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The Freedom From Religion Foundation applauds a recent court victory on behalf of workers shortchanged by their religious employer. FFRF, a national state/church watchdog group, filed a friend of the court brief in a case decided late last week by a federal appeals court.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on March 17 ruled that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) does not necessarily exempt retirement plans created by religious entities in a case involving the largest health care provider in Illinois. The plaintiffs alleged that they had been harmed by the management of a retirement plan run by their former employer, the Advocate Health Care Network (formed in 1995 by the merger of two religious health care systems and still affiliated with two churches). FFRF submitted an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs arguing that any religious exemption from ERISA violates the constitutional separation of state and church. 

While not addressing the substantive argument that FFRF put forward, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on statutory procedural grounds.

"The plaintiffs (buttressed by Amicus Curiae Freedom From Religion
Foundation) assert that any exemption at all for church plans violates the Constitution by favoring religious adherents over nonadherents," wrote U.S. Circuit Judge Ilana Rovner in a unanimous decision for the 7th Circuit. "We need not address the plaintiffs' constitutional argument, as our interpretation of the statute provides the plaintiffs with all of the relief they request." 

ERISA regulates retirement plans, but exempts church plans from requirements such as paying insurance premiums, meeting minimum funding standards, and disclosing funding levels to plan participants. Cases have been brought around the country against large companies like Catholic hospitals that claim the exemption, with FFRF filing amicus briefs in several instances. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in December that a similar religious hospital retirement plan was not exempt from ERISA requirements.  

FFRF argued that the problem isn't that large companies are claiming this church-based exemption, it's that the exemption exists at all.

"We welcome the 7th Circuit ruling providing relief for employees harmed by special privileges given to religious institutions," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "But we think that courts need to go further and annul the exemption given to religious entities—a clear infringement of the First Amendment."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a nontheistic organization with more than 23,000 members nationwide. FFRF extends its appreciation to former law intern Jarvis Idowu for his work on the amicus briefs on behalf of FFRF, as well as FFRF Staff Attorneys Patrick Elliott and Andrew Seidel.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation wants a New Jersey borough to get rid of its unmistakably religious seal and motto.

The official seal of the borough of Clayton depicts a church and a Latin cross, with the accompanying motto reading: "A Great Place to Live and Play, Work and Pray."

The inclusion of a cross and church on the official seal and the declaration that the borough is a great place to pray violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, FFRF asserts. The borough's logo signals an endorsement of Christianity and prayer.

"Federal courts have ruled that similar seals violate the Establishment Clause," wrote FFRF Legal Fellow Madeline Ziegler in a letter last September to Clayton Mayor Tom Bianco. "Federal courts have also consistently ruled that religious symbolism, and crosses specifically, on municipal seals are unconstitutional." 

In addition, FFRF insists that the borough of Clayton make an effort to be inclusive, since 30 percent of Americans and 43 percent of Millennials are non-Christian, practicing either a minority religion or no religion at all. If Clayton has a sectarian seal and declares itself to be a great place to pray, this ostracizes such citizens of the borough.

The borough responded to FFRF that the seal and the motto were nothing more than a reflection of its history, citing no law to back up its assertions. Ziegler contends in a recent follow-up letter that such an argument is untenable.

"The federal courts have consistently held that religious symbolism on official city seals is unconstitutional, even in the face of claims that the religious portions are in some way historical," Ziegler writes. "Similarly, it's not a city's place to declare that it's a good place to pray. The borough of Clayton ought not to lend its power and prestige to religion by promoting a religious activity in its official motto. . . . The Establishment Clause prohibits government sponsorship of religious messages." 

FFRF is urging the borough of Clayton to adopt a new seal and motto that are constitutional and inclusive of all of its residents.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a state/church separation watchdog group with 23,000 nonreligious members nationally, including almost 500 in New Jersey.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is contending that the hiring of a South Carolina public school football coach may have been because of his religion in violation of school nondiscrimination polices.

