Protest Pennsylvania House fasting and prayer resolutions!

Below is a copy of a letter from FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor submitted to Pennsylvania newspapers as an opinion piece objecting to HR 17 and HR 51, which designate April 30, 2013 as “National Fast Day” and May 2 as the “National Day of Prayer.”

Please take a moment to phone and/or email Pennsylvania House Speaker Samuel Smith (717-787-3845) and House Minority Leader Frank Dermody (717-787-3566) as well as Pennsylvania representatives. Let them know that it is inappropriate and exclusionary for the government to designate days of prayer and fasting. If you are a Pennsylvania resident please directly contact your representative and identify yourself as a state citizen. Click here to find your representative.

Thank you for your help!

Pennsylvania Representatives Violate Citizen Rights With Religious Endorsements

Representatives in the Pennsylvania General Assembly have continually abused the authority of their elected office to endorse religion and call upon Pennsylvania citizens to venerate and show obeisance to their preferred religious practices. This intrusion into the private religious beliefs or non-religious views of citizens must end.

Most recently, the House passed resolutions declaring “National Fast Day” for April 30, and a “National Day of Prayer” for May 2, creating two government–sanctioned “holy days” within the same week. The National Day of Prayer resolution even passed unanimously. Such legislative interference in the rights of conscience of citizens is officious, inappropriate and strikes at the heart of individual freedom.

State Rep. Rick Saccone sponsored the National Fast Day resolution, which calls for all “to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness,” quoting a proclamation by Abraham Lincoln from 1863. It’s shameful that members of the House, by a 160-35 vote, have used a Civil War proclamation as a pretext for endorsing religion today. The resolution sponsors quote it because it aligns with their Christian religious beliefs. Yet, Pennsylvania was founded by state/church separation advocate William Penn and is home to citizens of many religions and no religion, including nearly 20% of whom identify as nonreligious.

Saccone and supporters of government—created religious holidays display no regard for the Constitution and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The government has no business telling citizens whether or not to engage in religious practices. President Thomas Jefferson rejected such proclamations, advising:

What Jefferson could not do as President, certainly representatives of the General Assembly may not do.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation brought suit last year over the House’s offensively proclaimed “Year of the Bible.” That resolution was also sponsored by Saccone. Although U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds, he took the House to task. Conner noted that that the proclamation was at worst “premeditated pandering designed to provide a reelection sound bite.” Connor wrote, “But regardless of the motivation … its express language is proselytizing and exclusionary. The court is compelled to shine a clear, bright light on this resolution because it pushes the Establishment Clause envelope behind the safety glass of legislative immunity.” He said his strong disapproval “is directed to the blatant use of legislative resources in contravention of the spirit – if not the letter – of the Establishment Clause.”

Over the last year, the House has declared days of prayer, a day of fasting, a “Prayer Month” (last October) and a “Year of the Bible.” Enough already. Our message to state representatives is to stop abusing their public office to create religious holidays. It’s time they get off their knees and get to work!

Very truly,

Tell HHS to stand up to Catholic Bishops on contraceptive health care!

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a new notice of proposed rulemaking on February 1, with a comment period ending April 8. The rules seemingly broaden the definition of “religious employer” to exempt more groups from the requirement that health insurance plans must fully cover contraception. Churches and denominations were already directly exempt from providing coverage under Obamacare's contraceptive mandate. The proposal could mean that nonprofit religiously-affiliated hospitals, charities, and universities would be exempt along with churches and other religious organizations. Insurance companies will be required to provide contraception coverage separately to these groups’ employees so that the religious employers do not have to do so directly.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and other right-wing religious groups continue to object to the Obama administration’s plan for insurance coverage of contraception, despite the administration’s recent compromise broadening coverage exceptions for religious groups. The proposed rules provide women with coverage of preventive care that includes services with no co-pays. But, according to a news release by HHS, it has adopted new rules that also respect “the concerns of some religious organizations.”

While this proposal concedes a lot of ground to religious groups, many of them are still vigorously opposed to it. A few for-profit companies run by religious CEOs who have religious objections are mad that they are still required to provide coverage. But, as usual, it is Catholic Bishops making the most noise. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan is still calling “illicit” the idea that women employees at a Catholic hospital, for instance, would be ensured via a separate plan. Dolan, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that the proposal “appears to offer second-class status to our first-class institutions in Catholic health care, Catholic education, and Catholic charities.”

In fact, it’s women who are being offered second-class status by the Catholic Church and other religious groups who want special dispensation to impose their religious views on their secular employees and the public at large. Dolan said that Catholics should not “be forced to violate their morally well-informed consciences.” Considering that 98% of Catholic women, and 99% of all women, have used contraception, it seems that most of the consciences “violated” by contraception use belong to the celibate men of the bishops’ conference.

Dolan contends that since Catholic hospitals, colleges, and charities are “integral to our church,” they are “worthy of the same exemption as our Catholic churches.” However, many of these institutions, especially hospitals, include non-Catholic employees and exist to serve the public at large and receive huge infusions of public funding. Religious freedom does not give them the right to tyrannically impose irrational religious beliefs on anyone, especially people who may not even of the same religion.

For a reminder of how outrageous the Catholic Church's position on contraception is, see this week's article, "Boston College Cracks Down on Condoms," reporting that distributing condoms on the Jesuit campus is now grounds for expulsion.

ACT TODAY! COMMENTS ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE APRIL 8

Submit a formal comment now, before April 8, for your view to be counted.

TALKING POINTS

(Your own words are best but feel free to copy and paste)

HHS should stand up to Catholic bishops on contraceptive health care. Health care must not be based on dogma but on need. Religious leaders must not be permitted to impose their personal religious views on those of other religions or viewpoints. A religious employer should not be able to deny a woman employee preventive contraceptive care.

Catholic and other religious institutions such as hospitals, colleges and charities often receive vast infusions of public funds, hire non-Catholic employees and exist to serve the public at large. They must not be allowed to discriminate against women. HHS is to be congratulated for its decision a year ago to put women's rights above bishops' wrongs. Please do not jeopardize women’s rights to appease the bishops.

Thank you!

Protest ‘state religion’ proposal

Without intended irony on April Fools' Day, Republican Rowan County Reps. Harry Warren and Carl Ford introduced House Joint Resolution 494 to establish a state religion in North Carolina.

Unbelievably, the bill has already attracted 12 other equally ignorant sponsors. It’s no joking matter that 14 people who have absolutely no understanding of our Constitution have been elected state legislators.

Someone needs to tell these legislative Rip Van Winkles that under the 14th amendment adopted in 1868, state citizens have the same protections under the federal Bill of Rights as federal citizens:

“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, reading “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .” also means “State legislators shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation between church and state” extends to state as well as federal citizens.

These legislators refuse to acknowledge any federal judicial ruling over a constitutional topic, such as government prayer. Their rancor over the First Amendment stems from conflicts over government prayer. They’re especially mad at the ACLU right now, which is suing over sectarian Christian prayer by the Rowan County Board, N.C. They’re also mad at complaints over statehouse prayer. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has formally complained over overtly Christian prayer in the state Senate, for example, where a state Senate chaplain routinely offers overtly Christian prayers. Read FFRF's letter to Senate. Read FFRF’s letter house.

The bill reads:

"SECTION 1. The North Carolina General Assembly asserts that the Constitution of the United States of America does not prohibit states or their subsidiaries from making laws respecting an establishment of religion.

"SECTION 2. The North Carolina General Assembly does not recognize federal court rulings which prohibit and otherwise regulate the State of North Carolina, its public schools, or any political subdivisions of the State from making laws respecting an establishment of religion.

"These fools for god fail to understand that, if their bill were enacted, it will also prohibit North Carolina citizens from exercising other First Amendment rights, such as freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, the right to peaceably assemble and to petition their government for a redress of grievances. Most notably, these legislators are saying there is also no “freedom of religion” for state citizens, a cornerstone of the First Amendment.

Of course, this absurd bill is patently unconstitutional, violates the separation of powers, the supremacy clause, as well as the 14th and First Amendment. This bill is going nowhere. Legislators of ill will who insult intelligence and the Constitution should be going no where near the North Carolina Statehouse.

EDUCATE!

Send an educational message to the billl’s sponsors.

Look up contact info on the other sponsors or your statelegislator:http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/memberList.pl?sChamber=House

CONTACT MEDIA

Send a letter to your favorite area daily newspaper over this outrageous proposal. And comment online on news sites. You can influence public opinion with one or two sentences, taking only one or two minutes!

Thank you!

As always, we encourage you to be polite, succinct and to identify yourself as an individual, not as a member of FFRF. Please, for obvious reasons, do not forward this email to your legislators or the media. In contacting legislators, always identify yourself as a North Carolina resident, and if you are contacting your personal rep, indicate you live in their district for maximum effectiveness.

SOS! Oppose prayer of Clark County Board!

The Freedom From Religion Foundation wants your help in contacting the Clark County (Washington) Board of Commissioners to oppose a plan to open civil Board meetings with prayers. The prayers would marginalize nonbelievers and community members who are not in agreement with the proselytizing messages. Because the prayers would be government-sponsored speech they must follow the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

TAKE ACTION!

The Board of County Commissioners of Clark County is holding a public hearing at 10:00 am, Tuesday March 19. Please speak out and let the Board know that the prayers are unwelcoming and that the Board should take action to prevent the Board's adoption of religious invocation. If you can't make the meeting, please phone the County Board and email today. Phone calls get more attention than emails.

Contact

Board of County Commissioners for Clark County
1300 Franklin, 6th Floor
Vancouver, WA 98666-5000
Phone: (360) 397-2232
Fax: (360) 397-6058
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

District 1 Commissioner, Tom Meilke
Click on the link below to send him an email:
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District 2 Commissioner, David Madore
Click on the link below to send him an email:
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District 3 Commissioner, Steve Stuart
Click on the link below to send him an email:
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Contact the local media

Email a letter to the editor of the area's newspaper, The Beaumont Enterprise:
http://www. columbian.com/lettertotheeditor/

Talking Points

Read FFRF's letter.

One sentence is sufficient. Your own words are best. But you may wish to copy these paragraphs in your correspondence:

I oppose the resolution to invoke prayer at the start of each meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Clark County.
Board members and other representatives of the government should not misuse the privilege their position confers upon them to promote religious messages.

The prayers would confer an appearance of official government endorsement, and marginalize members of the community who do not conform to the religious beliefs espoused in the messages. Please do not adopt government-sponsored prayers and show respect for the Establishment Clause and the rights of conscience of all members of our pluralistic society. A quarter of the Washington State population is nonreligious.

Let Texas school district know school sponsored biblical messages are not OK

The Freedom From Religion Foundation wants you to help give perspective to a Texas school district over allowing religious "run-through" banners displayed by school cheerleaders on the field during school football games. The Kountze ISD Board of Trustees has asked for public input.

FFRF maintains that banners on the football field are perceived as official messages of the school and as such, may not endorse Christianity. FFRF contacted the District in the fall and requested that the religious banners no longer be used. In September of 2012 the District's former superintendent agreed and disallowed religious messages on the run-through banners. Liberty Institute, on behalf of school cheerleaders, filed suit against the district. A Texas court granted a temporary injunction, which allows the religious banners until trial in June.

The cheerleaders and their advocates have claimed the messages painted on the banners are "inspirational." But, the messages are insulting and exclude members of the community who are non-Christians, non-religious, or Christians who do not subscribe to divisive biblical messages being promoted by the school at a football game.

"If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31," read one of the banners displayed by cheerleaders in school uniforms. Others have said:

But thanks be to God, which gives us Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 15:57

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil. 3:14

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14.

The banners marginalize community members who are not in agreement with the proselytizing messages. FFRF disputes Liberty Institute's position that the banners are merely private speech. Because the banners are school-sponsored speech they must follow the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

Take Action!!

The Kountze Independent School District is receiving comments on the religious banners through Friday. FFRF encourages you to speak out and let the District know that the divisive banners are unwelcoming and that the Board should take action to prevent the District's display of biblical banners.

Contact

Interim Superintendent Reese Briggs
Click on the link below to send him an email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Kountze Independent School District
PO Box 460
Kountze, Texas 77625
Phone: (409) 246-3352
Fax: (409) 246-3217

Contact the local media

Email a letter to the editor of the area's newspaper, The Beaumont Enterprise:
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/opinions/letters/submit/

Talking Points

One sentence is sufficient. Your own words are best. But you may wish to copy this paragraph in your correspondence:

I support Kountze ISD's original decision to stop the display of bible verse banners on the football field.

Cheerleaders and other representatives of the school should not misuse the privilege the school confers on them to promote Christianity.

The banners confer an appearance of official school endorsement, and marginalize members of the community who do not conform to the religious beliefs espoused in the messages. Please put an end to school-sponsored religious banners and show respect for the Establishment Clause and the rights of conscience of all members of our pluralistic society.

Thank you. (Sign name)

News Background

KHOU-TV

The New York Times

Oppose Congressional storm aid for religious institutions

Please contact your U.S. Senator today and tell him or her to vote against the Senate version of House Resolution 592.

The federal government is perilously close to using your tax dollars to directly fund the building, maintenance and repair of "houses of worship," including churches, synagogues, mosques and temples. H.R. 592, the so-called Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2013, passed the U.S. House in early February by a lopsided 354 to 72 vote — after strong lobbying by Roman Catholic and even Jewish groups.

