Sheriff’s Office drops ‘death book’ sponsorship (January 26, 2016)

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama will no longer be part of the sponsors page of a Christian memorial book titled “Lift Up Thine Eyes,” thanks to FFRF.

The book, which a funeral home provides for the grieving, features colored illustrations of iconic bible stories. “We write to ensure that the Sheriff’s Office ceases its sponsorship of this Christian book, which creates the appearance that the office endorses Christianity over all minority faiths and over nonreligion,” said FFRF Staff Attorney Sam Grover in a letter to the Opelika, Ala., law enforcement agency.

Sheriff Jay Jones phoned FFRF on Jan. 26, informing Grover that the wording in the book had been changed to reflect that the sponsorship was made by him personally, and not by the department.

Freedom From Religion Foundation