Text messages exchanged between Seneca High School Principal Cliff Roberts and recently hired coach Hal Capps indicate that their shared religiosity was a significant factor in Capps' appointment.

"The devil tries to let that little bit of doubt creep in ... can I trust you to stay the course?" Roberts asked Capps in a text that was part of a series obtained by FFRF under the Freedom of Information Act. Capps replied, "The devil is powerful—but our God is mighty." 

While offering Capps the job, Roberts texted, "I am going to trust you and trust the Good Lord through this, and be obedient to what I feel he is leading us to do." To this, Capps responded, "Amen."

Capps was known for leading post-game prayer circles at a North Carolina high school, which ended after FFRF complained in 2014.

In a Feb. 9 press release announcing the decision to hire Capps, Roberts described him as having "high moral character."

"It is grossly inappropriate and illegal for public school officials to consider religion as part of a public school hiring decision," FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliot writes in a letter to Michael Thorsland, superintendent of the School District of Oconee County. "Principal Roberts' use of biblical allusion and statement that he is going to 'trust the Good Lord through this, and be obedient to what I feel he is leading us to do' creates the undeniable impression that the principal's Christian faith played a role in the hiring process." 

FFRF is asking the School District to conduct an immediate investigation into whether its hiring and nondiscrimination policies have been violated.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a state/church watchdog group that has 23,000 nonreligious members, including more than 100 in South Carolina.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is objecting to top Indiana state officials taking part in a Christian foot-washing ceremony in their official capacities.

Employees from Gov. Mike Pence's office, as well as Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann and her staff, sponsored and participated in a "foot-washing" ritual during office hours at the Shepherd Community Center in Indianapolis two months ago. Pence made an appearance at the center, too, shortly after the ceremony was completed. The rite was deeply religious. Sonna Dumas, director of the school associated with Shepherd, "a faith-based ministry," commented to the Indianapolis Star that "the teachers told students about the biblical origins of the tradition in preparation for the event."

The official involvement in the ceremony raises serious constitutional concerns.

"First, the state may neither require nor pay for its employees to participate in religious rituals," FFRF Diane Uhl Legal Fellow Ryan Jayne writes in a letter to Pence. "Second, the state appears to endorse Christianity when its top executives, with their staff, sponsor and take part in a publicized, specifically Christian, religious ritual." 

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that government offices may not appear to endorse religion, FFRF reminds the governor. State employees may not join in religious rituals while they are "on the clock." The governor's office may not spend taxpayer money on religious ceremonies, including paying employees to participate. The office's endorsement of religion—and of Christianity in particular—turns non-Christian and nonreligious Indianans into outsiders in their own community. (Twenty-three percent of Americans, and 35 percent of millennials, don't identify with any particular religion.)

As it is inappropriate and unconstitutional for government officials to sponsor and participate in religious rites, FFRF is seeking assurances from the Indiana governor that his office will not engage in this again.

"They're stepping all over the Constitution," quips FFRF Co-President Dan Barker.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a state/church watchdog group with 23,000 members nationally, including more than 300 in Indiana.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is killing off a crusading public school mascot.

Ken Caryl Middle School in Littleton, Colo., has a "crusader" as its mascot. The figure is a cloaked knight holding a shield and sword. Latin crosses on the tunic and shield mark him out to be a member of Knights Templar, one of the most feared fighting units in the Crusades.

FFRF reminded the school district that a school mascot should not be derived from the Crusades, since they were incredibly divisive and violent. The Crusaders were zealous warriors who slaughtered Jews, Muslims and other Christians in the name of religion. The whole effort was a disaster that to this day mars the West's relationship with the Middle East.

"The religious nature of the mascot, its historical context, and the two Latin crosses, make the conclusion unavoidable—the mascot is religious and the school is endorsing religion over nonreligion," FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel wrote in an early March letter to Dan McMinimee, the superintendent of Jeffco Public Schools. "The government (including public schools) is prohibited from endorsing religion over nonreligion just as it is prohibited from endorsing one religious sect over another. Standing alone, the crusader's crosses are an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, and when paired with the religious mascot and the historical context, the endorsement is exacerbated." 

