The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt to stop his smear campaign against FFRF, the nation's largest association of atheists and agnostics.
As part of an Aug. 5 records request to the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Justice related to FFRF's recently settled suit against the IRS, Pruitt said:
"At the intersection of those two fundamental rights [free speech and free exercise] lies the right of religious organizations to encourage their members to engage in the political process in a manner consistent with the core tenets of their religions. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is unabashed in its desire to destroy that right, and the fact that this organization has now entered into an agreement with the IRS — an agreement that they call 'a victory' for their cause — is alarming."
In FFRF's Aug. 7 letter to Pruitt, Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said: "I write to correct your disparaging and unwarranted mischaracterization of our organization, which works not to 'destroy' the First Amendment but to uphold the law and the Constitution."
"FFRF agreed to voluntary dismissal of our case because recent changes by the IRS have remedied our concerns," Gaylor added. "FFRF is satisfied that the IRS does not at this time have a policy specific to churches of non-enforcement of its anti-electioneering provisions. As you are undoubtedly aware, there is an appropriate blanket ban against any and all 501(c)(3) nonprofits from engaging in political action, specifically such as endorsing political candidates."
Since agreeing to settle the suit July 17, FFRF has encountered a lot of misconceptions about the suit, the settlement and the law, which went into effect in 1954. FFRF is not "targeting" churches, Gaylor said.
"No tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit, church or otherwise, may lawfully engage in partisan, political action. Tax exemption is a privilege, not a right, granted by the government to certain categories of nonprofits in exchange for abiding by certain reasonable rules. Entities that wish to reap that major privilege must earn it, including by a ban on electioneering. Churches of course remain free to endorse any political candidate they want — but if they choose to electioneer, they choose to lose their tax-exempt privileges, just like every other partisan, politicking organization."
Pruitt also made some wildly misleading claims on the issue Aug. 5 on Fox News' "The Kelly File" with guest host Shannon Bream.
Gaylor called Pruitt's claim that FFRF “is unabashed in its desire to destroy [a First Amendment] right" unfortunate, ignorant and possibly slanderous. "Please cease and desist making untrue statements that damage our organization’s reputation and irresponsibly sensationalize and distort the simple facts of this case."
To clarify the issues, FFRF has put together an FAQ, which can be read here.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has taken action against a well-publicized violation of the Civil Rights Act by a restaurant in Winston–Salem, N.C., which is offering a 15% discount to customers “who pray over their meals.”
Mary Haglund, owner of Mary’s Gourmet Diner, has reportedly offered the “Praying in Public” discount for four years. But when a Christian radio station posted an image of a customer’s receipt on its Facebook page, the story went viral.
FFRF Staff Attorney Elizabeth Cavell promptly wrote a letter yesterday (Aug. 4), informing Haglund, daughter of a missionary, that “it is illegal for Mary’s Gourmet Diner to discriminate, or show favoritism, on the basis of religion.”
With more than 21,000 members, including over 500 in North Carolina and an active state chapter, the Triangle Freethought Society, FFRF is the largest national association of freethinkers (atheists and agnostics), which acts as a state/church watchdog.
The federal Civil Rights Act accords all citizens “the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation . . . without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, or national origin.” As a place of “public accommodation,” Mary’s Gourmet Diner may not lawfully offer a discount only to customers who pray.
Even if the practice were inclusive of customers who engaged in prayer to all types of gods (e.g., Allah, Zeus, Satan), the “promotional practice favors religious customers, and denies customers who do not pray and nonbelievers the right to ‘full and equal’ enjoyment of Mary’s Gourmet Diner,” wrote Cavell.
“Any promotions must be available to all customers regardless of religious preference or practice on a non-discriminatory basis.”
To protect the First Amendment rights of all residents of Warren, Mich., regardless of religious or philosophical beliefs or non-beliefs, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a federal lawsuit this morning challenging the city’s ban on an atheist booth in a city hall atrium where the city allows a prayer station.
The atrium has been set up by city officials as a public space that can be reserved by a wide variety of groups and individuals, including civic organizations and Warren residents. But the mayor is not allowing an atheist to use space in the atrium because his belief system “is not a religion.”