Congress has appropriated $60 billion to finance recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy. The House has voted to use your tax dollars to fund the repair or rebuilding of churches without regard to their exclusive use as houses of worship. That would mean less money for individuals who lost their homes. Funds would go to untaxed entities that never report or divulge any of their financial assets to the public or the federal government. Congress would be sending your tax dollars down a religious black hole, when people are in dire need.

Hurricane Sandy (ironically a so-called "Act of God" which did not spare houses of worship) must not be used to justify creating horrific legal precedent. Sandy's devastation is not a reason to suspend the Constitution. We cannot allow Congress to ignore the protections of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has specifically stated that our government may not erect religious buildings, Tilton v. Richardson, 403 U.S. 672, 683 (1971), and "[i]f the State may not erect buildings in which religious activities are to take place, it may not maintain such buildings or renovate them when they fall into disrepair." Comm. For Pub. Ed. & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist, 413 U.S. 756, 777 (1973).

If enacted, this Congressional bill would allow funds to go to the Roman Catholic Church — which owns almost $3.5 billion worth of property in New York City, according to one estimate. About 200 parishes were affected by the storm, and Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan has been pushing particularly hard to get the bill passed. This bill sets the precedent to allow funds to go to all religious groups, including, as has been observed, to the most hateful bigots, such as the Westboro Baptist Church.

As the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy notes:

"FEMA's policy not only ensures that FEMA grants are used to rebuild facilities that provide the most critical services to the entire community, but also reflects an important constitutional principle. Religious liberty is one of our nation's most fundamental values and it starts from the precept that religion and religious institutions thrive when both religion and government are safeguarded from the undue influences of the other."

You and we must stop this bill before it becomes a law, before the funds are dispersed. Make sure your senators hear from you on this issue.

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS

Phone and email your two U.S. senators today!

Find contact information for your two senators here (listed by state): 

Your voice is magnified by speaking out early. Be sure to identify yourself as a constituent, and leave your name and address. If you have time, both phoning and emailing is most effective, including your Senator's home and DC offices. Phone calls are immediate and take up staff time; the more (civil) calls they receive, the better.

Phone 202-224-3121 and ask an operator at the Capitol switchboard to connect you to your senator.

TALKING POINTS

See above, use your own words, or feel free to cut and paste any of this brief statement into an email:

I strongly oppose H.R. 592 and urge you to defeat it in the Senate. This bill would send tax dollars down a religious black hole, and create precedent endangering tax dollars and the Establishment Clause.

James Madison, the primary architect of our godless Constitution, famously opposed even "threepence" of taxpayer money going for religious purposes. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, pointed out that no citizen should "be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever." These are core principles safeguarding religious liberty and personal conscience, upon which our secular nation was founded.

FEMA does not "discriminate" against churches or other nonprofits when it properly declares them ineligible to receive direct grants for disaster relief. Nonprofits, churches and businesses are eligible to apply for major low-interest, government-secured loans for losses not fully covered by insurance. Where public money goes, public accountability must follow. Yet tax-exempt churches, no matter how wealthy, are uniquely exempted from federal requirements to report on their finances to the government and U.S. taxpayers. Churches exist for the purpose of worship. Any incidental disaster relief they engage in is voluntary, and not equivalent to providing "essential services of a governmental nature to the general public," as FEMA regulations require.

H.R. 592 would grant tax dollars to tax-exempt churches with no strings attached, "without regard to the religious character of the facility or the primary religious use of the facility." Tax dollars should not go to repair or build space for worship, much less repair stained-glass windows, arks of the convenant, prayer books and decorative religious icons! Defeat this proposal!

WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Further influence public opinion by writing letters to the editor to our local news dailies, using social media and leaving messages at reader comment sections at online news websites. Borrow any language you like from this action alert!

READ AND FOLLOW THE BILL

Text of bill (pdf)

(Note: you can sign up to track this bill, and receive notice of pending action. We urge you to follow developments and respond often and quickly if the bill proceeds in the Senate.)

See listing of statements against H.R. 592

Urge South Carolina education board to drop prayer

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking for your help in persuading the School District of Pickens County Board of Trustees, S.C., to drop prayers to begin its monthly meetings.

FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott sent a letter to the District on Nov. 26, 2012, protesting the school board's egregious practice of opening meetings with prayer led by students, which included sectarian references to the "Holy Spirit" and "Jesus."
(Our letter sent the religious community into a tizzy. Scroll to the end for links to TV news and other media coverage!)

At its Feb. 25, 2013 meeting, the Pickens County school board voted preliminarily to begin meetings with "nonsectarian" prayers by adults from the district. Elliott points out this new policy would still violate the rights of conscience of students and parents who are nonreligious or religious minorities.

Federal courts of appeals examining the issue of school board prayer have found such prayer — even nonsectarian — to be unconstitutional. As part of the public school system, school boards must set an example of respect and conform to law protecting children from the coercion of school-sponsored religion.

The Pickens County school board should get in line with the U.S. Constitution and stop alienating the 19 percent of American adults who have no religious affiliation. One in three young people today identify as nonreligious and one in five adults (Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life, October 2012).

"Calling upon board members, as well as parents and students of the school, to pray is coercive, embarrassing, and beyond the scope of our secular school system," Elliott said.

TAKE ACTION!!

The Pickens County Board of Trustees will meet next on Monday, March 25, 2013, to vote to finalize its policy of beginning each meeting with prayer.

Urge the board to follow the Constitution, and remove the divisive prayers from their meetings. (see Talking Points below)

Contact:

Chairperson Judy Edwards
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Pickens County Board Of Education
1348 Griffin Mill Road
Easley, SC 29640
Phone: (864) 397-1000
Fax: 864-855-8159

(Feel free to cc other members, below)

Vice Chairman Ben Trotter
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Secretary Alex Saitta
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Jimmy Gillespie
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Jim Shelton
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CONTACT MEDIA

Email a Letter to the Editor (via a comment box):

http://www.powdersvillepost.com/pages/web_forms_letter_editor

TALKING POINTS

Feel free to use your own words or use or incorporate the statement below:

To avoid the constitutional concerns and the divisiveness school board prayers create, the solution is simple: discontinue them.

Nonsectarian prayer sends an inappropriate proselytizing message to all students, and excludes the nonreligious — the second-largest segment today in America by religious identification.

Calling upon school board members, students, parents and residents to pray is coercive, embarrassing and beyond the scope of your secular public school district. Board of Education members are free to worship on their own time in their own way. Nonbelieving students and religious minorities should not be made to feel like political outsiders by their own school district. Nor should any school district send a message to students that they ought to believe in a deity or show obeisance to one.

I support a secular public school system.

NEWS BACKGROUND

Prayer issue packs Pickens co. school board meeting
(Watch this TV video to see an unbelievable "amen corner")

Attorney: non-sectarian prayer does not go far enough
Powdersville Post

School board may vote on controversial prayer issue Monday
WIS-TV 10

Thanks to FFRF journalism intern Sarah Eucalano

Ask Congress to adopt Darwin Day

Continuing the tradition of former Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) has introduced a resolution designating Charles Darwin's 204th birthday, Feb. 12, 2013, as Darwin Day. The resolution "recogniz[es] the importance of science in the betterment of humanity."

Holt was recently quoted in The New York Times as saying, "I hope we can hold hearings, where people can hear about Darwin and science and the jobs it creates, the lives it saves, everything."

Holt's resolution touts "the validity of Darwin's theory of evolution," "the monumental amount of scientific evidence" that supports the theory, and notes that evolution's "validity ... is further strongly supported by the modern understanding of the science of genetics."

The resolution chastises science-deniers: "the advancement of science must be protected from those unconcerned with the adverse impacts of global warming and climate change" and "the teaching of creationism in some public schools compromises the scientific and academic integrity of the United States education systems."

Our country faces a crisis of ignorance. To the shame of the United States' international standing, about half of Americans reject evolution. Globally the United States ranks just above Turkey in public acceptance of evolution. How can we compete in a global, technologically advanced community when a majority of U.S. citizens deny basic reality and embrace creationism?

The voices of science and secularism must be heard. Ask the U.S. House to hold Darwin Day hearings.

Take Action Today!

Contact your U.S. Representative to support the resolution and ask for hearings

To find out who your representative is, type in your zip code on this website http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ to find your representative. Click on their name to contact them.

If you already know who your representative is, find their contact information on this alphabetical list http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Call, email, fax, write, or Facebook them. Do whatever it takes to be heard!

Contact the chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, where the bill was referred, to ask for a hearing.

House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX)
http://science.house.gov/contact-us/email-us
2321 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-6371
Fax: 202-226-0113

Thank Darwin Day Sponsors

Take a moment to thank Rep. Holt. Rep. Holt, a nuclear physicist by training, self-identifies as a Quaker and deserves our gratitude for his efforts. Do feel free to identify yourself as a nonbeliever, atheist, etc., so he knows the secular bloc has clout (and good manners)!

Letters: 1214 Longworth HOB
Washington DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5801
Fax: (202) 225-6025
Webform: https://forms.house.gov/holt/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm (Representative Holt will only accept email from residents of New Jersey.)

While you're at it, thank Holt's cosponsors (especially if they represent you). They are:

Rep. Michael Honda (CA-17)
Rep. Edward Markey (MA-5)
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)
Rep. Jared Polis (CO-2)
Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY-25)
(If your representative's name isn't on this list, ask why not!)

Contact your Senator

Ask your Senator to introduce a Darwin Day resolution, while you're at it!

Find and contact your U.S. Senators:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Write a letter to the editor

Supporting Darwin Day would make an excellent and timely topic of a letter to the editor to your local or favorite publication. Don't forget social media and online news comment sections to help spread the word.

Thank you for your activism. Freedom depends on freethinkers, and Darwin Day deserves your support!

Freedom From Religion Foundation
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
PO Box 750
Madison WI 53701
608/256-8900

BSA to keep discriminating against atheists

It is absolutely outrageous that the Boy Scouts of America, which has proudly excluded both atheists and gays from its membership, announced yesterday that lifting its ban on gays — but not atheists — is on the agenda for the biannual meeting of its national board in February.

BSA spokesperson Deron Smith said a change in policy toward atheists is not being considered because "Duty to God" is one of its basic principles.

With one in five Americans — and as many as one in three young people — identifying as nonreligious, clearly millions of nontheistic families and their sons are being treated as undesirable members by BSA. It should not be socially acceptable to exclude either gays or atheists. Talk about proof of who's on the bottom of the social totem poll in our culture!

BSA has always falsely advertised that "any boy may join" and has relied upon and received major governmental favors. In the 1970s, discrimination against atheists became entrenched as BSA adopted a religious litmus test, forcing parents of boys interested in joining to sign a "Declaration of Religious Principles" returned with membership fees. The declaration states: "The Boy Scouts of America maintain that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing his obligation to God."

No one can grow into the best kind of citizen being told it is good form to discriminate against nonreligious children. BSA needs to be reminded it is not what you believe that makes you a good person, but what you do. Wrapping oneself in a mantle of piety is often counterproductive of moral action, as witnessed by the way in which "God belief" was used by BSA to justify excluding gays and atheists.

Challenge the kneejerk assumption that professing an orthodox belief in an unprovable deity has anything at all to do with ethical conduct. Clearly, the outcome of such piety for BSA is immoral — it places dogma over people, in this case real children, teenagers and volunteer leaders who are being shunned for holding the intellectually respectable position that we need proof before swallowing dogmatic claims.

Religion builds walls between children, and religious litmus tests have no place in a fraternal organization with a congressional charter.

The media, in covering this story, properly recite BSA's unkind history of bigotry against gays and gay families. These same mean practices have also personally harmed and stigmatized nontheist families and Scouts. (And it should be remembered that many gays are nonbelievers who would still, on that score, be unwelcome in BSA.)

Here are just a few of the many instances of ostracism and discrimination on the basis of religion practiced in recent decades by local and national BSA leaders:

• Stripping model Boy Scout Darrell Lambert of Oregon of his Eagle Scout badge in 2002 because he is an atheist. Darrell was a Scouting and community volunteer who had won first place in his state athletic medicine competitions and volunteered as a search and rescue worker. He was singled out for his atheism by his district commissioner, who told the class an atheist cannot be a good citizen.

• Denying 6-year-old Mark Welsh of suburban Chicago of the right to join Tiger Cubs, after being solicited through his public school. When his father encountered the Declaration of Religious Principles and explained to BSA officials he could not in good conscience sign it, Mark was told he was an undesirable candidate and left the sign-up meeting in tears.

A lawsuit under the Civil Rights Act was lost to BSA, which has vigorously defended its exclusionary policies in many court battles, including its exclusion of gays in a Supreme Court test.

• Twins William and Michael Randall were expelled with no warning from the Orange County Cub Scout pack despite three years of Scouting experience. The BSA appealed their challenge under the California Unruh Civil Rights Act and won the right to expel the twins. An agnostic den leader who sent a supportive letter to the Randalls was expelled, a common practice against those within BSA who have protested bigotry at the national level.

BSA has finally considered lifting its bigotry against gays after decades of protests and cut-off of major favors by corporations, public schools and some governmental bodies. That BSA is at least willing to reconsider its bigotry against gays shows it has listened to protest. Contact BSA immediately to urge it to take this opportunity to stop giving merit badges for bigotry — either against nontheists or gays.

It must be noted that the motion pending at its national board meeting is more than flawed. The Boy Scouts of America which had no problem dictating from the top down its absolute exclusion of gays in the past, announced it "would not, under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members, or parents. This would mean there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation," but chartered groups (many of them Mormon) could "select leaders consistent with each organization's mission, principles, or religious beliefs."