FFRF pointed out to the school district that a lot of universities and organizations, including Christian outfits, with crusader-type mascots have gotten rid of them in recent years. It urged the school to do so, too.

The school district indicated in a recent response that it would be heeding FFRF's advice.

"The district is in the process of forming a diverse group of parents, students, staff and community members to consider your feedback and develop and/or review submissions for a new mascot/logo for Ken Caryl Middle School," McMinimee replied in a March 15 email. "We anticipate the process to be finished by the start of next school year."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is pleased.

"Schools should not be choosing a religion-linked symbol as a mascot," says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. "They need to be particularly wary when the symbol is associated with such a religiously contentious historical event."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a state/church watchdog organization with 23,000 members, including more than 600 in Colorado.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is objecting to two deeply religious events held at a Kansas public school.

FFRF recently learned that late last year, Impact World Tour organized two meetings at the Spring Hill Middle School in Spring Hill, Kan., that were heavily evangelical in nature. Tickets were handed out to the students, but the actual theme of the programs was concealed. When a parent (a complainant to FFRF) went to the events' website, the information did not reveal their religious nature.

An Impact World Tour gathering at the school attended by a student (daughter of the complainant) was so religious that she remarked afterward: "It was a cult." The presenters asked the audience to come to the front and "surrender their lives to Jesus." Organizers also attempted to coerce the students to take home a bible. The school principal was in attendance.

Spring Hill School District was involved in other ways. Records obtained by FFRF show that each school principal in the district requested that these assemblies be held. The request forms for these assemblies suggest that schools donate between $250 and $500 to Impact World Tour. At least one school made a donation to Impact World Tour.

The events are organized by Youth With A Mission, whose campaigns, according to the group's own website, are "focused on evangelizing the world via strategies such as Impact World Tour and discipling the world through schools and neighborhood centers." The organization tends to put on a secular version during the school day to mislead parents and students, then evangelizes during the evening assemblies.

"While public schools certainly may host groups that address important or motivational topics, those events cannot be tied to afterschool religious revivals," writes FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel in a letter to Wayne Burke, superintendent of the Spring Hill School District. "In Lee vs. Weisman, the U.S. Supreme Court extended the prohibition of school endorsement of religion beyond the classroom to all school functions." 

The fundraising efforts for these evangelical shows by Spring Hill School District principals are also troubling, FFRF contends.

"A government entity cannot make an expenditure that advances religion or that entangles it with religion," Seidel adds. "Public money cannot subsidize an afterschool religious event. Direct in-kind or cash contributions that aid religious organizations are unconstitutional."

FRFF is asking for assurances in writing from the Spring Hill School District that such unconstitutional violations will not recur.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a state/church separation watchdog group with 23,000 members nationally, including Kansas supporters.

A bible-foisting Texas judge has been officially sanctioned, following a formal complaint by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Last July, Smith County Judge Randall Rogers ordered a man, Josten Bundy, who was in court on a misdemeanor assault charge, to daily copy a bible verse. As part of his probation requirement, Bundy had to write out 25 times a day Proverbs 26:27: "If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it." Rogers also commanded Bundy to wed his girlfriend within a month. (The misdemeanor charge stemmed from a brawl that Bundy had with his girlfriend's ex.)

Bundy did comply with the marriage injunction and ended up marrying his girlfriend.

FFRF Staff Attorney Sam Grover filed a complaint soon afterward with the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct about Rogers' actions. A few days ago, FFRF received a response from the commission indicating that it had disciplined Rogers. 

"After a thorough review and investigation of the issues you raised in your complaint, the commission voted to issue the judge a private sanction," Seana Willing, executive director of the commission, said in the letter. FFRF and the public are not privy to the details of the sanction.

FFRF thanks the commission.