Since 2009, the city has allowed a local church group to run a prayer station in which volunteers distribute religious pamphlets, offer to pray with passersby, and discuss their religious beliefs with people who approach the station. The lawsuit filed today does not seek to have the prayer station removed, but instead asks the court to order the city to treat believers and non-believers equally.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Douglas Marshall, a Warren resident whose request to install a “reason station” was rejected by the city. Marshall wishes to set up a station that is similar in size, structure and function to the prayer station – a folding table and chairs with literature on display and available to the public – except that his station will offer information and opportunities for discussion from a non-religious perspective.
“Our Warren member simply wants the same access to the atrium that has been granted to others, including those who operate the prayer station,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “There’s no legally justifiable reason to deny Mr. Marshall his First Amendment rights.”
Said Dan Korobkin, ACLU of Michigan deputy legal director: “Once the government opens public space for use by private groups, it cannot pick and choose who can use the space based on the content of their message or whether public officials agree with that message. For instance, Warren officials would not be permitted to grant access to activists supportive of the mayor and reject the applications of activists who are critical of the mayor. The same logic extends to this matter: the city cannot allow speech supportive of religion and reject speech supportive of atheism.”
“The city has an obligation to serve all members of the community equally, regardless of their faith or their lack of faith,” said Americans United Associate Legal Director Alex J. Luchenitser. “Our laws make it clear that our government can’t adopt a rule book that favors one group over another.”
In April 2014, Marshall submitted an application to city officials to reserve space in the atrium for two days a week. According to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Marshall and other volunteers who operate the reason station would offer to have philosophical discussions with passersby who express an interest in a secular belief system.
Less than two weeks after it was submitted, Marshall’s application, although nearly identical to the application submitted by the prayer station volunteers, was rejected by Warren Mayor James Fouts. In the rejection letter, Mayor Fouts writes:
“To my way of thinking, your group is strictly an anti-religion group intending to deprive all organized religions of their constitutional freedoms or at least discourage the practice of religion. The City of Warren cannot allow this.”
"The government can't simply silence private speakers whenever it dislikes their message,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. "Nobody should be excluded from their own city hall based on what they believe — or don’t believe.”
In addition to Korobkin, Luchenitser, and Mach, Marshall is represented by Ayesha N. Khan of Americans United; Rebecca Markert and Patrick Elliott of the Freedom from Religion Foundation; and Michael J. Steinberg, Kary Moss and William Wertheimer of the ACLU of Michigan.
To read the complaint, click here.
To read the motion for preliminary injunction that was filed along with the complaint, click here.
By Eric Jayne
There’s a lot of excitement in Minneapolis about the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star game coming to town in July, but perhaps an even better (and far more affordable) game will be played four days earlier at the other Minnesota Twin City across the river.
On Friday, July 11, the city of Saint Paul will be unofficially rebranded as “Mister Paul” as it hosts an atheist-themed minor league baseball game. The Saint Paul Saints minor league team will change its name to the secular-friendly Mister Paul Aints for the third year in a row in what is being billed as a “Night of Unbelievable Fun: The Third Strike.” It’s sponsored by the Minnesota Atheists and Freedom from Religion Foundation.
After losing the first two years, the Mr. Paul Aints will be going for their first win when they face the Kansas City T-Bones. There will be pregame tailgating, postgame fireworks, atheist-themed antics and even atheist-themed jerseys that will be worn by the home team players.
The specially designed jerseys (featuring a big red “A”) will be auctioned off during the game. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Family Place shelter, which serves area families without permanent housing. The front office staff will also cover the “S” in the Saints signage and hang banners promoting Minnesota Atheists and FFRF throughout Midway Stadium.
Some of the atheist “antics” are still being developed for this year’s game, but I know for certain that fans can expect an even louder and more skeptical “Doubting Thomas” in July. That very same character was quickly ejected last year after he demanded more evidence from the umpire after an inning-ending call.
At a time when athletes continue to publicly invoke their religious beliefs, and with the relatively recent injection of “God Bless America” replacing “buy me some peanuts and Crackerjacks” during MLB’s seventh-inning stretch, a brief introduction to this baseball team boldly choosing to partner with organized atheism might be in order.
Partly owned by comedian/actor Bill Murray, the Saints have gained national attention for their promotions and for the theatrics during the game. One of my favorite promotions was the Michael Vick dog chew toy that was given away during the NFL quarterback’s federal investigation for his involvement in a dog fighting ring.