Contact and call BSA now!

Phoning is most effective! 972-580-2000

Email contact form: http://www.scouting.org/ContactUs.aspx

Alternate Phone (National Help Desk): 877-272-1910

Wayne Brock, Chief Scout Executive
1325 W. Walnut Hill Lane 
Irving, Texas 75015-2079

(Writing letters to the editor and commenting at online sections at news sites and social media are also in order.)

Ask Brownback to 'repent' of his 'Day of Repentance'

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging Kansas Governor Sam Brownback to rescind his religious proclamations and opt not, in his official capacity, to attend or endorse the overtly Christian event "Going to the Heart," which is scheduled to broadcast live from Topeka, Kan., on Dec. 8 from 3-6 p.m. CST.

Brownback not only publicly declared Dec. 8 a "Day of Restoration," but recorded a promotional video for the national simulcast, calling on citizens to "pray to God, in humility and in unity to ask for his favor and assistance in these difficult times."

FFRF Co-Presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker wrote to Brownback on Dec. 6: "If you wish to endorse religious events and religious groups, you must do so in your private capacity as a citizen, not in your official capacity as the highest elected executive of the State of Kansas."

They also pointed out that at least 300,000 Kansans are not religious, so the sectarian proclamations exclude a large segment of the state's diverse population.

The "Going to the Heart" event is part of ReignDown USA, "a worship and prayer movement that began on April 26, 2008, with simultaneous worship and prayer led from the Capitol in Washington, D.C. broadcast via satellite around the world."

The organization's mission states that "God is now calling ReignDown USA to churches, parks, colleges and other venues across the United States that need a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit and/or want to experience radical change. We're called to cover these places in prayer and intercession, bringing healing and restoration to the people in those communities."

FFRF asks that the governor "rescind this proclamation and refrain from issuing them in the future, and encourage him to "get off your knees and get to work."

WATCH THE VIDEO

Click here if you cannot view the 'embedded' video above. 

Ask Kansas Gov. to reign over all, not just Christians

TAKE ACTION!

Please take a moment to phone, email, tweet and/or Facebook Brownback. Phoning is the preferred method since it guarantees direct communication between you and the governor's office, although all methods of contact are much appreciated. Tell Brownback that he should not be issuing prayer proclamations or endorsing the "Going to the Heart" event in his official capacity as governor. All Kansas citizens deserve to be recognized by his office, not just those who feel the need to "repent for their sins."

If you are a Kansas resident, please identify yourself as such and when necessary include your address and other contact information.

CONTACT

Office of the Governor
Capitol, 300 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 241S
Topeka, KS 66612-1590
Local: 785-296-3232
Toll Free: 877-579-6757
Email Contact Form: http://governor.ks.gov/serving-kansans/constituent-services/legislation-and-policy-issues

Twitter: https://twitter.com/govsambrownback (@govsambrownback)

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/govsambrownback

TALKING POINTS

One sentence is sufficient, your own words are best. But you may wish to copy this statement in your correspondence:

As a secular citizen I am deeply offended that you in your official capacity as governor have endorsed an overtly Christian event, to proclaim Dec. 8 a "Day of Restoration." Both of these actions tell me, a non-Christian and nonreligious citizen, that I am not valued or respected by the Kansas government.

Please honor our godless Constitution by not misusing your civil authority to promote your personal religious views.

Thank Buhler mayor for taking cross off city logo

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has successfully petitioned the city of Buhler to remove a cross from its official seal — and now we need your help to sustain the victory.

FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott wrote to Mayor Daniel Friesen on Sept. 14, urging him to discontinue using a Latin cross as a symbol of "traditional values" in the city's motto and logo.

Friesen told reporters that "the city consulted several law firms, which said the city would most likely lose if it took this to court." Now the mayor says the seal will be redesigned.

The Buhler seal is displayed on a large billboard in Albert Becker Park, as well as on official city forms.

In his letter, Elliott cited seven federal court decisions which found municipal seals and logos to be unconstitutional.

"The endorsement of religion in the Buhler seal is particularly egregious because the cross is prominently featured and used to symbolize the 'Traditional Values' portion of the town motto. Courts addressing less prominent depictions have found that the inclusion of a Latin cross among other symbols on government seals and logos violates the Establishment Clause," wrote Elliott.

The mayor rightfully added that if the city were to fight the case it would be wasting taxpayer money.

TAKE ACTION!

The city council is set to meet tonight. We ask that you phone (this is the preferred method, as city officials will then hear from you directly) and/or email the mayor and city council members to affirm their decision and to say thank you. (They will undoubtedly receive complaints from the religious right, which we need to balance.)

We are hoping your calls and emails will reinforce the mayor's decision to remove the cross (the regularly scheduled city governing body meets tonight).

Note: There will be a public discussion of the logo tonight at 7 p.m. at 219 North Main, Buhler, Kansas 67522. If you live in the area please attend the city council meeting and show your support for the mayor's decision to remove the cross.

CONTACT

Mayor Daniel P. Friesen
602 N Main
Buhler, KS 67522
Phone: 620-543-5003
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

AND/OR

Click here to contact individual council members. 

TALKING POINTS

One sentence is sufficient, your own words are best. But you may wish to copy this paragraph in your correspondence:

Thank you for making the wise decision to remove the Latin cross from the city seal. The cross was divisive and shows an inappropriate preference for Christianity, excluding nonbelievers like myself and other nonChristians. A city should not be in the business of supporting or endorsing one religion over another or religion over nonreligion. It is important everyone feel included when it comes to civic matters. Thank you. (Sign name)

Thank you for your help!

Ask Obama to drop religion in presidential oath

ACT NOW, CONTACT PRESIDENT OBAMA

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a letter to President Obama asking him to reject the way this country politicizes religion. The Constitution, which prescribes the oath in Art. 2, Sect. 1, does not contain the “so help me God” language or require use of a bible. As FFRF has always done before presidential inaugurations, we are asking President Obama to honor the Constitution on Jan. 21 by omitting that religious verbiage from the Oath of Office.

Secular Americans are the fastest growing religious identification demographic in this country. It’s time politicians stop pandering to the religious right and start courting us. Please choose one of the three courses of action listed below. 

Click here to read FFRF's letter before you take action. 

Thank you for your help! 

1. Easiest 

Submit a shorter version of this same letter on the White House webform. All you have to do is cut and paste one of the messages below and submit it to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments. 

Copy and paste the following text if you are 30 or younger. 

I write to respectfully ask you to re-examine using religion as a political tool in your second term. This election highlights the country’s rapidly shifting demographics. The electorate’s religious affiliation is changing more quickly than any other metric, including race. In 1990, 8% of Americans were nonreligious. When you were elected in 2008, 15% of Americans identified as nonreligious. Now that number is 20%.

Most strikingly, 1-in-3 Americans under 30 now identify as nonreligious. We, the 30-and-unders, elected you in 2008 and again in 2012. We are the future of this country. And we are tired of our leaders injecting religion into politics. Politicians use religion to pander to their base, but it excludes us.

You called Nov. 5 “the last day that I will ever campaign.” This is a gift. You are beholden to no future constituency. Reach out to secular Americans. In the past, that might have been politically costly. But this recent election shows that it will be politically costly not to reach out to secular America. Use this second term to build a legacy by rejecting the way this country politicizes religion.

You can start on Jan. 21. When you reaffirm your oath, do so in the language the Founders specified in the godless Constitution. Eliminate the religious verbiage and the bible. The “so help me God” tradition violates the Constitution in the act of promising to uphold it. The ritual alienates the demographic that politicians must now rely on.

Use this term to bring secular America into the political conversation, and to forge a legacy worthy of the Founders. Restore the presidential oath and begin divorcing American politics from religion.

Your first inaugural address recognized nonbelievers and expressed a hope “that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve, that … our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

The final tribal allegiance is not sex, or race, or sexual orientation. It is religion. Private citizens are free to maintain that allegiance, but it is time our government abandoned it. Please lead us into an era of politics free from religious rhetoric.

Start small. Start by restoring the oath. Our once silent minority will no longer remain silent as politicians trample the document we hold sacred—the Constitution. Honor the oath as you recite it on January 21 and lead us into the new era you promised 4 years ago.

With hope,

Copy and paste the following text if you are 30 or older. 

I write to respectfully ask you to re-examine using religion as a political tool in your second term. This election highlights the country’s rapidly shifting demographics. The electorate’s religious affiliation is changing more quickly than any other metric, including race. In 1990, 8% of Americans were nonreligious. When you were elected in 2008, 15% of Americans identified as nonreligious. Now that number is 20%.

Most strikingly, 1-in-3 Americans under 30 now identify as nonreligious. The 30-and-unders are the future of this country. They and the rest of secular America are tired of our leaders injecting religion into politics. Politicians use religion to pander to their base, but it excludes us.

You called Nov. 5 “the last day that I will ever campaign.” This is a gift. You are beholden to no future constituency. Reach out to secular Americans. In the past, that might have been politically costly. But this recent election shows that it will be politically costly not to reach out to secular America. Use this second term to build a legacy by rejecting the way this country politicizes religion.

You can start on Jan. 21. When you reaffirm your oath, do so in the language the Founders specified in the godless Constitution. Eliminate the religious verbiage and the bible. The “so help me God” tradition violates the Constitution in the act of promising to uphold it. The ritual alienates the demographic that politicians must now rely on.

Use this term to bring secular America into the political conversation, and to forge a legacy worthy of the Founders. Restore the presidential oath and begin divorcing American politics from religion.

Your first inaugural address recognized nonbelievers and expressed a hope “that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve, that … our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

The final tribal allegiance is not sex, or race, or sexual orientation. It is religion. Private citizens are free to maintain that allegiance, but it is time our government abandoned it. Please lead us into an era of politics free from religious rhetoric.

Start small. Start by restoring the oath. Our once silent minority will no longer remain silent as politicians trample the document we hold sacred—the Constitution. Honor the oath as you recite it on January 21 and lead us into the new era you promised 4 years ago.

With hope,

2. Easy 

Submit your own message on the White House webform. Use a few FFRF paragraphs to get you started. All you have to do is cut, paste, and add your own words. Then submit your response here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments. 

I write to respectfully ask you to re-examine using religion as a political tool in your second term. This election highlights the country’s rapidly shifting demographics. The electorate’s religious affiliation is changing more quickly than any other metric, including race. In 1990, 8% of Americans were nonreligious. When you were elected in 2008, 15% of Americans identified as nonreligious. Now that number is 20%. Most strikingly, 1-in-3 Americans under 30 now identify as nonreligious. We are tired of our leaders injecting religion into politics. Politicians use religion to pander to their base, but it excludes us.

Please use your second term to build a legacy by rejecting the way this country politicizes religion. You can start on Jan. 21. When you reaffirm your oath, do so in the language of the Founders. Eliminate the religious verbiage. The hand on bible, “so help me God” tradition violates the Constitution in the act of promising to uphold it. The ritual alienates the demographic that politicians must now rely on. Restore the presidential oath and begin divorcing American politics from religion.

3. Best — For those of you with a little time and a bit of drive

Write your own message asking Obama to take a secular oath and start divorcing politics from religion. Feel free to use any of our language. Submit your letter on the White House webform (2500 character limit): http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

Write to President Obama:

President Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Call the White House Comment Line:

(202) 456-1111

Call Texas AG & Gov. over their atheist potshots

As you know, the Texas governor and attorney general have attacked FFRF and all Texas freethinkers and nonbelievers over FFRF's role in protesting religious banners by public school cheerleaders in Kountze. The school district properly halted the cheerleader practice of placing bible verses on banners, then the cheerleaders sued the school district. The national media are following the Kountze developments avidly.

As FFRF's statement below notes, we believe Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's condemnation of FFRF and atheists will encourage a climate of hostility toward nonbelievers, and encourage more state/church entanglements in Texas public schools. We believe you as a Texas freethinker must protest Abbott's inflammatory actions.

Please phone the AG's office today to voice your distress at his cavalier treatment of Texas freethinkers. Follow up with an email that indicates you're a Texas citizen or concerned U.S. citizen, but phoning his office is the best way to get the attention of the AG's office. Ditto the governor. See the statement below to read Abbott's and Perry's dismissive remarks toward atheists, FFRF and the separation of church and state. Links below also take you to a transcript and the video of Abbott's and Perry's preposterous press conference yesterday, in which both took potshots at FFRF, atheists and the Establishment Clause.

We are also asking you to contact the Kountze school district, depending on what happens today. The cheerleaders are in court awaiting word from the state judge on the restraining order against the school's action barring bible verses on cheerleader banners. Please either thank the District for defending the First Amendment, or, if the District backs down, let them know of your disappointment.

Please also write letters to the editor — your local newspaper, the Houston Chronicle or Beaumont newspaper, and if possible write comments supporting FFRF and the school district's position at online news coverage of the controversy.

TAKE ACTION

Tell Perry and Abbott that they have crossed the line. Phone calls are best, so please call them today!

CONTACT

Governor Perry 
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428

Phone: 

• Information and Referral Hotline [for Texas callers]: (800) 843-5789
• Information and Referral and Opinion Hotline [for Austin, Texas and out-of-state callers]: (512) 463-1782
• Office of the Governor Main Switchboard [office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST]: (512) 463-2000
• Citizen's Assistance Telecommunications Device. If you are using a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD), call 711 to reach Relay Texas

Email Contact Form: http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/

Attorney General Greg Abbott
Office of the Attorney General
PO Box 12548
Austin, TX 78711-2548
Phone: (512) 463-2100
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CONTACT KOUNTZE ISD

Kountze Independent School District
Administration Office
Phone: 409-246-3352
Fax: 409-246-3217

Superintendent Kevin Weldon
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Assistant Superintendent Reese Briggs
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CHIME IN

Send a letter to your local paper or area papers below. 