"In our secular constitutional system, courts should not be forcing people to act according to biblical precepts," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "Judges can't impose their theology on defendants."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nontheistic organization with 23,000 members, including almost 1,000 in Texas.

A Texas public school district will stop preachers sermonizing during compulsory employee events, following a complaint by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

The Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District held a mandatory district-wide convocation at First Baptist Church of Euless on Aug. 14. During the event, Scott Sheppard, executive director of 6 Stones Ministries, led the assembled employees in a prayer. Sheppard reportedly admitted that he wasn't supposed to pray in his speech, but said that because "y'all are in my house," he was going to pray anyway. And when Sheppard spoke during the event, he quoted from the bible and "proclaimed Jesus as King of Kings."

Prayers at required teacher meetings and in-service training constitute illegal government endorsement of religion, FFRF contends. Allowing employees to be proselytized during mandatory events is divisive and unprofessional, as well as unconstitutional. Such practices alienate the nearly 30 percent of Americans who are either non-Christian, follow a minority religion or practice no religion at all (24 percent).

"As a general matter, the Supreme Court has made clear that the First Amendment 'mandates governmental neutrality between religion and religion, and between religion and nonreligion,' " FFRF Staff Attorney Sam Grover wrote in a letter last September to the school district's legal counsel. "By letting Mr. Sheppard proselytize to its employees, the district failed to meet its obligation under the Constitution." 

The district's attorney, Deron Robinson, replied last month to assure FFRF that "the district administration has taken appropriate measures to make certain future speakers are reminded of the district's policy and practice to not promote a specific religion."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation appreciates the assurance.

"Having preachers sermonize to employees during compulsory employee gatherings is a violation of their First Amendment rights," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "School districts need to have better sense than to host events of this nature."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national state/church watchdog organization with 23,000 members nationwide, including almost 1,000 in Texas.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation made a Pennsylvania public school discontinue graduation practice inside a church.

Columbia High School in Columbia, Pa., last year required its students to receive their graduation caps and gowns, and ceremony information, within a church.

The use of churches for public school programming is unconstitutional, since it is a fundamental part of First Amendment jurisprudence that a public school may not advance, or appear to endorse, religion, FFRF contends. School districts that have used churches for school functions have had the practice struck down by courts.

"A school's use of a church for school functions is problematic because it sends a message of approval of the church to impressionable students," FFRF Legal Fellow Madeline Ziegler wrote in a letter last July to Carol Powell, then-superintendent of the Columbia Borough School District. "This practice forces students, who may be of varying faiths or no faith at all, to enter a Christian house of worship to obtain important information about graduation."

On receiving no reply, Ziegler followed up with two more letters in November and last month. Finally, FFRF got a response a few weeks ago from Acting Superintendent Ken Klawitter, who took over in December. Klawitter told the organization that he first became aware of the issue through its February letter and acted swiftly. 

"I immediately directed the high school principal to cease the practice," he wrote. "In the future, caps and gowns, as well as important graduation information, will be distributed in a secular setting."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is pleased at Klawitter's prompt decision-making.

"School officials should realize that churches are not neutral spaces," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "There are plenty of secular places available for hosting school-related activities."

FFRF is a national organization with 23,000 members, including more than 700 in Pennsylvania.

An Ohio county has removed a religious flag from a public building following a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national organization dedicated to separation of state and church.

The Shelby County Annex in Sidney, Ohio, was displaying an "Appeal to Heaven" flag in a window adjacent to the front entrance and above the payment drop box. The flag is associated with the Appeal to Heaven network, a sectarian Christian movement, and flying it was an endorsement of evangelical Christianity, FFRF asserted.

"No secular purpose, no matter how sincere, will detract from the overall message that the flag stands for Christianity and its display promotes Christianity," FFRF Diane Uhl Legal Fellow Ryan Jayne wrote in a letter last month to Shelby County Commissioners. "The display of this patently religious symbol on county property confers government endorsement of Christianity, a blatant violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment." 