Besides topical humor, there’s genuine tolerance and an open attitude within the Saints organization that falls directly in line with freethinking values. Mike Veeck, another part owner of the Saints, was heavily influential in the team’s signing of the first woman to play in minor league professional baseball.
In 1997, 50 years after Veeck’s father (Bill Veeck) helped bring racial integration to the American League by signing Larry Doby to the Cleveland Indians, Ila Borders made her first appearance with the Saints as a relief pitcher. Although she only played a few games with the Saints, she found success with two other teams in the league before retiring.
I refuse to make up some corny baseball metaphor about atheism, but I will say that the combo will be unbelievably fun. The tailgating will start at 4 p.m. in the stadium parking lot. The first pitch will be at 7 p.m. If you’re interested in winning the opportunity to toss out the first ceremonial pitch from the pitcher’s mound, visit MinnesotaAtheists.org/FirstPitch/.
Game tickets are available at SaintsGroups.com/. After you get through the Captcha screen you’ll need to enter the group password “Atheists” with an uppercase A. You might want to consider staying in town the next day and join other friendly heathens for a regional, one-day conference in downtown Saint Paul on Saturday, July 12.
Speakers include Susan Jacoby, Debbie Goddard, PZ Myers, Rebecca “Skepchick” Watson and others. For more details about the baseball game and conference, visit MinnesotaAtheists.org/conference/.
FFRF member Eric Jayne is president of Minnesota Atheists.
Name: Olivia Mote.
Where and when I was born: Indiana (the Land of Casseroles), 1986.
Family: Two lovely, doting parents and two equally lovely siblings.
Education: DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind., B.A., religious studies and political science; Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, M.A., comparative religion; University of Wisconsin-Madison, J.D. candidate.
My religious upbringing was: United Methodist.
How I came to work as an FFRF legal intern: I learned about FFRF at a law school event, found the organization’s mission compelling, attended its fall convention, sent an “I’d like to participate” email — and here I am.
What I do here: Draft/edit letters for staff attorneys and absorb as much First Amendment “stuff” as possible. I also try not to upset the copy machine.
What I like best about it: Even though I’m still learning the ropes, I feel like the projects I work on here truly matter. I’m also learning a lot about advocacy, and from a different perspective than I get in class.
Something funny that’s happened at work: Every day has its entertaining moments!
My legal interests are: Constitutional law, state/church separation, business and nonprofits, education policy, comparative law and probably other areas to be determined.
My legal heroes are: Attorneys who think empathy is important in the practice of law.
These three words sum me up: Enthusiastic, curious, freckled.
Things I like: School (still!), cooking, making lists of all the places I want to eat in Madison, playing outdoors, my fluffy dog Ruby (her name’s a tribute to the Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday”), NPR (especially “The Diane Rehm Show”).
Things I smite: Meanness.
My loftiest goal: I’m not good at picking favorites. One of them — graduate from law school with (some kind of) honors.
Name: Arthur J. Naebig Jr.
Born: 1937, Chicago, Ill.
Currently living in: La Valle, Wis. [about 25 miles west of Wisconsin Dells]. I moved here for the bicycle trails.
Education: Sacred Heart Grammar School, Chicago Vocational High School, Woodrow Wilson Jr. College, Chicago Teachers College (B. Ed.).
Occupation: Retired from teaching automotive technology for 21 years at Kennedy-King College in Chicago.
How I got where I am today: Thanks to a free college education available to residents of Chicago back when corporations and the rich actually paid taxes.
Where I’m headed: Who knows?
Person in history I admire: Ben Franklin, a genius who knew how to enjoy life.
A quotation I like: “When 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
A few of my favorite things: Science, the natural world, good food.
These are not: Fast food, climate change deniers, religion and other kinds of scams.
My doubts about religion started: At age 8 or 9 when the nuns were telling us outrageous things we were supposed to believe.
Before I die: I hope the Fountain of Youth will finally be discovered.
Ways I promote freethought: I write letters to newspapers to refute lies and misinformation in letters they have printed from other readers — usually, but not always, of a religious nature.
I wish you’d have asked me: “What would you tell young people?” Don’t believe anything you’re told unless you have checked it out for yourself. Don’t be afraid to call bullshit what it is.
This is a letter to FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel that the local complainant agreed to share (with identifying information removed to preserve anonymity) after FFRF legal staff successfully resolved several state/church violations. A teacher was disciplined and the school adopted a policy requiring staff to sign an acknowledgment that they must remain neutral toward religion at work.
