Freethought-Now

We at the Freedom From Religion Foundation have recently been in overdrive mode — and many are noticing.

We filed an appellate friend-of-the-court brief earlier this week in a case that involves an IRS provision forbidding nonprofit politicking; the brief in support of the Johnson Amendment’s prohibition has gotten cited in a number of places. 

“Days later on September 25, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates for the separation of state and church, filed an amicus brief calling on the 5th Circuit to fully affirm the district court decision,” says an article in Westlaw, perhaps the premier online legal research service and proprietary database in this country. “It contends the court lacks jurisdiction because the suit does not represent a true ‘case or controversy.’ It points to a lack of standing and adversity and unripe claims.”

A news service headquartered in the heartland featured our perspective, too.

“The Johnson Amendment, named after former President Lyndon B. Johnson, forbade nonprofit charities from outwardly endorsing a political candidate or using their grounds for politicking,” states a piece in the Omaha-based Straight Arrow News portal. “If a place violates the tax law, it could lose its tax-exempt status — a rare occurrence, the Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote in a court brief supporting the IRS.”

Massachusetts paper runs our op-ed
A leading newspaper in Massachusetts has published an op-ed of ours about a problematic proposed state commission.

“Massachusetts state Sens. Jamie Eldridge and Vanna Howard have co-sponsored S 2134, which would establish a permanent state commission devoted specifically to American Muslims,” FFRF Regional Government Affairs Manager Mickey Dollens writes in the Salem News. “It would, among other things, ‘identify and recommend qualified American Muslims for appointive positions at all levels of government, including boards and commissions.’ Eldridge and Howard say that their legislation would establish a commission ‘focused on studying issues affecting American Muslim communities.’”

Mickey details the various constitutional roadblocks such a commission will invariably run into.

Hometown papers publish our letter
FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor had a letter published in both of our hometown newspapers asking Wisconsinites to vote against a proposed state constitutional amendment.

“Dear Editor: To protect public safety and true religious freedom, Madisonians and other Wisconsin citizens should reject Question 2 on the Nov. 3 ballot,” the letter says. “This proposed constitutional amendment would explicitly exempt places of worship from emergency orders, even public health emergencies. That’s why some of us are dubbing it ‘the superspreader amendment.’”

California media highlight our victory
A victory of ours in California received major play in the local publication.

“Following a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a fourth-grade teacher at Erma B. Reese Elementary School recently removed a cross from her classroom after the Lodi Unified School District addressed the foundation’s concerns with her,” opens the piece, which goes on to quote FFRF Attorney Sammi Lawrence. “The district received the foundation’s letter Aug. 5 regarding a cross displayed in the classroom, according to a statement provided to the Lodi News-Sentinel.”

CNN focuses on our attorney
And one of our attorneys was recently featured in a CNN story on weight loss, which generously made mention of our organization, too.

“People like Chris Line, 36, of Madison, Wisconsin, embody why whey protein has grown so much in popularity,” says the article. “Line, legal counsel at Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nonprofit advocating for the separation of church and state. He weighed 450 pounds in June 2017 and lost 255 pounds in 18 months without taking GLP-1s, which weren’t approved weight loss drugs at the time.”

We will investigate a Hegseth-created religious office

We will be investigating a just-announced religious office at the Pentagon with alarming powers. We will file a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records surrounding the creation, planned operation and funding of the new office, And we are inviting military personnel affected by Hegseth’s expanding religious initiatives to get in touch with us.

New Air Force directive slights atheists
We are excoriating a U.S. Air Force directive requiring personnel to update their religious affiliations using a drastically reduced list of categories. The discarded categories include “Atheist,” “Humanist,” “Wiccan,” “Pagan,” “Druid” and numerous other minority religious and nonreligious identities. No American who volunteers to defend the Constitution should have to sacrifice an accurate acknowledgment of their own beliefs — or nonbelief — to serve.

Evangelical gathering suffused with troubling rhetoric
We are calling attention to troubling rhetoric at a major recent evangelical gathering. Prominent government officials and Christian nationalist leaders at the 2026 Pray Vote Stand Summit in Leesburg, Va., repeatedly portrayed political power as a vehicle for advancing their Christian nationalist political agenda. We will continue fighting for the constitutional principles the summit’s speakers so conspicuously rejected.