Houston Chronicle

Letters Policy: Send letters to the editor, 250 words or less, as part of email text to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Include name, address, and day and evening phone numbers for verification purposes only. Letters subject to editing.

Reader Essays Policy: E-mail essays, up to 600 words long, to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . No attachments, please. Include name, day and evening phone, and byline identification with affiliation or expertise related to essay. Because of the volume of letters and essays received, a personal response to each is not possible. However, authors of essays chosen for publication will be contacted by phone.

Beaumont Enterprise

Submit your letter here.

READ FFRF'S STATEMENT ON TEXAS AG AND GOVERNOR’S INTERVENTION

Click here to read this statement at FFRF's website.

by Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor
FFRF Co-Presidents

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has crossed the line from carrying out his secular constitutional duties to defend the state of Texas, to using his government bully pulpit to bully and scapegoat atheists.

At a press conference earlier today with Gov. Rick Perry at the Capitol, the grandstanding attorney general, speaking about FFRF, said:

“We will not allow atheist groups from outside of the state of Texas to come into the state, to use menacing and misleading intimidation tactics, to try to bully schools to bow down at the altar of secular beliefs.”

During the press conference, Abbott openly went after FFRF, and by extension, FFRF’s Texas membership of 700, and all atheists and nonbelievers — now estimated to comprise a fifth of the population. We’ve already heard from Texas FFRF members who have children in the schools, who are worried that their attorney general’s menacing remarks will not only escalate religious violations, but create a climate of hostility toward nonbelievers and their children in Texas.

Abbott called his pandering press conference after announcing he is intervening on behalf of Christian cheerleaders suing their school district in Kountze, Texas, aided by a zealous Christian-right group. The school had properly told the cheerleaders to nix religious banners after being contacted by FFRF, acting on behalf of a local resident who was shocked and dismayed to see bible verses used as part of a public school football ritual. The cheerleaders paint bible verses on giant paper banners, and quote such Christian verses as 1 Cor. 15:57: “But thanks be to God, which gives us Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Abbott contemptuously described FFRF as “an atheist group from Wisconsin, who came into the state of Texas and tried to silence these students.”

He bragged about his history of activism in favor of state/church entanglements, including getting involved against FFRF “last year, at Christmastime, I think it was this very same group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, that tried to bully Henderson County in Athens, Texas, into removing a nativity scene off of the county court grounds. There’s a bottom line here, and that is . . . we are not going to either tolerate or accept these atheist groups trying to prevent that freedom of expression here in the state of Texas.”

The Constitution and FFRF are not “preventing freedom of expression,” we are defending freedom of conscience. The Constitution differentiates government (public school) speech from individual speech. Those cheerleaders are free to worship as they like, go to the church of their choice, but not to exploit a public school event, and their school-sponsored podium, to push their personal religious views on an entire stadium. That’s just plain bad manners.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who repeatedly referred during the press conference to Abbott as “General,” castigated FFRF and state/church proponents. He said:

“The underlying problem here is that there’s this very vocal, as you shared, and very litigious minority of Americans that are willing to legally attack anybody who dares to utter a phrase, a name that they don’t agree with.”

Perry went on to demonstrate that he apparently has never read the godless Constitution he has taken oaths to uphold, saying: “We’re also a culture built upon the concept that the original law is god’s law, outlined in the ten commandments.”

The reprehensible actions of the governor and attorney general are the very reason our founders adopted a First Amendment — to keep local majorities from tyrannizing the minorities, and government officials from using their offices to promote religion.

Background 

Read transcript of governor’s and AG’s remarks 

View video at the governor’s official website

Read FFRf’s original letter of complaint

Read FFRF’s amicus brief

Read previous press releases:

FFRF files amicus brief in Texas prayer banner case (Oct. 3, 2012)

Texas AG attacks FFRF, butts into banner case (Sept. 28, 2012)

Read FFRf’s original letter of complaintTexas school halts football bible banners (Sept. 19, 2012)

Thank you for your help!

Oppose Pennsylvania 'Prayer Month' resolution!

Update: Unfortunately this resolution passed 189-2 shortly after this action alert was sent out, so please contact the lawmakers below and make a fuss.

Below is a copy of the Freedom From Religion Foundation's letter objecting to Pennsylvania House Resolution 922, "Recognizing October 2012 as 'Prayer Month' in Pennsylvania."

Please take a moment to phone and/or email Pennsylvania House Speaker Samuel Smith (717-787-3845) and House Minority Leader Frank Dermody (717-787-3566) as well as Pennsylvania representatives. Tell them that it is inappropriate and exclusionary to designate October as "Prayer Month." If you are a Pennsylvania resident please also contact your representative and identify yourself as a state citizen. Click here to find your representative. (Refer to the upper right hand corner of the page). 

Thank you for your help!

(Click here to view the PDF version.) 

October 17, 2012

SENT VIA MAIL & FAX

Hon. Samuel Smith
Speaker of the House
139 Main Capitol Building
PO Box 202066
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Hon. Frank Dermody
House Minority Leader
423 Main Capitol Building
PO Box 202033
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Dear Speaker Smith and Minority Leader Dermody:

We are writing on behalf of the 19,000 members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, including nearly 700 Pennsylvania members, regarding continued unconstitutional action by the House of Representatives. It is truly dismaying that members of the House continue to abuse their office by seeking to advance a religious agenda. Twenty representatives introduced a so-called “noncontroversial resolution” on October 15^th to recognize October as “Prayer Month.” House Resolution 922 is scheduled for a vote today. These are not “noncontroversial” resolutions; they are divisive and should not be put up for a vote by House leadership. You must stop the House of Representatives, which is charged with representing all citizens, from being used for gratuitous pandering to a select religious constituency.

The “Prayer Month” resolution is part of a continuing pattern of inappropriate promotion of religion by House members. We understand that not one, but two prayers were offered this morning to open the session, one of which was a sectarian prayer referencing Jesus. (Enclosed is a copy of our April 4, 2012 letter of complaint over this unconstitutional practice.) Earlier this year, the House adopted HR 609 designating May 3, 2012 as the “National Day of Prayer” in Pennsylvania. (Enclosed is our letter of complaint over that violation.) Infamously, the House declared the entire year of 2012 as the “Year of the Bible” in Pennsylvania, and had the temerity to direct citizens to “study and apply the teachings of the holy scriptures.” (Enclosed is FFRF’s letter.)

Just this month, United States District Judge Christopher Conner, in deciding a lawsuit brought by FFRF, chastised the House over its declaration of the “Year of the Bible:”

The court is compelled to shine a clear, on this resolution because it pushes the Establishment Clause envelope behind the safety glass of legislative immunity. That it passed unanimously is even more alarming. This judicial rebuke of the resolution is not intended to impugn the religious beliefs of any citizen. To the contrary, the court's disapprobation is directed to the blatant use of legislative resources in contravention of the spirit — if not the letter — of the Establishment Clause. At a time when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania faces massive public policy challenges, these resources would be far better utilized in meaningful legislative efforts for the benefit all of the citizens of the Commonwealth, regardless of their religious beliefs. 

FFRF v. Saccone, No. 1:12-cv-00536-CCC (M.D. Pa. Order Oct. 1, 2012).

When will House leadership put a stop to representatives’ misuse of House sessions as vehicles to proselytize citizens? They have gone overboard. Legislators have now encouraged citizens to engage in religious rituals for a day, a month, and even a year.

The irony in the opening statement of HR 922 should not be lost on citizens. It states: “The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania holds that all men have the right to worship according to the dictates of their consciences and no human authority can control or interfere with this right.” This recitation of Art. 1, Sec. 3 of the Pennsylvania Constitution is being violated in the remainder of the very same resolution. The resolution calls on citizens to engage in a religious ritual: prayer. This grandstanding resolution says, “To millions of people across the world, prayer is recognized as the most important utterance for the benefit of humankind.” The resolution further states that “Prayer Month is a time to ask for healing for ourselves and the nation.”

Whether to pray, whether to believe in a god who answers prayer, is an intensely precious and personal decision protected under the Pennsylvania Constitution and our First Amendment as a paramount matter of conscience. H.R. 922 is a rebuke to the legacy of William Penn, who was one of the earliest champions of freedom of conscience.

A declared state month of prayer is far beyond the bounds of constitutionally permissible activity. The resolution constitutes government speech that encourages the citizenry to engage in religious activity. This has no secular purpose. The Colorado Court of Appeals said as much when it ruled for FFRF, finding that Colorado Day of Prayer proclamations by the Governor had a religious purpose and endorsed religion. FFRF. v. Hickenlooper, 2012 COA 81 (Colo. Ct. App. 2012). The court said, “A reasonable observer would conclude that these proclamations send the message that those who pray are favored members of [the state] political community, and that those who do not pray do not enjoy that favored status.” Id. ¶ 119.

You can imagine the outrage were the House to issue a resolution asking citizens to refrain from prayer. The government has no authority to urge prayer or urge citizens not to pray. Decisions about prayer and the efficacy of prayer must be left to the individual conscience. The Pennsylvania House has no business telling citizens to pray, much less what to pray for (note the “laundry list” prescribed in the resolution), much less to set aside the entire month for prayer!

This resolution comes at a particularly troubling time. Earlier this month, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe abused his position as State Government Committee Chair to condemn Rep. Babette Josephs for her refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Rep. Josephs stated that she viewed the pledge as a prayer given the insertion of “under god” into it in the 1950’s, when Congress tampered with the previously secular pledge. Rep. Metcalfe reportedly told reporters, “It’s a person’s right not to say the pledge, but I don't believe anybody should be in elected office that holds that position, and I think a majority of Americans wouldn't elect somebody if they held that position." The timing of HR 922 with these comments further signals to citizens that those who are religious are favored and the nonreligious are disfavored.

This resolution comes at a time when PEW has released results of its latest survey into the views of citizens, showing that fully one-fifth of adult Americans now call themselves “nonreligious,” choosing no religion, and about a quarter of young people choose “none of the above” when it comes to faith. Metcalfe’s bigoted remarks are an insult to freedom of conscience and to 20% to 25% of freethinking Pennsylvanians.

Many nonbelievers see the intellectual harm of government-hyped prayer. HR 922 is indicative of that harm. As previously noted, the resolution claims “prayer is recognized as the most important utterance for the benefit of humankind.” On the contrary, our members think nothing fails like prayer. The unanswered prayers could fill the universe and our cemeteries of full of people who prayed to live. The problems we face — and they are major — will not be fixed by human beings saying “We give up; we can’t solve these problems ourselves; it’s up to an imaginary supernatural creature to rescue us.” Problems will only be solved using informed reason, human ingenuity, and resolve. The final clause of the resolution says, “we must also recognize the hunger and devastation of many that have suffered through tragedy.” As nonbelievers, we know that prayer does not cure hunger and devastation, rather, concerted action by caring individuals aids those in need.

HR 922 declaring October as “Prayer Month” is controversial. House leadership should not continue to let such inappropriate resolutions reach the House floor. The resolution excludes many nonreligious citizens in your state and violates federal and state constitutional proscriptions against religious preference. We reiterate our call for the House to get off its knees and get to work. Leave the religious posturing to private citizens and houses of worship, which are free, unlike government officials, to proselytize.

Very truly,

Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor
FFRF Co-Presidents

Help remove the Ten Commandments from the Georgia Capitol

A display of the Ten Commandments recently went up in the Georgia Capitol. We need your help to take it down.

The Decalogue is part of a larger display titled “Foundations of American Law and Government” which includes various historical documents. Needless to say, the Ten Commandments are not “historical.” Georgia’s legislature in July 2012 passed a trouble-making law providing for this display in Georgia’s public buildings.

FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor wrote to Capitol Museum Director Timothy Frilingos on Sept. 13, informing him of the exclusionary nature and proselytizing message of the display and the many historical inaccuracies contained within it. Frilingos responded that same day to say that he was “compelled” to authorize the display by the legislation. Gaylor responded on Oct. 8, pointing out that the legislation merely “authorized” the display, and it remained an unwise decision. FFRF also wrote Governor Nathan Deal.

While the law states that the purpose of the display is “to educate and inform the public about the history and background of American law,” the facts say otherwise. The displays are donated by private groups or individuals, many by Christian churches. The Capitol’s display, donated by an individual, is the popular version sold by Ten Commandments – Georgia, Inc., a group which lists its mission as “To educate Georgians by distributing a copy of the Ten Commandments to every home in the state [and] encouraging the public display of historical documents that inform citizens of our country's biblical heritage.” It lists one of its purposes as “Displaying the Ten Commandments in our homes, churches, businesses and public buildings.”

Rep. Terry England (R-Auburn), who sponsored the bill in Georgia’s legislature, sits on the group’s Trustee Board. The group’s Honorary Board includes Dan Cathy of Chik-Fil-A and Judge Roy Moore, who was removed as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments display from the Alabama Judicial Building, as well as several other right-wing extremists.

The display’s explanation for the inclusion of the Ten Commandments is wildly inaccurate. It claims that the Ten Commandments “profoundly influenced” the Western legal tradition and the Declaration of Independence, neither of which is true. The display as a whole contains other inaccurate claims; for example, the display also includes the current national motto, “In God We Trust,” which can hardly be said to be a foundation of American law or government, since it was adopted in 1956.

