Other Legal Successes
Without having to resort to legal challenges, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has successfully corrected many Establishment Clause violations. Below are a sampling of the many First Amendment violations which have been corrected without having to go to court.
- University Graduation Invocations Ended at Top Ten University- Prayers Stopped at Public Institutions
- Public Sponsorship of Nativity Pageant Halted
- Crosses Downed from Public Land
- Abuse by Preacher Exposed
- City Sponsorship of Knights of Columbus Signs Ended
- Ethics Probe Called for Preaching Governor
- Proselytizing Crossing Guard Fired
- Post Office/Catholic Entanglement Ended
- De Facto Sports Chaplaincy Stopped
- School Boy Scout Subsidy Stopped
- Bible Proclamation Rescinded
- Illegal Public Help Halted for "Our Lady of the Rockies"
- Creationism Removed from City Zoo
- Discount for Catholics Ended
- Red Rocks Easter Service Subsidy Ended
- Nativity Scene Moved Off Government Land
- Ten Commandments Monuments Moved from Public Property
- Religion Removed at Playground
University Graduation Invocations Ended at Top Ten University
Annie Laurie Gaylor as student
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In 1976, a complaint by co-founder Annie Laurie Gaylor, then a college student, ended a 122-year violation of prayers (invocations and benedictions) at University of Wisconsin-Madison graduation commencement ceremonies. (They haven't been missed!)
Prayers Stopped at Public Institutions
Foundation complaints have ended "grace" at public schools in Janesville, Wisconsin (1977); at the publicly-financed Independent Living, Madison, Wisconsin (1977); at Conway, Arkansas schools (1978). The Foundation halted paid prayers for at least one session in the Wisconsin Senate (1985). The Foundation has also ended school sponsorship of religious baccalaureates in several public school districts, such as in Monroe, Wisconsin (1989). The Foundation has widely circulated "The Case Against School Prayer" to many school districts around the nation. It has ended unlawful distribution of Gideon bibles in public schools.
Public Sponsorship of Nativity Pageant Halted
In 1976, the Foundation ended an arrangement whereby public schools in Madison, Wisconsin, were financially sponsoring an annual nativity pageant using public school students at the state Capitol. A Foundation complaint that public school teachers were still organizing and recruiting for the Christian event resulted in firm guidelines adopted by the Madison schools and some surrounding areas in 2004. View Article...
Crosses Downed from Public Land
Foundation complaints downed a large Christian cross from Terry Andrae State Park, Wisconsin (complained 1979, removed February 1980).
In April 2003, Oklahoma City officials removed a permanent cross from city fairground property, following a complaint by a Foundation member backed up by the national Foundation.
Abuse by Preacher Exposed
A complaint by the Foundation expelled a preacher from the state docks in Mobile, Alabama, who was hired as a contractor using underage teenagers under his care at a Christian home as unpaid labor, in conditions that violated federal law (1989). The investigations started by the Foundation protest eventually closed down Bethel School in Mississippi (1990).
City Sponsorship of Knights of Columbus Signs Ended
In the "war of the bus ads," the Foundation began protesting "Keep Christ in Christmas" posters which were displayed free of charge on city buses in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1982. The free ads came down. In 1983 and 1984, the Foundation launched its own signs on Madison buses, reading: "The Bible: A Grim Fairy Tale" and a tongue-in-cheek cartoon showing Mary announcing, "It's a girl!"
Ethics Probe Called for Preaching Governor
The Foundation was the first group to formally call for an ethics probe into an Alabama governor and his state-financed preaching (1991). Probable cause was found in the ethics probe. Scrutiny of the governor's record brought legal indictment.
Proselytizing Crossing Guard Fired
A complaint by the Freedom From Religion Foundation about a publicly-hired crossing guard distributing religious tracts to students resulted in dismissal of the employee (1991).
Post Office/Catholic Entanglement Ended
First complaining (successfully) about religious artifacts on display at the Post Office in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin (a community entirely made up of nuns), the Foundation got the U.S. Post Office to delete a job description requiring the Postmaster to be a nun in 1993.
De Facto Sports Chaplaincy Stopped
After tenacious complaints and requests for public documents, the Foundation persuaded the University of Wisconsin-Madison to end a de facto Catholic chaplaincy for the University of Wisconsin Badgers (1994). (The free airfare and expenses for the priest to accompany the Badgers was ended.) Foundation complaints later ended prayer and religious ritual at a basketball camp for young girls led by a UW coach in 1996.
School Boy Scout Subsidy Stopped
After learning that the school board of Madison, Wisconsin, was not charging Boy Scouts rent to meet in public classrooms, while all other kids' groups were charged rent, the Foundation successfully complained in 1994. The Foundation has also monitored public schools in Wisconsin which do not comply with wording in the State Constitution requiring that outside religious groups meeting in schools must pay rent.
Bible Proclamation Rescinded
The Foundation persuaded the governor of Missouri to rescind a bible proclamation (1994).
Illegal Public Help Halted "Our Lady of the Rockies"
A complaint to the U.S. Secretary of Labor halted subsidy of "Our Lady of the Rockies" by the federal Job Corps in Montana. Job Corps recipients were being ordered to help build the Catholic shrine, violating Job Corps' own prohibitions (1994).
Creationism Removed from City Zoo
A Foundation challenge removed a creationist display in a children's building at the city zoo in Madison, Wisconsin, including biblical references to Adam and Eve, and Noah (1994).
Discount for Catholics Ended
Protracted legal letters halted a religious discount at a grocery store in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1998, where the Catholic owner gave out "free milk" coupons to anyone showing a Catholic church bulletin to prove they had attended mass. The Foundation has ended similar violations of the Equal Rights Act, forbidding discrimination on the basis of religion by places of public accommodation, around the country.
Red Rocks Easter Service Subsidy Ended
The Denver chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, represented by attorney Robert R. Tiernan, in 1999 protested the low rent (sometimes no rent) charged to the area ministerial association to hold an annual Easter Service at the public amphitheatre. Denver officials agreed that year to discontinue the reduced rate for the Easter Sunrise Service.
Nativity Scene Moved Off Government Land
Following a Foundation protest, the city of Batavia, New York moved a nativity scene to private property in 2000.
Ten Commandments Monuments Moved from Public Property
Following several years of negotiation, the Milwaukee City Council agreed to remove a Ten Commandments monument from city property in July 2001. The move came in May 2002. The action was significant because Milwaukee was the first city to be given a Ten Commandments monument by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Yul Brenner even attended the dedication ceremony. View Article...
In April 2002, the city of Monroe, Wisconsin, followed suit, removing a Ten Commandments monument which the Foundation had originally asked it to move in 1983! View Article...
In December 2003, officials in Casper, Wyoming, removed a Ten Commandments monument from a public park following a Foundation complaint. View Article...
Religion Removed at Playground
The city of Bolingbrook, Illinois, agreed to remove religious playground equipment from a public park in 2001. Religious playground equipment was removed from Lily Cache Greenway, shortly after the Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote a letter of complaint on behalf of a Foundation member. One piece of equipment with a biblical Noah's Ark theme was covered with text paraphrasing the entire bible tale, and informing children that Noah "was 950 years old when he died." The Foundation received a prompt response from a city official thanking it for letting the city know about the presence of the religious equipment, and assuring the Foundation it would be removed. View Article...
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