Mo. district deserves commendation
We are commending a Missouri school district for its exemplary response to a letter of ours about a school-sponsored prayer broadcast at a recent football game.

“This is exactly how school officials should respond when a constitutional concern is brought to their attention,” says Annie Laurie. “The district listened, recognized the problem and immediately took steps to protect every student going forward.”

Another Mo. district needs to adhere to Constitution
We are calling on another school district in Missouri to halt a repeated unconstitutional practice of athletic games being opened with a Christian invocation. “Public school students have a constitutional right to be free from religious indoctrination in their public schools, including when attending school-sponsored events,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence has written to the superintendent.

Imprisoned Moroccan freethinker needs to be released

We’ve been grappling with international issues, too. Freethought Radio co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor spoke on this week’s episode with Maryam Namazie, president of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Great Britain, about the campaign to release Ibtissame Betty Lachgar from a Moroccan prison for the “crime” of wearing a T-shirt that insults Islam. Annie Laurie actually flew to London last weekend to attend a conference organized to bring attention to Betty’s imprisonment.

Blasphemy laws still exist in this country

The brand new episode of our “Secular Spotlight” YouTube show reveals the astonishing fact that blasphemy laws still exist in this country (six states still have them on the books). FFRF’s Ryan Jayne and Mickey Dollens explore the history of such laws in the United States, explain how you can help repeal these archaic laws, and speak with filmmaker George Kalman about his successful challenge to Pennsylvania’s blasphemy law.

Finding yourself after evangelical christianity

On this week’s episode of “Underzealous,” host Rowan and guest Mercy talk about refinding yourself and building yourself up again after an evangelical upbringing. They talk about friendships, dating, and finding a love for learning after being homeschooled.

A devout Hindu who was constitutionally secular
On a personal note, today is the birth anniversary of someone who is in good part responsible for my country of origin being a constitutionally secular nation. I have written up a tribute for our secular pantheon on Mahatma Gandhi — and how his vision differs from that of the Hindu nationalist dispensation currently ruling India.

Senate bill unduly favors religious entities
Our legislative affiliate has also had its hands full. The FFRF Action Fund is opposing a new Senate bill that would exempt certain programs at religious institutions from federal student-aid accountability requirements. The Action Fund maintains that if the rule is unfair to less-lucrative professions, it should be fixed for everyone — not just religious entities.

A bad Senate resolution
The Action Fund is also decrying a senatorial resolution that promotes religious instruction and urges states to aid programs yanking public school students from class for religious education. The resolution’s sweeping claims about religion and morality are particularly troubling. Religion does not have a monopoly on moral development, and religious belief is not a prerequisite for raising thoughtful, compassionate and responsible citizens.

Terrible new school voucher regulations

And the Action Fund strongly opposes the regulations the Treasury Department and IRS have released to implement the first nationwide private school voucher program. The Fund is particularly concerned about the program’s impact on the separation of state and church. 

‘Theocrat’ opposed trip to Witch Museum

The FFRF Action Fund names as its “Theocrat of the Week” a Christian school board member in New York who voted against a class trip to the educational Salem Witch Museum, calling it a “satanic witch museum.” The Action Fund urges Batavia City School District Board of Education Member Dan Schmidt to fulfill his duty as an elected public official by keeping his personal religious beliefs out of public school decisions. And it hopes Batavia’s students have an enjoyable and enriching learning experience at the Salem Witch Museum.

Sign up for Day of the Dead celebration on Nov. 1
We have a couple of announcements for you.

On Sunday, Nov. 1, the Freethought Society and other secular sponsors, including us, will host the annual online International Secular Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos Secular celebration of life. FFRF Co-President Dan Barker will honor the life of his beloved brother Darrell Barker. FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor will be honoring American journalist, writer, feminist, political activist and freethinker Gloria Steinem. The event will start at 3 p.m. Eastern; it requires preregistration at the following Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/zK3TOm4yQn2RVKvTKquIkw#/registration

Vote!
And we’re sharing some brief voting tips, if you have not yet voted. Remember: Vote like your rights depend on it, because they do.

Together, we can effectively work for a more secular and freethinking future.

The post Weekly Wrap: Pete Hegseth, evangelicals, blasphemy laws and the importance of voting appeared first on Freethought Now.