-school reading list. We urged the Supreme Court to side with the school board. “If the parents in this case get the win they want from the Supreme Court, the real loss will be felt by every public school student,” noted FFRF Litigation Attorney Sam Grover.

Our joint amicus brief in an Okla. charter school Supreme Court case
A coalition of Oklahoma faith leaders, public education advocates and public-school parents that includes us urged the U.S. Supreme Court in an amicus brief to protect religious freedom and public education by affirming that charter schools are public schools that must be secular and open to all students. FFRF and the other organizations issued the following statement: “The Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly found that the state’s approval of a religious public charter school was unlawful and unconstitutional. We urge the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm that ruling and safeguard public education, church/state separation, and religious freedom for all.”

An intrusive Christian band

We’re sounding the alarm over a shocking violation of the separation of state and church in Davidson County Schools, N.C., which invited an evangelical Christian band to perform for elementary students during the school day. FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott says, “Forcing elementary students to sit through a Christian concert and handing them religious materials is a flagrant violation of the Establishment Clause.”

Phoenix paper finds us worth quoting
Our interventions in the recent past are resonating in the media.

“Secular groups have called for an Arizona school district to terminate an agreement allowing a seminary to be built at one of its schools,” says a story in the Arizona Republic. “The Freedom From Religion Foundation and Secular AZ have demanded that Vail School District terminate the agreement with the church. … The First Amendment prohibits public schools from favoring one religion over others or nonreligion, the Freedom From Religion Foundation said. Assisting the church by giving it a space next to a high school and using public resources to support it violates the Constitution, the group said.”

Alabama portal includes our viewpoint
Alabama’s main online news portal included our perspective in a piece on a misguided legislative drive in the state.

“The push for Ten Commandments displays in Alabama’s K-12 schools is heating up, with lawmakers advancing new legislation Wednesday that would require the sacred text to be posted in public school entrances, common areas, and history classrooms,” states a piece on Al.com. “The Freedom from Religion Foundation has raised concerns that efforts nationwide to connect the Ten Commandments to the nation’s founding are a falsehood aimed at promoting a particular brand of Christianity.”

Oklahoma website defends us
An Oklahoma informational website took note of the suit that Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters has filed against us.

“Although Walters’ petition makes a popular argument commonly used to promote the inclusion of religious expression in public spaces, the concept at hand is enshrined in the First Amendment, which prohibits Congress from ‘respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’” the site points out. “The Declaration of Independence also holds no legal authority in the U.S. today.”

Polish detention of Indian humanist alarms us

We decried the alarming detention in Poland of humanist activist Sanal Edamaruku. Sanal is a well-known freethought activist from India who had been given permanent residence in Finland. He had traveled to Poland to speak at a human rights conference. His organization, Rationalists International, reports that his arrest was based on an Interpol Red Notice that the Hindu nationalist Indian government initiated.

“This case is not only about Sanal Edamaruku and his rights,” says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker, who knows Sanal personally. “It’s also a threat generally to the rights of freethinkers, dissidents and rationalists around the world.”

RFK Jr.’s haphazard vaccine stance

After a second unvaccinated child tragically and avoidably died from measles in Texas last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy ostentatiously flew to the state to attend her funeral on Sunday. His gesture is far too little, much too late, we pointed out. Vaccines can prevent measles, but sadly there is no vaccine to prevent dangerous quack views.

It’s not about free speech
Our lobbying arm is also not letting the cherry blossoms in D.C. beguile it into inaction. The FFRF Action Fund is strongly opposing a newly introduced federal bill — misleadingly named the “Free Speech Fairness Act” — that would allow churches to endorse political candidates. “This bill isn’t about free speech — it’s about turning churches into political machines subsidized by taxpayers,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, president of the FFRF Action Fund. 

Making our presence felt

Speaking of D.C., I recently attended a conference near our nation’s capital to make ourselves more of a presence on the radar of journalists covering belief and nonbelief. There, I ran into Kevin Bolling, executive director of the Secular Student Alliance, who was on a similar mission and is always a fun presence at such gatherings.


Messing with Texas

The guest on our TV show this week explains why she and her organization take delight in messing with those running the Lone Star State. Felicia Martin is the executive director of the Texas Freedom Network, founded back in 1995 by Cecile Richards, the stalwart abortion-rights activist who died earlier this year. “We have stood up for the rights of Texans before — and there will always be a space for us to do so,” Martin tells “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. You can already watch the show on our YouTube channel. Or find out where and when to watch it on television Sunday.

Coach religious overreach
Some public school coaches blur the boundary between team spirit and religious coercion. FFRF’s Mickey Dollens and Matt Kenyon, with FFRF Litigation Counsel Sam Grover hosting, share on our “Ask an Atheist” Facebook Live feature personal stories of faith-based peer pressure in school sports and unpack why even well-meaning coaches may be crossing the line. 

Exonerating the innocent
As the centerpiece of Freethought Radio this week, co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor interview Maryland Delegate Heather Bagnall about the bill she has introduced to exonerate people accused of witchcraft in 17th-century Maryland. Listen to the edifying discussion here.

Join FFRF staffer in vital discussion
Join FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line in two weeks for a vital discussion on the growing impact of Christian nationalism and its dangerous push to dismantle the separation of church and state. The event will be held on Saturday, April 26, at 4 p.m. at the Secular Hub in Denver. Learn what’s at stake, what’s being done to stop this theocratic takeover, and how you can help defend our secular government! The event will be both in person and virtual.

How the Supreme Court affects our lives

Photo by Annie Spratt
FFRF Director of Information Technology Scott Knickelbine has written a blog intriguingly titled: “When Catholic Charities fired me, I was glad to get unemployment. Those days may soon be over.” It all relates to a current Supreme Court case. Read on to find out how. (Scott also talks about the case on this week’s Freethought Radio.)

The ghost of AIDS redux
FFRF Contributing Writer Kat Grant’s latest column has a striking opening.

“In the time between writing my last blog and this one, there was a blast of related HIV/AIDS news,” Kat writes. “So consider this Part II, and let’s all hope I don’t need to write a Part III any time soon.”

Since Kat’s pieces are so well written, we won’t mind a third one at all.

A card-carrying FFRF member
We came across this charming mention of us on the web.

“I’m a card-carrying member of FFRF (Freedom From Religion Foundation) and a confirmed agnostic,” writes Tim Seelig, the conductor laureate of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

Thank you, Tim. And thank you to all of our members — due to whom we are able to carry on our work regardless of the weather.