TAKE ACTION

Please take a moment to urge Georgia officials to remove the Ten Commandments from the walls of its State Capitol.

CONTACT

Timothy Frilingos
Director, Capitol Museum 
206 State Capitol 
Atlanta, GA 30334 
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Governor Nathan Deal
203 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
Fax: (404) 657-7332
Tel: (404) 656-1776
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SAMPLE WORDING

If you’d like more ammunition, read FFRF’s nontract, “What’s Wrong with the Ten Commandments.” Click here. One sentence is sufficient, your own words are best. But you may wish to copy this paragraph in your correspondence. (If you live in Georgia, personalize your statement and be sure to identify yourself as a Georgia citizen, including your mailing address):

Please remove the Ten Commandments from the State Capitol. It is divisive and historically inaccurate. The Ten Commandments are a religious document, and have no relation to the “Foundations of American Law and Government.” The display unconstitutionally endorses religion and excludes the nearly 1 million Georgians who are non-Christians. They should not be made to feel like outsiders in their Capitol building, the pinnacle of Georgia state government, and the state government should not lend credence to the misinformation and obvious religious agenda of the Ten Commandments display.

MEDIA COVERAGE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Ten Commandments may raise ire at Capitol 

WSB-TV: Ten Commandments posted in Ga. Capitol

Thank Pueblo for stopping government prayer

The Pueblo City Council, Colo., is indefinitely postponing sectarian prayers to open meetings and going to a moment of silence. Thank them for their commitment to the secular Constitution and freedom of conscience.

Freedom From Religion Foundation Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel, a former Pueblo resident, wrote to the Pueblo City Council on Sept. 14 to point out the unconstitutional nature of the prayers given at their meetings. Seidel listened to the prayers led at the 14 most recent meetings, 13 of which were sectarian Christian. One memorable prayer invoked the Christian “Lord” 22 times in 73 seconds — once every 3.3 seconds. In three cases, the scheduled clergy failed to appear and city employees gave prayers instead.

Last night, the council agreed to stop sectarian invocations and substitute a moment of silence. Council President Christopher Kaufman said, “We’re going to be postponing indefinitely the invocation from our sectarian churches. We’ve been monitored by some group out of — I’m not even sure where — and they’re putting the kibosh on us via indirect threat. So until we decide what we’re going to do with that we’re going to be postponing it.”

FFRF’s letter pointed out, “Local government should not be in the business of performing religious rituals, or exhorting all citizens, regardless of beliefs, to participate in a Christian prayer, or even asking citizens to show deference or obeisance to this ritual.”

Prior to the final invocation, Mr. Kaufman almost asked everyone to rise, but corrected himself, “If you’d all — I guess if you choose to, you may rise. If you want to sit, that’s fine as well.

TAKE ACTION

Please take a moment to thank the city council members and urge them to make their indefinite postponement permanent. (They will undoubtedly receive complaints from the religious right, which we need to balance.)

CONTACT

U.S. MAIL
200 S. Main
Pueblo, CO 81003

PHONE OR EMAIL

Mr. Christopher Kaufman
City Council President
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: (719) 545-1700
FAX: (719) 553-2698

City Council Representatives

Ms. Ami Nawrocki
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(719) 680-0730

Ms. Eva Montoya
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(719) 546-9647

Mr. Leroy Garcia
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(719) 568-5996.

Ms. Sandy Daff
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(719) 250-0272

Mr. Steve Nawrocki
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(719) 994-6030

Mr. Chris Nicoll
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(719) 924-5449

SAMPLE WORDING

(One sentence is sufficient, your own words are best. But you may wish to copy this paragraph in your correspondence:)

Thank you for honoring the Constitution by keeping religious ritual out of public meetings.

Calling upon council members and citizens to rise and pray (even silently) is coercive, embarrassing and beyond the scope of secular city government. Council members are free to pray privately or to worship on their own time in their own way. They do not need to worship on taxpayers' time or dime. Nonbelievers and religious minorities should not be made to feel like political outsiders in their own community. Thank you. (Sign name)

PROVOCATIVE QUOTES ABOUT PRAYER

It is best to read the weather forecast before praying for rain. —Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson

Nothing fails like prayer. —Anne Nicol Gaylor (FFRF motto)

Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law. —Thomas Paine, Age of Reason

When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for help of the civil power, ’tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one. —Benjamin Franklin, Works, Vol. VII, p. 506

Pray, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. —Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

MEDIA COVERAGE

The Pueblo Chieftain: "Pueblo City Council choosing silence over opening prayer"

Thank you for your help!

Help banish bible verses from Texas high school’s football games

Ever since the Freedom From Religion Foundation persuaded a Texas high school last week to disallow the practice of having football players run through giant paper posters adorned with bible verses and prayer, the state of Texas has been in a state of hysteria!

Please help FFRF protect its victory ending this outlandish school/religion violation by urging Kountze High School to stand by its decision.

The complaint is bizarre even by Religious Right standards. As the Beaumont Enterprise put it, “For three straight weeks, high school football players in a small southeast Texas town took the field by bolting through large red-and-white banners that hollered the praises of Jesus Christ.” Until FFRF complained, that is.

FFRF Staff Attorney Stephanie Schmitt wrote a Sept. 17 letter to Superintendent Kevin Weldon of the Kountze Independent School District, informing him that the practice of cheerleaders presenting religious banners for football players to run through at games runs afoul of the Constitution. A 2000 Supreme Court decision, involving a Texas case, nixed student-initiated school prayers at sporting events.

Weldon, after consulting school district attorney Tanner Hunt, very properly advised school administrators and student activities sponsors that the bible verse banners would be stopped. Read the reply from the school district here.

Last Thursday, however, the Liberty Institute managed to obtain a 10-day temporary restraining order from the Hardin County, Texas state district court, allowing the banners to remain. FFRF is sure that ultimately courts will uphold the bible ban. School district cheerleaders are acting as representatives of the school, wearing uniforms with the school's name, and are granted an unparalleled forum and access to the field at an official school function in order to promote school spirit, not religious "spirits." As such, their banners have the appearance of school-endorsed speech.

TAKE ACTION

Please phone and/or email Superintendent Weldon to support his wise decision to follow Supreme Court rulings by ending this inappropriate practice. The religious community is up in arms and the school board needs to defend itself against the lawsuit, not capitulate. The district needs to sustain its decision and resist interference from the Liberty Institute. To read more about it, scroll to the end.

If you are a resident of the area or Texas, please identify yourself as such. Include your address and other contact information when appropriate. Please take a moment to draft a short, but strong note of gratitude (or better yet, phone).

CONTACT

Mr. Kevin Weldon, Superintendent
Kountze Independent School District
PO Box 460
Kountze, TX 77625
Phone: (409) 246-3352
Fax: (409) 246-3217
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SAMPLE WORDING

(One sentence is sufficient. Your own words are best. But you may wish to copy this paragraph in your correspondence:) 

I support Kountze ISD’s wise decision to halt unconstitutional bible verse banners at football games. Just as it would be inappropriate for cheerleaders in school uniforms at official school functions to sport banners saying, “Praise Allah!” or quoting Koranic verses, so is it inappropriate for them to misuse the forum the school confers on them and their status representing the school to promote Christianity and bible verses. Those banners confer an appearance of official school endorsement. Your decision shows that the school district respects clear court precedent and the individual rights and freedoms of a diverse community. Thank you. (Sign name)

MEDIA COVERAGE/BACKGROUND

KIII: “Religious banners banned at Kountze football games”

Beaumont Enterprise: “Texas school bars Bible banners at football games”

Thank you for your help! 

Help FFRF tackle UTK football prayer

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking Chancellor Jimmy Cheek of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to end prayers over the loudspeaker at Neyland Stadium before Volunteers football games.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported today that "the administration does not believe there is anything wrong with the long-standing tradition of a pre-kickoff invocation." Vice Chancellor for Communications Margie Nichols said that the university "is still formulating its response" to FFRF's Sept. 13 letter of complaint.

An alumnus wrote FFRF in August that an announcer asks fans to stand for the invocation, which is delivered by a clergy member.

"It is also our information and understanding that the pastors giving the prayers routinely invoke Jesus Christ," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. FFRF cited a decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is binding in Tennessee, that makes clear that sectarian prayer at public universities is unconstitutional. FFRF asks that all prayer be dropped.

UT-Knoxville fans began to question the illegal prayers after FFRF successfully muffled athletic prayer at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga last week.

TAKE ACTION

Please phone Cheek today! Calling Cheek during business hours is most effective and guarantees that your secular point of view will be heard. Tell him that you do not deserve to sit on the bench, football fans are not just Christian. These sectarian prayers violate the law and must be stopped.

If you are a resident of Knoxville and/or Tennessee, please identify yourself as such. Include your address and other contact information when appropriate. Please take a moment to draft a short, but strong note to Cheek (or better yet, phone).

CONTACT

Office of the Chancellor
527 Andy Holt Tower
The University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996
Phone: (865) 974-3265
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fax: (865) 974-4811

SAMPLE WORDING/TALKING POINTS

(One sentence is sufficient, your own words are best. But you may wish to copy this paragraph in your correspondence:)

I urge you to put an end to UT-Knoxville's pre-kickoff invocation. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down sectarian prayers at public universities, so I encourage you to abide by the law and protect the rights of conscience of all students, staff and faculty. Not every UT-Knoxville fan subscribes to the Christian faith, or any religion for that matter. Up to a quarter of young Americans today identify as nonreligious. Football games act as a bridge between the university and the community and it is inappropriate for UT-Knoxville to make its non-Christian fans feel out of place. Follow UT-Chattanooga's wise decision to maintain and foster a diverse campus by ending prayer. Football fans come in all shapes, sizes, colors and religions. Do not leave us on the bench! Thank you. (Sign your name)

MEDIA COVERAGE/BACKGROUND

Knoxville News Sentinel: "UT: Prayer before games not unconstitutional" (Please respond to the poll attached to this story: "Should the University of Tennessee stop its pre-game prayer ritual?")

FFRF's News Release: "FFRF urges end to UT-Knoxville football prayer"

Thank you for your help! 

Tell Illinois schools to stand by Jessica Ahlquist!

Three Illinois public schools are coming under fire because of a decision to invite First Amendment advocate Jessica Ahlquist to speak during their "Constitution Week" festivities. (FFRF'ers can hear and meet Jessica at FFRF's upcoming annual convention in Portland Oct. 12-13, where she will receive the "Freethinker of the Year" Award.)

Ahlquist, 17, still in high school, is scheduled to discuss her successful state-church lawsuit over a prayer banner at her Cranston, R.I., high school. She will speak at York Community High School, Waubonsie Valley High School and Downers Grove North High School this week.

The Illinois Family Institute (IFI), "a non-profit ministry dedicated to upholding and re-affirming marriage, family, life and liberty in Illinois" has issued a mean-spirited call to Illinois citizens to protest Ahlquist's appearances at the schools.

The group argues that "York and Waubonsie Valley high schools sent out permission slips to parents, permission slips that failed to include any information whatsoever about Jessica Ahlquist, the specifics of her lawsuit, or any details regarding the topics she would be addressing or the learning objectives her presentation is intended to fulfill." IFI mainly seems to feel Jessica's atheism is the issue. Very few adults have had the first-hand experience Jessica has had in defending the Establishment Clause and in winning a Federal Court battle. 

A parent contacted a Waubonsie teacher who spoke against the group's suspicions: "The purpose of the optional presentation is so that students may see that the US Constitution, which is the foundational document for our country’s government, is still relevant today."

Help counter the outcry from the religious right, as IFI is encouraging its members to take action by contacting school administration and school board members.

TAKE ACTION

Please call and/or email school officials to show your support for Jessica and their decision to invite her. Students should be aware of what is involved in standing up for their individual freedoms and rights. What Jessica has had to endure should not be taken lightly. Jessica's credentials as a First Amendment litigant/victor are unique and impeccable.

CONTACT

York Community High School
Diana Smith, Principal
Phone: (630) 617-2401
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
AND/OR
Click here to email members of the school board. 

Waubonsie Valley High School
Jason Stipp, Principal
Phone: (630) 375-3310
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
AND/OR
Curt Bradshaw, School Board President
Phone: (630) 717-6916
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

North High School
Scott Kasik, Principal
Phone: (630) 795-8411
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
AND/OR
Click here to contact members of the school board. 

TALKING POINTS

I stand behind your decision to invite Jessica Ahlquist to speak during "Constitution Week." Jessica has every right to share her story with your high school students, including being a victim of bullying (even by her own state representative). It is important students today know that they have a voice and place in our secular government and who better to tell that story than Jessica? Thank you for selecting Jessica as a "Constitution Week" speaker.

Background

IFI: http://illinoisfamily.org/education/constitution-week-at-york-waubonsie-and-downers-grove-north-high-schools/

The Friendly Atheist: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/09/17/illinois-family-institute-lashes-out-against-jessica-ahlquist-for-speaking-about-her-case-in-local-high-schools/

Thank you for your help! 

Help block prayer from UTC football field

The Freedom From Religion Foundation scored a touchdown against football prayer at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga this week.

The pre-game prayer, which typically included a reference to 'Jesus Christ,' was traditionally delivered by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and had been a home game staple since 2010.

FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor initially wrote to UTC Chancellor Roger Brown on May 15, 2012: "While students, athletes, and athletic event attendees may choose to gather privately in prayer, a public university has no place in encouraging or endorsing religious ritual."