FFRF really relies on its members and supportive nonmembers to keep us in the loop about potential violations.
Dear Mr. Seidel:
You can’t imagine how excited and relieved I am to read your email! I don’t think I can truly express it in words, but I’m going to try.
Being one ordinary parent at a small school in a conservative state, I didn’t have much hope initially that your group would take on our cause. To my knowledge, this is the very first time in [this school’s] history that a staff member has been disciplined for foisting religious beliefs on students. You are correct that victory is the only word that fits!
This victory is one that I hope will send a message loud and clear — to those on staff and in our parent community who feel they have tacit permission to violate the rights of others because they suffer no consequences for doing so — that [the school] will not tolerate the violation of the law and the rights of students.
I am happy to report that I attended a school music program on Tuesday night held in [the auditorium now owned by a church], and I saw that it was prepared in the manner it should have been prepared all along. All religious images were covered, all religious signs and literature were out of sight, and for the first time I felt that the venue was a neutral space that showed respect for all parents and students in attendance. This is huge!
The progress shown in that area, and the fact that [the teacher] will be held accountable and disciplined for his actions, speaks volumes to parents who have become discouraged and simply numb to the prevailing culture at [the school]. Our school community has lost many families who have given up on seeing any change or who were ultimately worn down from a continual battle that got them nowhere ([my friend and her] family among them).
I hope what you have accomplished on our behalf will stop other good families from walking out the door. When issues are addressed swiftly and decisively, parents can feel confident that their concerns will be heard and the rights of their children respected.
This whole issue forced me to become more outspoken and more involved than I ever planned or wanted to be at my kids’ school. It forced me to fight against the urge to be a “pleaser” and avoid making waves. It illustrated to me that avoiding conflict at the expense of doing the right thing is not a strategy I can accept.
I have long been resigned to “going down swinging” for this cause. You can’t imagine how good it feels to experience a win for a change. Although the words are inadequate, on behalf of many other parents who shared my concern, we give you our most sincere thanks. You are awesome!
Best regards,
[Satisfied complainant]
Peggy Porter Koenig, friend of FFRF, writes: “While I was growing up, this statue, which we referred to as ‘Jesus on the Ball,’ was smack dab in the middle of a public park [in Marshfield, Wis.]. Then FFRF got him his own private park. Thank goodness for the Freedom From Religion Foundation.”
FFRF and the late Clarence Reinders of Marshfield sued in 1998 over the display with its “Christ Guide Us On Our Way” wording and prevailed nearly three years later when a federal appeals court ordered U.S. District Judge John Shabaz to oversee erection of a wall or fence with a prominent disclaimer in the park.
Shabaz initially dismissed FFRF’s suit after the city sold a parcel in the park to a group formed to save the statue. The appeals court ruled Feb. 4, 2000, that the sale didn’t remedy the constitutional violation.
The Catholic Knights of Columbus, a men’s group renowned for trying to turn America into a theocracy, had donated the statue to the city in 1959. Losing the suit cost the city about $60,000 in legal fees and fencing and sign costs.
Reinders, an FFRF Life Member who died in 2012, wrote at the time that leaving “the religious idol” in the park and fencing it off was the best outcome, though he was initially disappointed it was allowed to stay. “Whenever anyone looks at the idol in its newly imprisoned setting, they will see the fruits of our labors in defense of the First Amendment. With the fence and disclaimer signs, we have left our freethought mark of state/church separation for posterity.”
Goto ffrf.org/legal for more on FFRF’s litigation and to ffrf.org/legal/other-legal-successes for other legal victories.
FFRF recently received a $17,000 bequest for its legal work from the Reinders’ estate. Clarence lives!
FFRF placed a patriotic red-white-and-blue secular display to counter an enormous Catholic Easter display at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago in April.
Two colorful 8-foot banners on a 12-foot structure promoting the secular views of founding fathers were placed with the help of the FFRF Metropolitan Chicago chapter and three FFRF staff attorneys — Patrick Elliott, Andrew Seidel and Sam Grover. The trio drove to Chicago from Madison, Wis., to install the display with chapter help on a wooden structure they built for the back-to-back banners.