FFRF asked for the flag to be taken down.

In a recent reply, Julie Ehemann, president of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, assured FFRF that this had indeed been done. "The Shelby County Commissioners have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and the state of Ohio, and they take these oaths seriously," she responded. 

FFRF is delighted.

"Religious symbols have no place on government property," says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. "We are glad that county officials have demonstrated that their allegiance is to a secular godless Constitution."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has 23,000 nonreligious members all over the country, including more than 500 in Ohio.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation wants the go-ahead to distribute its literature in Colorado public schools to counter the Religious Right.

In spite of repeated FFRF requests, the Delta County School District has refused to have the Gideons stop distributing bibles in the local public schools. So FFRF and its allied organizations are asking permission to hand out freethought materials there. These include brochures and booklets such as "Top 10 Public School State-Church Violations and How to Stop Them" and "What's Wrong With The Ten Commandments?"

It is unconstitutional for public school districts to permit the Gideon's International to distribute bibles as part of the public school day, FFRF contends. Even when distribution of religious material to students in school is done passively — from a table or some other fixed location — courts have ruled that that distribution may be unconstitutional.

But since the Delta County School District has told FFRF that it will give the Gideons continued access, the organization is taking it to the next level. 

"The School District is not required to maintain this open forum and is free to close it rather than allow FFRF to distribute materials," FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel wrote in a March 3 letter to the district. "We do not think schools should be a battleground for religious ideas. But when schools allow the Gideons to prey on children, their message of eternal damnation for any who don't believe in their God must be countered." 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a state/church watchdog organization with chapters all over the country and 23,000 nonreligious members nationally, including more than 600 in Colorado, with chapters in Denver and Colorado Springs.

FFRF is stressing to the Delta County School District that previous attempts to deny FFRF admittance in such instances have failed. When the Orange County Public Schools in Florida attempted to restrict FFRF access after permitting bible distribution, the organization filed a lawsuit that cost the school district nearly $90,000, and the district had to approve all FFRF literature for distribution. Shortly after, Orange County closed the literature distribution forum—what FFRF had been asking for (and what FFRF has been asking Delta County Schools for) from the beginning.

"Public schools should not be venues for religious folks to attempt to brainwash young minds," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "But once religious groups are welcomed, then atheists and others with competing viewpoints mist be allowed in, too."

 A government-funded Ohio recovery center has modified its program to be secular, following a Freedom From Religion Foundation complaint.

The Mental Health and Recovery Board of Erie and Ottawa Counties last year made a grant to Light House Sober Living, a faith-based recovery facility. The grant was to help convert a former church into a recovery residence.

Light House Sober Living's program emphasizes "faith and spirituality," holds "spirituality to be its cornerstone value," and mandates daily participation in 12-step programs. The facility building has an engraved bible verse [Luke 19:13], which is also highlighted on its Facebook page. While the goal of helping recovering addicts is laudable, it is illegal for public funds to finance a faith-based recovery home, FFRF contends.

"The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment 'prohibits any sponsorship, financial support, and active involvement of the sovereign in any religious activity,' as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled," FFRF Diane Uhl Legal Fellow Ryan Jayne wrote in a letter last October to Kirk Halliday, executive director of MHRB of Erie and Ottawa Counties. "Furthermore, the Ohio Constitution expressly prohibits the government from funding a place of worship, or from favoring any one religion. ... It would be disingenuous to argue that the Light House Sober Living facility does not promote religion over nonreligion."

In a recent reply, Halliday informed FFRF that the Light House Sober Living facility had removed the religious aspect of its programming. "Thank you for reminding us of the importance of the First Amendment," Halliday wrote in an email.

FFRF is pleased about the change of curriculum.

"Organizations receiving taxpayer money should know that they can't push a religious agenda," says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. "We're glad that the Light House Sober Living facility modified its program."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has chapters all over the country and 23,000 nonreligious members nationwide, including more than 500 in Ohio and a state chapter, Northern Ohio Freethought Society.