After several months of indecision, Brown announced on Sept. 10 that the university would make "the right decision for the university" and offer a moment of silence in lieu of prayer.

Brown told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that "we need to make sure there is never anybody that goes away from our campus, our stadium, our arena or classroom or work, that feels like they have been excluded or feel uncomfortable in any way."

TAKE ACTION

Please phone Brown today and tell him that you support UTC's wise decision to end pre-game prayer. The religious community is making a loud fuss. To read more about it or watch TV coverage, scroll to the end. In order to sustain this recent victory, Brown's choice must be reaffirmed. Help FFRF keep religion out off the playing field by sharing some secular 'praise' with UTC.

If you are a resident of Chattanooga and/or Tennessee, please identify yourself as such. Include your address and other contact information when appropriate. Please take a moment to draft a short, but strong note of gratitude (or better yet, phone).

CONTACT

Office of the Chancellor
Phone: (423) 425-4141
Fax: (423) 756-5559
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  (Please address your email to Deb, the chancellor's administrative specialist. Ask Deb to share your note with the chancellor.)

SAMPLE WORDING

(One sentence is sufficient, your own words are best. But you may wish to copy this paragraph in your correspondence:)

I support UTC's wise decision to end unconstitutional prayer before football games. Not only was this choice in the best interest of all students, faculty and staff, but it shows that the university respects court precedent and the individual rights and freedoms of a diverse campus. I encourage the university to maintain this wise decision by dropping prayer at any other UTC functions. Thank you. (Sign name)

MEDIA COVERAGE/BACKGROUND

Chattanooga Times Free Press: "Diversity leads to UTC moment of silence instead of prayer at football games"

WATE: "Prayer ban at UT-Chattanooga worries UT-Knoxville students"

Thank you for your help! 

Help FFRF sustain Ten Commandments victory in Pennsylvania!

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the Connellsville Area School District to stand firm in its decision to remove a large, unconstitutional Ten Commandments display from Connellsville Junior High School East in Connellsville, Pa.

Pittsburgh-based attorney Marcus Schneider represents FFRF and a concerned district parent. Schneider wrote to superintendent Dan Lujetic on Aug. 29 demanding that the district "permanently remove the Ten Commandments monument from school property" and provide notice of removal to Schneider by Sept. 7 or FFRF would file suit. 

In response to FFRF, the school district's attorney acknowledged that the monument violated the constitution and needed to be removed. The district began covering the monument with garbage bags, and then a piece of plywood, promising to remove the structure as soon as it can be dug out of the ground.

School board president Jon Detwiler told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "My phone is ringing off the hook with people that want to fight this . . . It's not really the worst thing in the world to have our kids reading."

TAKE ACTION

Please phone the administration office (which is the main contact for the superintendent and school board) today, so they hear from people who support their decision to honor the law and protect the personal conscience of students. Please tell them that you support their wise, inclusive decision to remove the Ten Commandments. Since the school board has been receiving numerous negative phone calls from religious citizens, it is time it receive supportive calls from secular folks. Your support is especially important since the school board will be meeting on Wednesday night to discuss discuss the removal of the Ten Commandments monument.

If you are a resident of Connellsville and/or Pennsylvania, please identify yourself as such. Include your address and other contact information when appropriate. If you haven't had a chance to email the council, please take a moment to also draft a short, but strong note of gratitude (in addition to phoning now!).

CONTACT

Dr. Dan Lujetic - Superintendent
Phone: 724-628-3300 EXT 327 (when you phone you'll probably talk to Vicki McWilliams, superintendent/board secretary)
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SAMPLE WORDING

(One sentence is sufficient, your own words are best. But you may wish to copy this paragraph in your correspondence:)

I support the Connellsville Area School District decision to remove the illegal Ten Commandments display outside of Connellsville Junior High School East. School districts have no business telling students which gods to have, how many gods to have, or whether to have any gods at all! Bible edicts have no place in our secular public schools. Thank you. (Sign name)

TALKING POINTS

See FFRF press release and letter for addition information.

Thank you for your help! 

Help remove cross in Santa Clara park!

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging Santa Clara officials to remove a Latin cross from public property.

After many months of indecision, the city council has agreed the cross is not on constitutional footing. The city council has announced it will discuss the future of the cross at its Tuesday, Aug. 21 meeting. A July 24 letter from a city attorney laid out the options: "Dismantling the cross, moving the cross, transferring the land on which the cross sits, and changing the name of the park."

The large granite Latin cross in question is displayed at Memorial Cross Park, a publicly-owned area at the intersection of Martin Avenue and De La Cruz Boulevard in Santa Clara, Calif.

The cross was donated to the city by the Lions Club to commemorate the location of a Catholic Mission that has since been removed.

FFRF Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert first complained about this Establishment Clause violation on April 5, 2012: "This display impermissibly demonstrates not only the city of Santa Clara's preference for religion over non-religion but also Christianity, specifically Catholicism, over all other faiths." After no reply, a follow-up letter was sent.

A deputy city attorney finally told Markert on April 19 that the city was "awaiting the outcome" of the Trunk v. City of San Diego petition (a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down a display of a cross as part of a war memorial atop Mt. Soledad in La Jolla, Calif.).

Markert pointed out in a July 2 letter that "the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari in Trunk v. San Diego," meaning the appeals court decision against crosses on public land holds firm. Markert said the action reaffirmed that the "sectarian symbol" in Santa Clara carries an "inherently religious message."  

TAKE ACTION!

1. Please phone and/or email the city council before the Tuesday, Aug. 21 meeting. The agenda description, "City staff hopes to obtain direction from the council on how best to resolve this issue," means that officials need to hear from you. Tell them that Supreme Court precedent dictates that this is a government endorsement of religion and the best solution is to relocate the cross to private property and change the name of Memorial Cross Park. If you live in Santa Clara be sure to so identify yourself, but anyone can help influence the discussion. As a citizen and taxpayer you do not deserve to be left out of the decision.

2. Attend the city council meeting if possible. Citizen participation is vital. Click here to view the procedure on addressing the council during council meetings. There is apt to be emotional testimony in favor of "saving the cross" and secularists need to speak up.

The meeting will be held at city hall in the Council Chambers, 1500 Warburton Avenue at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 21.

CONTACT

Mayor Jamie Matthews and City Council
1500 Warburton Avenue
Santa Clara, CA 95050
Phone: (408) 615-2250
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Click here to contact individual council members.

CHIME IN

You may also choose to write to your local paper. Feel free to chime in on current news stories, offering your secular point of view.

TALKING POINTS

(Feel free to copy and paste the statement below.)

I urge the city to uphold the Constitution and remove the Latin cross at Memorial Cross Park and change the park name to a suitable alternative. A solution would be to offer the religious symbol to a private entity for display on private property. Transferring publicly-owned land in order to "save the cross" as the focus of a city park does not solve the problem and will only help to further entangle city government with sectarian principles. Please honor our secular roots and end this state-church violation.

Thank you for your help!

Urgent: One more day to help indonesian man

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking you to stand up for Indonesian civil servant Alexander Aan. Aan was recently given a 30-month prison sentence for saying what FFRF'ers and 750 million people today believe: "There is no God." FFRF sent a formal letter of complaint in June to the President of Indonesia and the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia. Many of you contacted these officials via FFRF's Action Alert, and we appreciate your help and support.

Now there's another push to have the Obama Administration pressure the Indonesian government to free Aan through a White House "We the People" petition. The petition urges the Obama Administration to: "Call upon the Indonesian government to respect the freedom and dignity of all its citizens and to free Alexander Aan." The petition must garner 17,000 signatures by August 16 in order to reach 25,000, ensuring the administration's review.

TAKE ACTION!

Please take a moment to sign the petition to protest Indonesia's first imprisonment of a citizen for the "crime" of being an atheist. Follow the instructions below to voice your opposition. 

INSTRUCTIONS: SIGNING THE PETITION

(This petition site requires a little patience.)

1. Open your web browser and 'copy' and 'paste' the link into the address bar: http://wh.gov/cmUt. 

2. If you don't already have a 'We the People' account at the White House website, follow the steps to create a username and password. (Note: The White House prompt on passwords specifically encourages at least six characters, a few numbers, and upper and lower case letters.)

3. Either choose 'sign in' or 'create an account'

4. Once you're logged in, click the green 'sign the petition' button

5. Click 'promote the peition' and share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you for your help!

Help three young women avoid religious ‘burning’

Please speak out now against the prosecution and possible imprisonment of three young Russian women for singing a protest song in a Russian Orthodox Church to denounce its corruption and ties to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The women are members of the feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot and were arrested after a Feb. 21, 2012, performance which featured the song, "Virgin Mary, Redeem Us of Putin." Each group member was dressed in a vibrant uniform with colored tights and a balaclava covering her face. The band took the stage at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow.

All three women, who have since apologized, told the Huffington Post that the goal of the performance "was to express their resentment over the church's open support for Putin's rule." The women, who have been in jail since March appear to be facing a three-year prison sentence. 

Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samusevich have been charged with "hooliganism," although The New York Times reported that recently the women have been accused of "committing 'moral harm,' engaging in 'Satanism' and 'inciting religious hatred.' " It was announced Wednesday that a verdict will be issued on Friday, Aug. 17. Hooliganism charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years. Two of the women have young children.

Feminism is considered a "sin" by the Russian Orthodox Church and religious leaders, known as "patriarchs," who think the women should be punished for "desecrating the Russian Orthodox Church." They have issued forceful statements, such as Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers leader Leonid Simonovich-Nikshich, who said "We’re going to rip them up and burn them. . . Like in the Middle Ages."

It is urgent that you contact the key officials listed below to protest the charges and sentence the women face.

Watch a video of Pussy Riot's performance here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALS92big4TY.

TAKE ACTION!

Please email and/or write to the officials below. Asking for the immediate release of Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samusevich.

CONTACT

USA: Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak
Embassy of the Russian Federation
2650 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
Phone: (202) 298-5700
Fax: (202) 298-5735
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Prosecutor of the Moscow’s Central Administrative District
Denis Gennadievich Popov
Prosecutor’s Office of the Central
Administrative District
ul. L.Tolstogo, 8, str.1
Moscow 119021
Russian Federation
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Prosecutor General
Yurii Yakovlevich Chaika
ul. B.Dimitrovka, d. 15a
Moscow, GSP-3, 107048
Russian Federation
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TALKING POINTS

(Feel free to copy and paste the statement below.)

Free the brave young women musicians — Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samusevich — who are essentially facing imprisonment for a victimless crime — blasphemy. The band members should never have been charged, jailed or put on trial. Mean-spirited Russian clerics should not be permitted to prevail in persecuting women for speaking out.

Thank you for your help! 

Oppose Tucson giving Catholic Church $1.1 M to restore building it neglected for 10 year

In bustling downtown Tucson — between Ochoa and Corral Streets, and Stone and Church Avenues, near the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Children’s Museum, and the Convention Center — is a Catholic enclave owned by the Diocese of Tucson. The block includes the Cathedral of St. Augustine and, at the northwest corner, the Marist building, “a structure about which the diocese obviously does not care a whit, having let it sink into terrible disrepair since vacating the premises in 2002.” [See FFRF’s August 7 letter for citations and attributions]

On July 10, 2012, the City of Tucson voted 5-2 to use $1.1 million of taxpayer funds to restore the building owned by the Catholic Church. Please show your support and ask the Tucson City Council to re-consider its misguided vote.

At 52 feet, the Marist building is the tallest unfired adobe building in Arizona. Built in 1915, the mud brick structure was a schoolhouse until 1968 and then served as church administration offices until 2002, when the church abandoned the building to the elements. The Diocese of Tucson still owns the building but it is now in serious disrepair and in danger of collapsing. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 2011.

One thing is clear: If they Diocese wanted to pay to fix this building, it could. It chose not to. “The Catholic Church has neglected it for a decade. If they were serious about this building, they could cancel one of their pro-life ad blitzes and pay for it in a heartbeat,” said Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik, after the council voted to approve the funds. (Thank Steve for voting against the proposal.)

The Diocese’s 2011 assets totaled $15.5 million with $3.3 million in property. It appears that the Diocese can make the repairs, despite the financial hit it took after “100 credible allegations of sexual misconduct with minors made against 26 priests who served in the Diocese over that period of time.” 

As of 2003, nine years ago, the Diocese “had paid out $2.7 million related to abuse costs, including the settlement of 14 lawsuits for $1.8 million.” Is this really an organization the Tucson City Council should be funding?

The scandals forced the church into bankruptcy, but according to the National Catholic Register it is now thriving:

Immediately following the diocese’s emergence from bankruptcy, donations to the Annual Catholic Appeal for the Tucson Diocese soared, increasing to $13.3 million, $450,000 more than budgeted, between 2004 and 2008. The separate “Our Faith, Our Hope, Our Future” campaign, intended to restore diocesan funding for Catholic Community Services, Catholic schools, clergy retirement and religious-education programs, attracted 17,209 donors. Their contributions surpassed the $28 million goal, with combined pledges exceeding $40 million. . . . Annual appeal income has remained over $3 million, higher than any year prior to the Chapter 11 filing.

One would think that with the extra millions in donations the diocese could pay to fix its own building. But while the donations were rolling in to the Diocese, the City has already doled out over $100,000 funds to fix the Marist building:

• In 2005, the City paid $59,000 to repair damage to the roof. This damage, supposedly caused by a storm, was more likely due to three years of neglect and inoccupation.
• In 2006, the Tucson Ward 1 Council Office funded at $24,00 structural analysis.
• In 2009, the City paid $8,400 for emergency roof repairs.
• In 2010, the City paid another $9,800 for emergency roof repairs.