One banner reads: “In Reason We Trust” and pictured Thomas Jefferson, displaying his famous advice to a nephew, “Question with boldness even the existence of a god.” The other side proclaimed, “Keep State & Religion Separate,” and pictured President John Adams, who signed the Treaty of Tripoli, which assured “. . . the government of the United States is not in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”
The display countered religious displays and evangelism in Daley Plaza by the Catholic Thomas More Society, which has evangelized in the plaza every Easter for several years. The group’s aim, through its “Divine Mercy Project,” is to seek the “conversion of Chicago, America and the Whole World.”
Rather than place such displays on church grounds, the society explicitly seeks to take over public property for its purposes, claiming that at Daley Plaza it encounters “militants, feminists, Satanists, radical Muslims, just about everybody.”
The society placed a 10-foot-tall painting of Jesus that it claims was miraculously inspired, with the statement “Jesus, I trust in you,” as well as a 14-foot cross. In past years, supporters have also held 24-hour prayer vigils, distributed thousands of prayer cards and hosted anti-abortion rallies in front of the Jesus painting.
FFRF additionally had two smaller posters affixed to each side of its display, explaining its purpose, written by Tom Cara, Chicago chapter director: “Not looking to convert? Neither are we,” protesting use of government property to endorse the beliefs of a specific religious group. Another poster questioned the “divine mercy” of the bible, upon which Catholicism is predicated.
FFRF and its Chicago-area chapter in December placed an 8-foot lighted “A” (for atheism and agnosticism) and banner celebrating the “birth of the Bill of Rights” to counter a huge nativity display erected annually for decades.
FFRF thanks Patrick Elliott, who initiated the project, as well as Andrew Seidel and Sam Grover for building the display with Patrick, and Tom Cara and other chapter volunteers for their help in erecting, dismantling and storing the newsmaking displays.
Name: Alexis Palmer. I go by Lexi.
Where and when I was born: Burnsville, Minn., May 1992.
Family: My parents still live in the house that I grew up in back in cold Minnesota. I have a sister, Payton, who is a year younger than I am. She goes to school in a much warmer state, Arizona.
Education: I’m a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (and could not be prouder to be a Badger). I’m completing my legal studies and political science majors.
My religious upbringing was: I grew up as a Lutheran, so working for FFRF has really opened my eyes to an entirely different side of law and different way of helping people.
How I came to work as an FFRF legal intern: Naturally, I was looking for some legal experience, and I became interested in the work that FFRF does.
What I do here: My day-to-day work usually differs depending on the week; generally I assist the staff attorneys with drafting letters of complaint or help research specific issues involving religion.
What I like best about it: Assisting people who turn to this organization as a source of hope when they feel discriminated against. The first day I truly realized the impact of the work that FFRF does was the day a complainant responded to one of my emails thanking me over and over again for the work that we do and the difference that we make for people like him.
My legal interests are: I don’t dream of becoming famous. I just want to become a lawyer so I can help people who can’t help themselves and truly see the difference that I am making for them.
These three words sum me up: Charismatic, compassionate and determined.
Things I like: My favorite thing in the world is my cat, Gucci, who lives with my parents. I am definitely a cat person. I also really love trying new and authentic food. Every member of my family is definitely a “foodie,” and we love to go out and try all types of restaurants.
Things I smite: Shopping of any sort, unless it’s shopping for other people’s gifts. I don’t make decisions very quickly, so shopping is not an easy task for me. Another thing that I smite is the show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” for hopefully obvious reasons.
My loftiest goal: To travel to every country in the world and spend at least a week in each one before I die. I have traveled throughout much of Europe and spent my last spring semester in Spain studying Spanish. The next continent on my list is South America.
I strongly believe that everyone should travel and see the rest of the world!
Name: Christine Eldridge.
Where I live: East Providence, R.I.
Where and when I was born: Woonsocket, R.I., 1969.
Family: My husband, Darryl, and I share our home with a cat, Lola, and two dogs, Isabella and Kirk. I am child-free by choice and love being an auntie to my nieces and nephews.
Education: B.S. in music education, Rhode Island College. Clarinet is my main instrument, and I play with a chamber music ensemble. I also study piano, having resumed lessons two years ago after about a 20-year hiatus, and started playing the ukulele this year.
Occupation: Nonprofit arts administration.
Volunteer work: Humanists of Rhode Island (vice president), Secular Coalition for Rhode Island (co-chair), active in community service as well as secular, social justice, arts advocacy and animal welfare causes.
How I got where I am today: Help and support from family and friends, random luck, various personal choices and hard work.
