Freethought-Now

We obtained a long-awaited court ruling in our favor to eject a Ten Commandments monolith from the Arkansas Capitol. Congratulations to FFRF Litigation Attorney Sam Grover who did the oral arguments two years ago before the federal district court.

“A U.S. district judge ruled Tuesday that a Ten Commandments display on the Arkansas state Capitol grounds must be removed immediately,” reported a Razorback State TV station. “Anne Orsi, Gale Stewart, Eugene Levy, Teresa Grider, the Arkansas Humanist Association, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers, Donna Cave and Pati Piazza were plaintiffs in the case.”

Our legal battle against a religious public charter school

There was more exciting news on the judicial front. FFRF is seeking to intervene to stop a religion-based public charter school in Oklahoma.

“A group of Oklahoma families, teachers and clergy filed a motion Wednesday to intervene in a lawsuit over a proposed Jewish charter school,” stated a story on the NPR affiliate in Norman, Okla. “Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU, Oklahoma Appleseed, the Education Law Center and the Freedom From Religion Foundation represent the intervenors.”

Salt Lake City paper features us
The Salt Lake City paper displayed prominently our objection to a highly problematic new curriculum in Utah’s public schools.

“Utah students will be required to analyze specific Bible passages referenced or ‘alluded to’ in U.S. historical documents as part of the state’s sweeping new social studies curriculum,” said a piece in the Salt Lake Tribune. “The curriculum change may be the first of its kind, said Patrick Elliott, legal director for the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The organization advocates for the separation of church and state. ‘I don’t know that other states have done this through a state statute and in this very detailed manner,’ Elliott said.”

Patrick is scheduled to appear live on CNN’s “Situation Room” to talk about the constitutional problems with this law on Monday, April 6, at 10 a.m. Eastern (assuming breaking news does not pre-empt the topic).

‘Friendly Atheist’ highlights our disapproval of Texas commission

When we disapproved of a ridiculous “religious liberty commission” that Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has just announced, the prominent “Friendly Atheist” blog noticed.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has already called out the sham group for what it is:

“Just like President Trump’s so-called Religious Liberty Commission, which Patrick chairs, this committee isn’t about protecting religious liberty — it’s about undermining true religious freedom,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Religious freedom under our secular Constitution means the right not just to believe, but to disbelieve. It does not mean the right to impose your religion on others or to claim exemptions from laws that protect public health and civil rights because of your religion.”

Our letter gets attention

A publication covering the nonprofit sector noted our endeavors to preserve a law banning religious politicking.

“A federal judge has tossed without prejudice the proposed settlement agreement between religious organizations and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that would have lifted in a specific case the ban on political speech in a church or other place of worship within the tax law known as the Johnson Amendment,” Paul Clolery writes in the NonProfit Times. “Earlier this year, the National Council of Nonprofits, along with the American Humanist Association, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Independent Sector, Interfaith Alliance, Public Citizen and others, launched a national sign-on letter urging the federal government to preserve the Johnson Amendment.” 

To learn more about this, read our press release.

Our constitutional victory in Minnesota

We did a bunch of other things, too.

We ensured that contracted bus drivers in a Minnesota school system will no longer hand out to students seasonal religious messages attached to candy canes. An email from the superintendent reported that the district had conducted an internal investigation to prevent further incidents. We’re pleased that due to us, students of all religions — and no religion — will feel equally at home in Milaca Public Schools.

Freethought TV is now readily available on Apple

We are happy to announce that Freethought TV, our free secular streaming channel (“Free content for free minds.”), is now available to more than 150 million iPhone users and 30 million Apple TV owners across the United States. Designed for smart TVs, streaming devices and mobile platforms, Freethought TV delivers a robust lineup of original and archival programming. For more information or to download the free app, visit: https://freethoughttv.ffrf.org/

A disappointing Supreme Court ruling
We expressed our disappointment that the U.S. Supreme Court in Chiles v. Salazar unfortunately has handed another victory to litigants who continue to use our courts to mold the law to reflect their religious beliefs. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the court’s opinion, which held that the conversion therapy regulation in Colorado restricted the speech of the therapist and is therefore subject to the highest First Amendment scrutiny.

“This conclusion is both preposterous and dangerous,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Health care, whether it involves physical procedures or mental health therapy, should be regulated based on its safety and efficacy, not religious ideology or preference.”

An ill-conceived Florida ‘prayer hotline’

We warned that a newly announced Florida Department of Education complaint system threatens to undermine constitutional protections. We have outlined in a letter serious concerns about the department’s new reporting process, which invites parents and community members to file complaints alleging that prayer or religious expression is being restricted in public schools. 

“As the U.S. Department of Education’s own guidance acknowledges, schools may not sponsor or appear to favor religious activity,” FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line writes in the letter. “Yet the [Florida] Department’s new reporting mechanism focuses exclusively on alleged restrictions of religious expression, without any parallel mechanism to address violations of the Establishment Clause.”

Minn. state rep. ‘Theocrat of the Week’ for climate skepticism

Our legislative arm, the FFRF Action Fund, has chosen as its “Theocrat of the Week” a Minnesota state legislator for her puerile remarks during a hearing stating that her “faith is not in climate change” but in Jesus Christ. Minnesota state Rep. Mary Franson recently argued, based on her personal religious beliefs, that the Legislature does not need to protect the state’s infrastructure from the threats of climate change. Personal belief in Jesus Christ does not protect the state against environmental disasters, and Franson’s remarks had no place in a legislative hearing, the Action Fund points out.

Texas member of Congress ‘Secularist’ for Hegseth Christian nationalist critique

The Action Fund bestows its “Secularist of the Week” award to Rep. Lloyd Doggett for his timely condemnation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Christian nationalism. Doggett, representing Texas’s 35th Congressional District, took to X to respond to Hegseth’s flagrant Christian nationalism amid Trump’s war on Iran. FFRF Action Fund warmly thanks the member of Congress for his leadership.

Another victim of Trump’s messianism
I did a really insightful interview for my global affairs radio show on another victim of the Trump administration’s messianic foreign policy. University of North Carolina (my alma mater!) Professor Louis Perez, a leading expert on Cuba, assessed the U.S.-Cuba situation: how it came to this, the human toll — and where things go from here.

Surviving conversion therapy

On our Freethought Radio episode this week, after Attorney Sam Grover talked about our Arkansas Capitol victory, activist Lucas F. W. Wilson, a survivor of “conversion therapy,” discussed his book “Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy” with co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. The interview couldn’t be more timely following the high court ruling this week on religion-based conversion therapy.

Would you like to be an essay judge?
We are seeking your help to judge our essay scholarship contests this year. We proudly host five student essay competitions a year — four of which are judged by volunteer FFRF members and staff. We are looking for judges who have experience that make them particularly suited to assessing student essays. Judging takes place in the summer. To apply: ffrf.us/essayjudge

Our secular chapter display in Chicago’s Daley Plaza

You help us out in so many different ways. To give just one recent example, our Metropolitan Chicago Chapter has erected a display at the Daley Center Plaza in Chicago to counter Easter activities there. Thanks to an awesome team of volunteers who braved the cold, windy temperatures, the FFRF banner was set up on April 1 and will be on display for one week.

It is impossible to overstate how essential our members are for all that we achieve.

The post Weekly Wrap: A major court win, Freethought TV, Pete Hegseth and a secular Chicago display  appeared first on Freethought Now.