The Diocese is perfectly willing to spend money to restore its other property. Last year, the church spent $75,000 to restore a crucifix. The city estimates that the Marist building can be restored for $1.1 million. Ironically, the Diocese just used $1.1 million raised in the “Treasures of the Heart campaign” to restore St. Augustine Cathedral — situated next door to the Marist building.

But the message the Council has repeatedly communicated to the Diocese and that the Council reinforced on July 10 is that churches everywhere will be rewarded if they neglect their duties as landowners and community members and fail to maintain their historic buildings. Religious neglect and specifically Catholic neglect has caused serious injury to many communities, including Tucson. Now the Tucson City Council wants to reward that neglect: Urge them to change their minds.

As Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik pointed out, the money could be used for far better purposes like “housing rehabilitation, rental assistance or lead-paint abatement.” Kozachik continued, “We have a waiting list of people waiting for that type of assistance right now.”

Tell the Tucson City Council to stop rewarding rich churches for neglect and to start helping those who really need it.

TAKE ACTION

Email, call, or fax the Tucson City Council or write a letter to the editor of one of the publications listed below. 

Mayor: 
Jonathan Rothschild
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Phone: (520) 791-4201
FAX: (520) 791-5348
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mayor-Jonathan-Rothschild/155850181182871

Council Members: 

Ms. Regina Romero – Ward One
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Phone: (520) 791-4040
FAX: (520) 791-5393
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tucson.romero

Ms. Karin Uhlich – Ward Three
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Phone: (520) 791-4711
FAX: (520) 791-5391
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karin-Uhlich/164893000165

Ms. Shirley Scott – Ward Four
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Phone: (520) 791-3199
FAX: (520) 791-4717

Mr. Richard Fimbres – Ward Five
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Phone: (520) 791-4231
FAX: (520) 791-3188
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/richard.g.fimbres?sk=info

Thank these two council members for voting the right way, particularly Steve Kozachik who opposed this project for all the right reasons.

Mr. Steve Kozachik – Ward Six
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Phone: (520) 791-4601
Fax: (520) 791-3211

Mr. Paul Cunningham – Ward Two
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Phone: (520) 791-4687
FAX: (520) 791-5380
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VotePaulCunningham

Write a letter to the editor

Arizona Republic (AZCentral.com)
Send a letter to the editor using their online form. Letters may also be faxed to (602) 444-8933.

Letters can be sent via U.S. Mail to:
Letters to the Editor
The Arizona Republic
P.O. Box 1950, Phoenix, AZ 85001

Tucson Weekly
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
P.O. Box 27087
Tucson, Arizona 85726-7087
Phone: (520) 294-1200
Fax: (520) 792-2096

Arizona Daily Independent
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

FFRF tells Augusta Mayor eggs and bacon need a side of toast, not prayer

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is renewing its request that Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver "cease all organization of the monthly Mayor's Prayer Breakfasts."

FFRF first wrote to Copenhaver about these illegal, city-sanctioned prayer breakfasts in June. Yesterday, the group sent a second letter of complaint to city general counsel Andrew Mackenzie.

In response to FFRF's June letter, Copenhaver told a local news channel, "we are not violating any laws so we will continue to move forward." He added, "Being mayor is what I do. My faith is who I am, and I feel very strong about that."

An open records request revealed that Karyn Nixon, executive assistant to the mayor, is primarily responsible for coordinating the event, which includes selecting the churches and sending out all the invitations. Nixon also puts together an agenda for the event, instructing pastors that scriptural references be included. The agenda specifically includes scripture readings, an opening prayer and remarks by the hosting pastor.

"Ms. Nixon utilizes her city-issued email account to organize the prayer breakfast. These emails reveal that Ms. Nixon works on the prayer breakfast during normal business hours. City phone lines are also used for participants to RSVP and to field requests for further information on the event," wrote FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert in a July 17 letter.

Aside from one breakfast in 2009 which was held at a Jewish synagogue, all other events have been scheduled exclusively at Christian churches or organizations and almost always include a Christian prayer.

Markert's thorough four-page letter lays out the law, demonstrating why the city organization of the monthly devotionals violates the First Amendment.

FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor called the city's participation in the prayer breakfasts "grossly illegal and inappropriate." She added that the continued practice "certainly has the effect of government endorsement of religion."

Gaylor pointed out that the "patently religious" event alienates nonbelievers in Augusta by turning them into political outsiders.

TAKE ACTION!

Please email and/or phone Copenhaver. Tell him that his office should stop organizing the blatantly Christian events. The city's participation in the prayer breakfasts is not only illegal and unnecessary, but is offensive to local freethinkers. FFRF believes the prayer breakfasts should not be called "Mayor's Prayer Breakfasts," but be clearly identified as privately organized and that the mayor should attend only in his private capacity.

CONTACT

Mayor Deke Copenhaver
530 Greene St.
Room 806
Augusta, GA 30901
Phone: (706) 821-1831
Fax: (706) 821-1835
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CHIME IN

You may also choose to write to your local paper. The religious right has been able to sneak in a few letters to the editor, so let's give them a run for their money. Feel free to chime in on current news stories, offering your secular point of view. 

The Augusta Chronicle
725 Broad Street
Augusta, GA 30901
Phone: 706-724-0851
Click here to submit your letter

Thank you for your help! 

Voice your opposition to Knox County prayer

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging Knox County Commissioners (Tenn.) to drop a resolution that would create written guidelines for "pre-meeting prayer." 

Knox County officials will meet next Monday, July 23 at 1:45 p.m. to make a final decision about the resolution. The county set the prayer issue aside at last month's meeting because it was a last-minute addition. Talk of the prayer resolution arose after two local citizens sued Hamilton County, Tenn., over its illegal prayer.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that Chairman Mike Hammond is looking forward "to the people of Knox County telling us whether they want to pray before meetings."

FFRF Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor wrote to Hammond and the board on July 3, calling for the commission to "discontinue official government prayers during government meetings." They added that the prayers are "nearly always pervasively Christian." On June 25, commissioner Larry Smith prefaced his prayer by saying he would pray from "the Christian perspective." Several other prayers included references to "Jesus," "Our Heavenly Father," and "in the name of your son."

"The constitutional rights of citizens to participate in government meetings, including the commission’s meetings, should not be predicated upon being subjected to Christian-based, or even non-denominational prayer. By hosting prayers, which inevitably show preference for Christianity, the commission is illegally and inappropriately imposing its religious beliefs on the citizens of Knox County who attend these meetings for public business," wrote FFRF.

One of Knox County's very own, commissioner Amy Broyles, is leery of the sectarian prayer: "there are over a dozen unique and separate religions practiced in Knox County and it can be difficult to represent everyone," she told commissioners during the April 23, 2012, meeting.

TAKE ACTION!

Please phone and/or email Hammond now. If you live in Knox County be sure to so identify yourself, but any freethinking individual can help influence the debate. It is your constitutional right to have a secular local government. Please tell Hammond and the rest of the commission that these prayers are inappropriate and unnecessary and exclude Tennesseans who identify as nonreligious (numbering 400,000 adults in the state).

CONTACT

Chairman Mike Hammond
Suite 603
City County Building
Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone: 865-215-2534
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Click here to contact other commissioners, including Amy Broyles who you may wish to thank. 

Thank you for your help!

TALKING POINTS

A sentence or two in your words is sufficient, but feel free to copy and paste the statement below:

To avoid the constitutional concerns and the divisiveness government prayers cause within the community, the solution is simple: discontinue them.

Calling upon commissioners and citizens to rise and pray (even silently) is coercive, embarrassing and beyond the scope of secular county government. Commissioners are free to pray privately or to worship on their own time in their own way. They do not need to worship on taxpayers' time or dime. Nonbelievers and religious minorities should not be made to feel like political outsiders in their own community.

Even the New Testament Jesus warns against public prayer: "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:5-6). See more quotes about prayer at end.

PROVOCATIVE QUOTES ABOUT PRAYER

It is best to read the weather forecast before praying for rain. —Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson

Nothing fails like prayer. —Anne Nicol Gaylor (FFRF motto)

Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law. —Thomas Paine, Age of Reason

When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for help of the civil power, ’tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one. —Benjamin Franklin, Works, Vol. VII, p. 506

Pray, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. —Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

Help FFRF end the Ellwood City saga

The Ellwood City Borough Council (Ellwood City, Pa.) is at it again and we ask you to contact them immediately. On Mon., July 16 at 6 p.m., the Ellwood City Council will vote on a proposal intended to “save” a nativity on government property.

Some council members have proposed a lottery to allow only one display on public property. We need as many FFRF'ers to contact the council as possible to oppose this latest scheme. The council needs to know that the odds for lottery will be heavily in our favor.

Brief Background

You may remember the cross-wielding mob that swarmed Ellwood City last December to prevent the First Amendment from being upheld and the nativity from being removed? There was even a fistfight between a council member and citizen over the nativity removal a few weeks ago.

In December, FFRF sent a letter to Ellwood City protesting an illegal nativity placed for more than 50 years by the city on the lawn of its municipal building. City officials responded that any organization could put up a display, but when FFRF sent our solstice banner, they refused to display it. 

After a few weeks of haggling, the Ellwood City Council agreed to move the nativity to private property. Now that agreement is in jeopardy. The new proposal, set for a vote on Monday, will allow only one display, only during December, and will give preference to locals. This regulation was proposed by the “Nativity Committee,” an official city group dedicated to putting the nativity back on public property.

Problems with the Proposal

There are a number of things wrong with this proposal to bring to the attention of the Ellwood City Council:

1. If Ellwood City goes to a lottery system, atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers will enter the lottery to put up a display of our choosing. You may want to mention what your display will be. This is what happened in Santa Monica, Califronia where the city recently ended December displays in parks after atheists won 18 of the 21 lottery spots. 

2. This is clearly an attempt to renege on their promise to move the nativity to private property. The “Nativity Committee” is quite obviously trying to get the nativity displayed on public property and censor any other speech, especially that of FFRF.

3. Ellwood City cannot escape its history and the statements of its mayor and council members claiming that their only goal is to keep the nativity on public property.

4. Allowing only one display on government property — selective access — does not make the nativity display private speech. Any nativity erected in that spot will still be a government endorsement of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause.

5. Our First Amendment right to free speech does not depend on where we live. Ellwood’s scheme to allow preference for locals is likely unconstitutional.

6. There are more than 20 churches within two miles of the municipal building that host the nativity. Many have offered to display the nativity. 

Take Action Now

URGE THE COUNCIL TO VOTE AGAINST THE LOTTERY PROPOSAL

Please attend the meeting if you can:

Mon., July 16, 2012 at 6 p.m.
525 Lawrence Avenue
Ellwood City, PA 16117

Emails can be routed to the council via the Borough Secretary Linda Pawlowski:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . If you can’t attend the meeting, please call the Ellwood City Council at (724) 758-7777 or at the numbers listed below. If you have Facebook please send them a message on Facebook as well.

Council members who want the Nativity on Public Property: Ask the members listed below to stop trying to violate the Constitution and start supporting it. Council Vice President Judith Dici is probably the swing vote and originally voted to remove the nativity. Kindly ask her to vote against the lottery proposal.

Judith Dici, Vice President (email through Borough Secretary, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Ralph Chiappetta - http://www.facebook.com/ralph.chiappetta.5
George Celli - http://www.facebook.com/george.celli.9
John Todorich - (email through Borough Secretary, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Council members who support FFRF and removal of Nativity: Please thank these members for standing up for the First Amendment and the Constitution. Ask them to continue their support. (Email them through Borough Secretary Linda Pawlowski, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .)

Anthony DeCarbo, President 
Marilyn Mancini
Glenn Jones

Or send a letter to:
Ellwood City Council
525 Lawrence Avenue
Ellwood City, PA 16117
Fax: (724) 758-3091

Letters to the Editor: 
Newcastle News
Letter to Editor e-form: http://www.ncnewsquickclick.com/eforms/letterstoEditor.php

Beaver County Times
Letter to Editor e-form: https://timesonline-dot-com.bloxcms-ny1.com/site/forms/online_services/letter/

Ellwood City Ledger
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you for your help! 

Ask Rhode Island governor to veto unlawful bill

Last week the Rhode Island House of Representatives passed H8143A, a bill sponsored by Woonsocket-area lawmakers that would allow any elected state or municipal official to "identify and designate" a memorial as having "a secular traditional, cultural, or community recognition and/or value."

The bill awaits approval by Gov. Lincoln Chafee, an Independent.

FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor contends that the bill was drafted for a single purpose — to save a display of the Latin cross that is illegally positioned on public property. FFRF first protested a large cross on a memorial to several veterans in front of a fire station in Woonsocket, R.I., in April. The town has been in an uproar ever since. The bill was contrived to "save the cross" in Woonsocket. (View photos of the memorial in FFRF's original letter.) 

Under the bill any Latin cross or other religious symbol can be designated as having a "secular tradition."

"We have no objection to veterans’ memorials. Our objection is to the message of endorsement of Christianity over other religions and over nonreligion. Additionally, the Christian-only memorial sends a message that the government only cares about the deaths of Christian soldiers, not Jewish, other non-Christian, and nonreligious soldiers," wrote Gaylor in a letter to Chafee.