Where I’m headed: I plan to continue to learn, to help others and to enjoy the journey.
Person in history I admire: Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, for his staunch convictions about and advocacy for freedom of conscience and separation of church and state.
A quotation I like: “I’m an atheist, and that’s it. I believe there’s nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for each other.” (Katharine Hepburn).
“Heresy makes for progress.” (Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner). “We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes.” (Gene Roddenberry). “The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so.” (Robert Ingersoll).
These are a few of my favorite things: “Star Trek” (I’m a costume-wearing, convention-attending, lifelong Trekkie), octopuses (they’re such fascinating animals!), music, reading, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking.
These are not: Cruelty, bigotry, pseudoscience.
My doubts about religion started: I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school. My first doubts came as a child, when I tried to reconcile a loving God with the wrathful being portrayed in the bible, the problem of evil and the concept of hell.
Ways I promote freethought: With the Humanists of Rhode Island and the Secular Coalition for Rhode Island, I am active in working to keep religion out of government and to raise visibility for atheists, humanists and other nonbelievers.
I identify openly as an atheist and a humanist and hope to demonstrate by my words and actions that it is indeed possible to live a life that is ethical, happy and fulfilling without belief in a deity.
Every year, the Freedom From Religion Foundation handles multiple complaints about local government officials inserting themselves into National Day of Prayer events, not as private citizens but in their roles as public employees or appointees.
FFRF, a national state-church watchdog based in Madison, Wis., so far this year has sent letters of complaint to Bulloch County (Statesboro, Ga.); the cities of Mandeville, La.; Guin and Summerdale, Ala.; and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Polk County Public Schools, Bartow, Fla. (event at Lake Wales Senior High); and the cities of Odessa, Texas, and Barron, Wis.
Complaints about Nampa, Idaho, Jeffersonville, Ind., and other locales were pending at press time.
Staff Attorney Sam Grover wrote Mandeville Mayor Donald Villere on April 29 about the rally on the front steps of City Hall, which was prominently displayed on the city’s website under the section titled “Mayor’s Message.”
An April 16 letter from Grover went to Odessa Mayor David Turner and City Manager Richard Morition about the May 1 Mayor’s Prayer Luncheon held annually in conjunction with the NDP. A city press release said tickets for could be bought through the city secretary and listed her phone number at City Hall.
FFRF contacted the previous mayor in 2012 about spending several thousand dollars of tax money on the luncheon and using city staff to coordinate it. Guin promoted its event on the city’s website and Facebook page.
Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel wrote April 30 to Bulloch County Attorney Jeff Atkins, and included a photo of a sign on the courthouse lawn. “It appears that the county is hosting the event since there is no indication of a private sponsor.”
FFRF also filed an open records request for county policies on advertising and putting up displays on government property.
This year’s National Day of Prayer theme was “One Voice, United in Prayer.” The featured bible verse was Romans 15:6: “So that with one mind and one voice, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Secularists and even some Christians have long noted that the day “has been taken over by evangelicals,” as one man put it. The NDP Task Force, based in Colorado Springs, is top-heavy with social conservatives, many of whom are homophobic and anti-choice.
Ohio FFRF members Nancy Dollard and Tom Reke, joined by freethinkers Charles Wright and Andreas Avente, protested the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 1 at the Summit County Courthouse in Akron. The Beacon Journal story said the event marked the end of a marathon reading of the bible that started the previous Sunday. Pastor Mike Radebaugh sang the national anthem and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
The paper added, “Tom Reke from Akron was among local atheists to carry signs on the sidewalk below the courthouse steps. Reke’s two-line sign read: ‘Prayer Never Works/There’s no God.’ ”
Nancy notes that Tom’s god was lower-cased, unlike the newspaper’s. Freethought Today tried to purchase reprint rights to the photo but was told “we will not be able to grant permission to use one of our photos for your publication” by Kimberly Barth, director of photography and graphics.
The Akron Day of Prayer had a “much lower turnout this year,” Nancy said. “Also, we got to talk to some young students who were part of the local Secular Student Alliance chapter.”
So this Easter Week, of course we recognize that there’s a lot of pain and a lot of sin and a lot of tragedy in this world, but we’re also overwhelmed by the grace of an awesome God. We’re reminded how He loves us, so deeply, that He gave his only begotten Son so that we might live through Him.
