Freethought-Now

We at the Freedom From Religion Foundation revel in defending the secular U.S. Constitution — and even more so when our efforts get good publicity!

FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence was invited to write an op-ed for the Kansas City Star to highlight a recent notable victory of ours in Missouri regarding a Christian flag. She concluded the column by reminding readers of the government’s constitutional duty: “We hope that the removal of the Christian flag allows the city of Diamond Fire Department to instead concentrate on fighting fires and protecting its community members — irrespective of which religion, if any, they believe in.”

Our case in Oklahoma gets attention

Our joint legal effort to block a religious public charter school in Oklahoma resulted in a prominent quote in an Oklahoma City TV station news item.

“Attorneys for the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation asked a federal court on Wednesday to block Oklahoma from excluding the organization from the state’s charter school program while its lawsuit moves forward,” the story stated. “Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said religious public charter schools are incompatible with the secular nature of public education. ‘A religious public charter school has no place in our secular public education system,’ Gaylor said.”

Alabama NBC station features our win

A victory of ours in Alabama saw airtime on a Huntsville TV station.
“A parent’s complaint to the Freedom From Religion Foundation stopped a proposed school-organized religious club from getting started at a Madison Elementary school,” the piece opened. “The FFRF says the parent came to them in May about concerns over Madison Elementary School’s advertising for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes club.”

Arkansas publication likes our viewpoint
A prominent Arkansas paper carried our perspective on a problematic religious scheme in public schools.

“LifeWise is a ‘released time’ program, meaning participating students are released during the school day to attend religious lessons off-site,” said the article in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. “A 74-year-old U.S. Supreme Court decision says such programs do not violate the Constitution as long as they stay within certain bounds. The 1952 case established that public schools ‘shouldn’t do anything more than just let kids leave and come back with parental permission,’ according to Sammi Lawrence, a staff attorney at the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that advocates for the separation of church and state.”

Radio station reached out to us
An AM station serving a good-sized portion of Tennessee and Virginia approached us for our reaction to an outrageous local religious imposition (and used our logo as the graphic for the story!).

“A group currently at odds with President Trump over exploiting Christianity for profit has a watchful eye on the Washington County Board of Education after a directive to post the Ten Commandments in all of its public schools,” said a segment on SuperTalk 92.9. “Freedom From Religion Foundation Legal Director Patrick Elliott told Bristol Broadcasting that school leaders are interfering with the rights of students and parents with the mandate approved Tuesday night.”

Local intervention gets Bluegrass coverage
A Kentucky TV station ran a story on a recent intervention of ours in the Bluegrass State.

“A national watchdog foundation is accusing a Fayette County middle school of allowing pastors to ‘proselytize’ students through school-sponsored activities,” said the Lexington CBS and CW affiliate. “In a news release, the Freedom From Religion Foundation said a community member informed them that two pastors from Southern Heights Baptist Church have been “proselytizing” students at Jessie Clark Middle School by letting them lead the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter.”

We protected student rights in a  Michigan school district

We obtained a significant constitutional victory in Michigan by persuading a school system there to remove numerous religious displays from an elementary school classroom. A concerned community member had informed us that a Spanish immersion teacher at an elementary school had displayed several religious messages and religious books. Following our letter, the superintendent confirmed in an email that the displays have been properly dealt with. Yay!

Our warning about AG nominee Blanche
We warned that a highly alarming aspect of U.S. Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche’s record is being overshadowed. Blanche has explicitly embraced Christian nationalism and has been determined to use the Justice Department to privilege Christianity. His intent to unite religion and government deserves sustained attention.

Christian nationalist member of Congress we pinpointed has lost

One of Congress’ most outspoken Christian nationalism proponents, Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has lost his bid for re-election months after we called on him to resign for declaring that Muslims do not belong in American society. In a letter to Ogles, FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line condemned his March statements as “profoundly bigoted, fundamentally un-American, and incompatible with the oath” of a U.S. representative. Ogles’ defeat is an encouraging development in the broader fight against Christian nationalism.

A fearmongering Senate hearing

We chastised a recent U.S. Senate hearing for promoting anti-Muslim fearmongering and undermining the First Amendment. The hearing repeatedly blurred the distinction between violent extremists and lawful Muslim religious and civic organizations, portraying constitutionally protected advocacy, litigation, coalition-building and civic engagement as evidence of a broader religious threat.

We set a theocratic U.S. rep. straight
We contacted Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., after his shocking claim that the all-American principle of separation between church and state is a “lie from Satan,” calling on the member of Congress to retract the historical and constitutional misinformation that he’s been spreading.

“The separation of church and state is neither a myth nor a ‘satanic’ lie,” FFRF Co-Presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker wrote to Alford. “It is a foundational American principle embodied in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

We awarded $2,500 in scholarships

In association with the Women’s Leadership Project, we are excited to announce the awardees of the 2026 Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awards! We gave $2,500 to help fund scholarships for four college students this year. Check out the scholarship winners’ statements here.

Mary Trump and Congressional Freethought Caucus members speak at Reason Reception

Our media offerings covered multiple aspects of secularism in the nation’s capital.

The newest installment of our YouTube “Secular Spotlight” series featured psychologist and author Mary L. Trump providing a firsthand account of the third annual Congressional Reason Reception (which we co-sponsored!), where she met with members of the Congressional Freethought Caucus and delivered a keynote warning about the dangers of Christian nationalism and authoritarianism. Trump discussed with FFRF Governmental Affairs Director Mark Dann and FFRF Rapid Response Counsel Chris Line why church-state separation is essential to democracy and explains why secular advocacy offers hope for the future.

And the centerpiece of our Freethought Radio episode this week was the co-chairs of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaking at the Reason Reception.

A pernicious religious founding theory
I reviewed with guest Shezad Baloch for my world affairs show on Madison’s community radio station the paradox of Pakistan being a globally prominent negotiator for its role in the U.S.-Iran War but yet unwilling to negotiate internally in its own restive areas like Balochistan and Kashmir due to reasons such as its pernicious religious founding theory.

Rep. Huffman is ‘Secularist’ for book on Christian nationalism

The FFRF Action Fund, our legislative affiliate, named Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., as its “Secularist of the Week” for his upcoming book on the scourge of Christian nationalism.

We’re also pleased to offer you an advance copy of his “No Prophets” and exclusive access to an online one-on-one interview on Saturday, Aug. 15, at noon PDT/ 3 p.m. EDT with Rep. Huffman, conducted by “unabashed atheist” and long-time FFRF spokesperson Ron Reagan. You will also be able to participate in a moderated Q&A during the event. Register here today.

It’s only through your patronage that we are able to fight so vigorously on behalf of our secular constitutional system.

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