Gaylor added that "these nonadherents include the nearly 175,000 non-Christians in Rhode Island and the 23.4 percent of military personnel who identify as atheist or agnostic or have no religious preference."

Please help! Even if you are not a citizen of Rhode Island, it is important you represent the voice of reason, especially since this case has garnered national attention.

Chafee could sign this bill into law as early as today. We need you to voice your concerns immediately! You may choose to phone and/or email the governor. Tell him that a commission cannot and should not have the power to turn a religious symbol into a secular one. Protect the First Amendment rights of Rhode Islanders by asking Chafee to "kill the bill."

CONTACT

Office of the Governor
82 Smith Street
Providence, RI 02903
Phone: (401) 222-2080
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you for your help!

TAKE ACTION! Protest imprisonment for atheism

Please join the world in condemning yesterday's 30-month prison sentence given to Indonesian civil servant Alexander Aan for saying what FFRF'ers and 750 million people today believe: "There is no God." FFRF's formal letter of complaint below lays out the facts. You may also read more about the case in recent news articles: “Facebook Atheist Jailed in Indonesia” or “Man gets jail for declaring himself an atheist.”

TAKE ACTION!

Contact the President of Indonesia and the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia (emails and contact information follows) today to protest this violation of human conscience — and Indonesia's first imprisonment of a citizen for the "crime" of being an atheist.

Thank you for your help!

June 15, 2012

SENT VIA U.S. MAIL AND EMAIL

Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
President of Indonesia
Jl. Alternatif Cibubur Puri Cikeas Indah No. 2
Desa Nagrag Kec. Gunung PutriKab. Bogor – 16967 Indonesia

Ambassador Scot Marciel ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia
Embassy of the United States to Indonesia
Jl. Merdeka Selatan 4-5
Jakarta 10110, Indonesia
Fax: (62-21) 386-2259

 Re: Overturn Outrageous Miscarriage of Justice in Alexander Aan Sentencing
 

Dear Mr. President and Ambassador:

On behalf of the 18,500 nonreligious members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which works to promote secular government, I am writing to express dismay and outrage over the 30-month sentence and $10,000 fine of Alexander Aan for the victimless crime of blasphemy. It is untenable that the nation of Indonesia essentially has made it a crime to be an atheist. Judge Eka Prasetya Budi Dharma said Aan’s open declaration that he is an atheist is not permitted of a citizen and civil servant, and that the state ideology of Pancasila and the Constitution oblige every citizen to have a religion. Although the blasphemy and “encouraging atheism” charges were technically dropped, Aan was convicted of inciting religious hatred in part merely for posting on Facebook that “God does not exist.” All of our members, not to mention three centuries of leading thinkers since the Enlightenment, would agree with Aan that “God does not exist.” Mr. Aan’s views are also shared by more than 15% of the U.S. adult population, and between 500 million and 750 million persons worldwide who reject the unsupported concept of a supernatural deity. Are we all to be imprisoned? Thought and reason cannot and should not be outlawed.

We respectfully urge you to make it your highest priority to overturn or commute Mr. Aan’s sentence immediately. It is our understanding that Aan is the first person in Indonesia to be sent to prison for espousing atheism. It is essential not only that this sentence be overturned, but that Aan be the last such victim of religious intolerance in Indonesia. Indonesia’s crime against liberty of conscience, rightly being condemned around the world, is an egregious violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is also a stain on Indonesia’s reputation as a modern democracy where Islam is supposedly compatible with human rights. Our organization is formally urging freethinkers and proponents of liberty worldwide to engage in a tourism boycott of Indonesia until Mr. Aan is out of jeopardy, and until the punitive and irrational crackdown on the nonreligious is ended in Indonesia. Who could feel safe as a tourist in a nation that punishes someone simply for exercising the powers of critical thought? The increase in persecutions for blasphemy must be condemned in the strongest terms.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, a foundational document separating religious dogma from state authority: “The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. . . . Reason and free enquiry are the only effectual agents against error.” It is not a crime to speak one’s convictions, much less to speak the truth, that “the emperor has no clothes.”

Only those who realize they have shaky evidence for their beliefs would fall back on the brutality of thought control, police force and imprisonment to punish someone simply for expressing disagreement or skepticism about religious claims. As Bertrand Russell observed: “Dogma demands authority, rather than intelligent thought, as the source of opinion; it requires persecution of heretics and hostility to unbelievers; it asks of its disciples that they should inhibit natural kindliness in favor of systematic hatred.”

The prosecution and imprisonment of Mr. Aan is indeed a cruel and hateful persecution not worthy of the nation of Indonesia. Freedom of conscience is a paramount human right, which must be cherished and protected in every nation.

We urge you both to take on the cause of Alexander Aan so that he is freed, and to ensure that freedom from theocratic persecution prevails in Indonesia.


Very truly


Annie Laurie Gaylor

Ask Colorado governor not to appeal FFRF victory

The Freedom From Religion Foundation needs your help to support our court victory last week, when a three-judge panel of the Colorado State Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in our favor that gubernatorial proclamations of an annual Colorado Day of Prayer are unconstitutional.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force is having a fit over FFRF’s victory, and is targeting the governor with a national campaign urging him to appeal. The task force, housed at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, has launched a “Save the National Day of Prayer” campaign.

The Colorado Court of Appeals prefaced its decision by pointing out, “our decision does not affect anyone’s constitutionally protected right to pray, in public or in private, alone or in groups,” but that religious liberty is “abridged when the State affirmatively sponsors the particular religious practice of prayer.”

These “proclamations send the message that those who pray are favored members of Colorado’s political community, and that those who do not pray do not enjoy that favored status,” wrote Judge Bernard.

For details, read FFRF’s news release, which links to the 75-page ruling.

Judge Bernard noted that “all the proclamations of the Colorado Day of Prayer were issued in response to annual requests from the National Day of Prayer Task Force,” which has an overtly proselytizing and theocratic mission for which it was improperly seeking gubernatorial support.

Won’t you please take a moment to contact the governor and attorney general asking them not to appeal this well-reasoned and correct ruling? Your individual action counts.

CONTACT

(See talking points below)

• Governor John Hickenlooper (a Democrat)
  Email contact form: http://www.colorado.gov/govhdir/requests/opinion.html
  136 State Capitol
  Denver CO 870203-1792
  Phone: (303) 866-2471 Fax: (303) 866-2003 


• Attorney General John Suthers 
  E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  The Office of the Attorney General 
  1525 Sherman St., 7th floor 
  Denver CO 80203
  Main Switchboard (303) 866-4500
  Fax: (303) 866-5691
  - Consumer Complaint Line - in Denver and out of state (303) 866-5189
  - Consumer Complaint Line - Outside of Denver but in Colorado (800) 222-4444

TALKING POINTS

Sample wording (feel free to cut and paste):

“Protect freedom of conscience by keeping religion strictly out of government. Do not appeal the Colorado Court of Appeals’ reasoned ruling against the Colorado Day of Prayer proclamations. Citizens who wish to worship are free to do so, but it oversteps government authority for the governor to exhort citizens to pray, much less telling citizens to set aside an entire day once a year to pray. The Colorado Day of Prayer, principally organized by the exclusionary and divisive National Day of Prayer Task Force, is divisive and unconstitutional.”

Those who would like more background may read on:

Background

FFRF filed this lawsuit in Colorado state court in 2008, when Bill Ritter, Jr., was governor. Gov. John Hickenlooper inherited the case.

The task force makes the untrue claim that federal courts have ruled the National Day of Prayer proclamations “constitutional.” No federal court has ruled that the National Day of Prayer is constitutional. In fact, FFRF won a historic 2010 ruling by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb declaring the federal National Day of Prayer unconstitutional because the government is impermissibly taking sides on religion.

When Obama appealed the ruling, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals unfortunately threw FFRF’s case out, but only on standing (the right to sue). It did not rule on the merits of Judge Crabb’s decision.

The Colorado appeals court affirmed state standing to challenge the Colorado Day of Prayer proclamations, without offering a legal judgment on the National Day of Prayer itself.

For more background on the unconstitutional National Day of Prayer federal law which inspired the Colorado Day of Prayer violation, visit FFRF's National Day of Prayer webpage. 

Read the May 10, 2012 ruling by Colorado Court of Appeals here. 

FFRF: Mayors overstep bounds hosting prayer breakfasts

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is busy this week protesting all kinds of National Day of Prayer-related entanglements between government and religion, including violations occurring in two separate states involving mayoral-arranged prayer breakfasts observing the day of prayer. FFRF, which represents more than 18,000 nonreligious More »

Weigh in on church's lack of financial accountability

FFRF sent a memo to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, weighing in on 17 issues regarding the financial status of churches in our country. We need your help to drive our message home. On Nov. 5, 2007, Grassley and the Senate Committee on Finance More »

An Unholy Alliance: Kathy Byron, the Falwell Empire, and the True Motivations behind HB 462

Infamous Virginia House Bill 462, currently in a Senate committee but expected to pass and be signed into law imminently, forces women to undergo invasive ultrasound imaging prior to an abortion. The bill would essentially require women to have a transvaginal ultrasound — a More »

Tell Brown County Board to work, not pray

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has formally urged the Brown County Board to cease "unnecessary" and "inappropriate" prayer before government meetings. County Board meetings currently open with an overtly Christian prayer that often includes specific references to "Jesus." FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert called attention More »

E-mail/phone Cranston School Committee over Ahlquist case!

Please let the school committee in Cranston, R.I. know that the nation is watching them. Join FFRF (read FFRF's letter here) in urging the committee to do the right thing, and not appeal the Jan. 11 federal appeals court ruling in Jessica Ahlquist's favor. More »

Help Saudi writer escape death!

Saudi Arabian journalist Hamza Kashgari faces conviction for "blasphemy" over a series of religion-themed "Tweets." Kashgari had previously fled to Malaysia to avoid arrest after word broke out about his "blasphemous" Twitter column. He was deported to Saudi Arabia yesterday. According to the New More »

Tell the Airforce to adopt a secular motto

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has taken issue with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office's (USAF-RCO) latest decision to change its Latin motto from "Doing God's Work, with Other People's Money" to "Doing Miracles with Other People's Money." While FFRF applauds the gesture, we More »

Catholic bishops go after women's right to contraception

During church services on the last Sunday in January, Catholic hierarchy read what CBS News called a "blistering letter," assailing the Obama administration for an "assault on religious liberty." (Read a version of the bishops' letter proclaimed in every Catholic Church, urging Catholic congregants More »

FFRF protests misuse of federal, presidential Seals by National Prayer Breakfast backers

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has contacted four federal agencies over what appears to be egregious violations of federal law by publicizers of the National Prayer Breakfast, who are appropriating the Presidential, Congressional and Great Seals of the United States to promote the breakfast. More »

FFRF hails long overdue Alaska Airlines announcement

Statement by Annie Laurie Gaylor FFRF Co-President Today, at long last, Alaska Airlines will cease a much-protested-by-us practice of distributing “prayer cards” to its airline customers. Late last week Alaska Airlines announced it has been providing those cards for “more than 30 years,” but has finally reconsidered. A statement More »

Pennsylvania bible resolution is ‘sinfully’ unconstitutional

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is protesting an unconstitutional resolution naming 2012 the "Year of the Bible," unanimously passed (193-0) in the Pennsylvania General Assembly this week. House Resolution 535 arrogantly exhorts citizens to "study and apply the teachings of the holy scriptures.” What More »

Help sustain Ahlquist victory

Jessica Ahlquist needs your help! The battle over the illegal prayer banner at Cranston West High School is up for discussion tomorrow (Wednesday, Jan. 25) evening at 6 p.m. Humanists of Rhode Island expect over 100 Jessica Ahlquist and Constitution supporters to be present More »

Jessica Ahlquist needs your support!

A few days after Jessica Ahlquist's important victory over an illegal prayer banner, some Rhode Islanders have started to fester over the ruling and attack the teenager personally. Rep. Peter Palumbo D-R.I. called the 16 year old an "evil little thing" in an interview on More »

Support secular franking rule!

Rep. Diane Black R-Tenn. sent an inappropriate, religious message to her Tennessee constituents on Dec. 24. Her letter "Wishing You a Merry Christmas... Even if I'm not supposed to (copied at the end of this page)" began and ended with a personal rant in More »

Help remove illegal creche in Athens, Texas

It has been almost one month since we wrote to Henderson County officials in Athens, Texas, about their illegal nativity scene on courthouse property. The unconstitutional creche still stands in defiance of the law while county officials refuse to hang FFRF's Winter Solstice banner More »

Keep Christ out of Pitman government

FFRF has recently taken issue with a "Keep Christ in Christmas" banner in Pitman, N.J. Borough officials refuse to remove the Knights of Columbus sign that was erected over a public street. The banner stretches across Broadway, near 2nd Ave., and is strung in More »

Thank inclusive Governor

The Freedom From Religion Foundation applauds Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee for designating the Statehouse tree, a "holiday tree." Gov. Chafee contends in an ABC news interview that, "he's just respecting the state's history as a place respectful of all religions." Unlike the recent More »

Help raise FFRF banner

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is perplexed over recent action taken by Ellwood City Mayor Anthony Court. Last December FFRF wrote to Ellwood City asking it to remove a nativity scene from government property. In response, the city on Friday erected its manger scene, More »

Thank President Obama for secular address

President Obama's Thanksgiving Day address was as American as apple pie, but has the Christian Right in a tizzy because he did not utter the word G-O-D. Christians have been up in arms, tweeting comments such as, "God help us!" and "So sad," according More »