President Barack Obama, remarks, White House Easter prayer breakfast
whitehouse.gov, 4-14-14
Now I am here in America all these years, and I am terribly disappointed religion is being interfered with. If they want me to go to jail, I will go to jail.
Rabbi Avrohom Cohn, 85, American Board of Ritual Circumcision chairman, on his refusal to stop performing metzitzah b’peh (orally sucking blood from the circumcision wound) despite documented health risks to the boy
Haaretz, 3-30-14
These toys can have a negative effect on children. They can destroy their souls and lead them to the dark side.
Fr. Slawomir Kostrzewa, news story, “Lego is a tool of Satan, warns Polish priest”
The Telegraph, 4-1-14
Calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based.
Provision in a new Saudi Arabian law defining atheism as terrorism
Human Rights Watch, 4-2-14
Fascism, Minnesota style. HF826 is simply another attack on the bible and conservative Christians.
State Rep. Mary Franson, R–Alexandria, debating a bill to toughen bullying laws
WCCO, 4-8-14
[The church] has asserted and continues to assert that trademark law and other intellectual property laws prohibit Jonathan from using the word “Mormon” to promote, market, or otherwise advertise the dating website.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ lawsuit against Jonathan Eller, who owns dateamormon.com
Courthouse News Service, 4-10-14
I ask myself how I can sit at dinner and laugh at my husband’s jokes, when, right at that very same moment, innocent babies are being aborted in droves? I read today that a 5-day-old baby was abducted from her home in Wisconsin, and now I can barely function. I want to remain on my knees permanently in supplication and beg the Lord to reunite her safely with her family.
Question to columnist Mark Shea on how to relax when someone else somewhere is suffering
National Catholic Register, 4-11-14
Activists like Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. used nonviolent methods having nothing to do with guns. Jesus is calling us to take it up a notch to the spiritual world.
Rev. Kenneth V.F. Blanchard, nondenominational Christian pastor and creator of the “Black Man with a Gun” blog and podcast
Human Events, 4-13-14
If my stupidity brings one person to the love of Jesus Christ, then I have served a greater purpose and the consequences are well worth it.
Luke Emory Oyler, 29, charged with defiant trespass for running shirtless around the infield after crashing the pierogi race at a Pittsburgh Pirates-Chicago Cubs baseball game
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4-8-14
I don’t mean that they’re making up she’s pregnant. But what great timing! I mean purely accidental, purely an act of nature, purely just left up to God. And God answered Hillary Clinton’s prayers and she’s going to have the prop of being a new grandma while she runs for president. It just warms the heart, it brings a tear to my eye. It really does.
Newsmax host Steve Malzberg, speculating on Chelsea Clinton’s pregnancy
“The Steve Malzberg Show,” 4-17-14
Why do we freak out? We’re human. We forget about the miracles.
Richard “Stick” Williams, Duke Energy vice president, speaking at the YMCA Community Prayer Breakfast at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C.
Charlotte Observer, 4-24-14
Well, if I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists.
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, speaking at the NRA convention in Indianapolis
CBS News, 4-27-14
As long as they have [a biblical] worldview, then they’ll be a good judge. If they have a secular worldview, where this is all we have here on Earth, then I’m going to be very concerned about how they judge.
Matt Whitaker, GOP U.S. Senate candidate, telling a Family Forum audience in Ankeny, Iowa, he would insist that judicial nominees “be people of faith”
rightwingwatch.org, 4-28-14
The Creator will not hold us guiltless if we turn a deaf ear to the cries of his innocent babies. So come and get me if you must, Mr. President. I will not bow before your wicked regulation.
Rev. James Dobson, calling Barack Obama “the abortion president” at a National Day of Prayer event in the Cannon House Office Building
World Net Daily, 5-1-14
America, as did Israel in its blessing, has been turning away from God, driving him out of its public squares, bringing in idols in his place and calling what is evil good and what is good evil.
Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, speaking at the National Day of Prayer event
World Net Daily, 5-2-14
I believe there are certain qualities that may be worthy of rape. If a woman dresses proactively[sic], gets blackout drunk and is wearing really revealing clothing, then I would say that she is partially responsible for the rape.
Arizona evangelical preacher Dean Saxton, aka Brother Dean Samuel, shouting “Yoga pants are sin” and holding a sign saying “You deserve rape”
The Raw Story, 5-6-14