Freethought-Now

The end of summer has been marked with good tidings for us here at the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

A ruling the day after Labor Day allowed our hometown case against unconstitutional church property tax exemptions to move forward. We’re emphasizing in our lawsuit that the exemption harms all property taxpayers in Madison, including plaintiffs Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker (FFRF co-presidents) and local resident David Peterson, by forcing them and Madison property taxpayers in general to pay higher property taxes to make up for the unlawful omission of these properties from the tax rolls. The exemption also harms us as an organization by favoring rental properties owned by two religious entities to the exclusion of all other nonprofits that may desire to run commercial student apartments in the future. We’ll keep you posted about the case’s progress.

Secular allies mention us warmly
We got wonderful shoutouts from allies.

“In light of new reporting, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) pulled together a coalition of religious, secular, and LGBTQ+ organizations to educate congressional Democrats about the right-wing efforts they were facilitating by attending the breakfasts,” writes stalwart reporter Jonathan Larsen about our role in countering the annual theocratic National Prayer Breakfast. 

“Friendly Atheist” Hemant Mehta highlighted a recent friends-of-the-court brief we filed in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court involving Catholic outfits claiming exemption from nondiscrimination clauses in taxpayer-funded preschool programs. Appreciate that, Hemant!

And a like-minded organization that we work with on a scholarship program thanked us in a media sendout.

“Black Skeptics LA (BSLA) is proud to announce the six recipients of the 2026 First in the Family Humanist Forward Freethought Scholarship, with each scholar receiving a $5,000 scholarship award to support their educational journey,” says the press release. “BSLA extends heartfelt gratitude to the Freedom From Religion Foundation and honors the late Lance Bredvold, whose generous contributions helped fund nearly a decade of secular scholarships for first-generation students of color.”

How you can help free a secular Moroccan activist

We are raising awareness about prisoner of conscience and atheist Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar, who has now been imprisoned for a full year in Morocco for the “crime” of “insulting Allah.” She has a year and a half to go in her 30-month sentence as her health deteriorates and she remains unable to access the surgery for complications from bone cancer that she urgently needs. The Free Betty Coalition asks individuals and groups to amplify the U.N. special rapporteur’s statement (here in French and here in English) through your own networks to keep her situation visible.

Pete Hegseth’s hateful remarks

We’re blasting a social media post that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has sent out scapegoating non-Christians and atheists. Making Hegseth’s comments particularly hateful is the reality that, as Annie Laurie points out, 18 percent of active military members are atheist/agnostic, and another 32 percent have no religious affiliation, putting the “Nones” overall at half of current military members!

EEOC shouldn’t implement the Trumpian agenda
We’re calling out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for putting into place the Trump administration’s “anti-Christian bias” narrative. The administration’s emphasis on Christianity is particularly inappropriate because federal civil rights law does not create a special category of protection for Christians; religious protections apply equally regardless of whether an employee is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, atheist or holds another religious or nonreligious viewpoint.

Mayor should stay away from prayer breakfast

We’re urging a mayor in Ohio to de-sponsor a prayer breakfast being held next week. “Your participation in your official capacity sends the message that you, as mayor, prefer those citizens who are religious and engage in prayer over those who do not,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence writes to the mayor.

FFRF’s Chris Line is featured speaker at Kentucky gathering
We are pleased that FFRF Rapid Response Counsel Chris Line will be among the featured speakers at the Kentucky Freethought Convention tomorrow, Sept. 12, in Lexington. Chris will present on “The Christian Nationalist Playbook: How We Defend Our Freedoms and Win.” Please attend if you are in the area! A general admission ticket includes lunch. Free parking is available.

Brave Malaysian freethinkers

Our media productions had somewhat of a Southeast Asian focus this week. After a salute to feminist freethinker Robin Morgan on the Freethought Radio episode this week, co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor interviewed A.J. Surin, founder and president of Humanists Malaysia, about the few brave freethinkers advocating for reason and tolerance of diversity in his ultrareligious, mostly Muslim nation. You can watch the video podcast of the interview here.

Majoritarian persecution in Myanmar
And I interviewed for my global affairs community radio show renowned activist and scholar Maung Zarni on the dire human rights situation in his native country of Myanmar — including the ongoing majoritarian persecution of the Rohingya Muslim community there.

Combining humor and politics

The latest episode of our “Secular Spotlight” YouTube show features online personality Elizabeth Booker Houston discussing the many facets of her work. Houston joins FFRF Governmental Affairs Director Mark Dann and Multimedia Producer Leo Costello to explain how she uses humor to make complex legal and political issues accessible to millions. You can take a peek here.

‘Theocrat’ JD Vance discusses ‘end times’

Our legislative affiliate, the FFRF Action Fund, has named Vice President JD Vance its “Theocrat of the Week” for his disturbing “end times” remarks and claims that he is doing “God’s work.” Our secular Constitution doesn’t direct any governmental official to carry out “God’s work” or to prepare the world for Armageddon — which Vance appears to believe is truly coming.

‘Secularist’ Mehdi Hasan defends state/church separation against Hegseth’s pastor

The Action Fund salutes progressive British-American broadcaster Mehdi Hasan as its “Secularist of the Week” for his recent forceful defense of state/church separation. Hasan hosted Doug Wilson, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s pastor, to confront the preacher’s dangerous views. The Action Fund profusely thanks Hasan for robustly defending state/church separation and the secular history of the U.S. government.

The damage that Kennedy Jr. has caused
Annie Laurie takes to task in a recent blog Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, which, as she points out, have “recently brought us defunding of medical science research, persecution of Dr. Fauci and Covid researchers … and a bumper crop of measles.” She concludes: “Congress needs to immediately impeach and remove Kennedy, who is a clear and present danger to public welfare, before his reckless policies further endanger, incapacitate or kill even more children.”

A paean to Robin Morgan

Annie Laurie eulogized Robin Morgan in another column, noting the poignancy of her death coming so soon after Gloria Steinem’s. Morgan was a longtime supporter and friend of FFRF, as Annie Laurie notes. She ends her tribute by stating, “What I said in introducing her back in 2005 is my epitaph for her: ‘Robin, we are enchanted to have found in you — a famous feminist, journalist, editor, lecturer, organizer and activist — a kindred non-spirit.’”

Investigating a ‘near-death experience’
FFRF Co-President Dan Barker debunks in a recent piece the notion of near-death experiences. He investigates the evidence surrounding a widely disseminated example of this phenomenon and shows how it is wanting in his devastatingly logical exposé.

Whether it is disproving the paranormal or advancing rational thought, we are able to do so much only because of you.

The post Weekly Wrap: JD Vance, Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a ‘near-death experience’ appeared first on Freethought Now.