The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging a Georgia courthouse to stop flying a Christian flag.

A very obviously Christian religious flag with a cross on top is prominently on display next to the judge's bench in a Bryan County courtroom. The flag is a traditional Christian design, reportedly conceptualized by Protestants in the early 20th century. The white in the flag is said to represent the biblical notions of purity, the blue is supposed to stand for baptism in water and the red is meant to symbolize the sacrifice that Jesus made for mankind.

The religious significance of the cross and the flag is indisputable, and FFRF urges that the flag be removed immediately.

"An overwhelming majority of federal courts agree that the Latin cross universally represents the Christian religion, and only the Christian religion," FFRF Staff Attorney Elizabeth Cavell writes to Rebecca Crowe, Bryan County clerk of courts. "And a majority of federal courts have held displays of Latin crosses on public property to be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion." 

The cross and the flag display in the Bryan County courthouses unabashedly creates the perception of government endorsement of Christianity, FFRF asserts. Plus, it sends a message to the nearly 30 percent of non-Christians (including the one-fourth of the population that is religiously unaffiliated) that they are not "favored members of the political community," to quote the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Such a blatant endorsement of religion and Christianity has no place in our secular courtrooms," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "The flag needs to be gotten rid of at once."

It sends a theocratic message of intimidation to non-Christians and a message of favoritism to Christians that contradicts the judicial notion of justice for all.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to the separation of state and church, with almost 24,000 nonreligious members across the country, including more than 400 in Georgia and an Atlanta-area chapter.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation and a regional freethinkers' group are decrying the discriminatory denial of services during their protest against a religious theme park.

On June 30, Five Star Septic and Portable Toilet Rentals agreed to send portable toilets to a July 7 demonstration against the Ark Encounter park put on by the Tri-State Freethinkers, a group made up of nonbelievers from Kentucky, southern Ohio and southern Indiana, the area the firm serves. It agreed to deliver the toilets on the morning of July 7.

The company's office reportedly called Tri-State Freethinkers at 9:13 a.m. that day to get directions to the site. During this conversation, it asked the organization representative whether the portable toilets were for the protest. Upon learning that they were, the office denied service, indicating that this was partially because it did not want its name associated with the atheists' protest.

With such short notice, Tri-State Freethinkers very obviously did not have time to make alternative arrangements. Instead, it had to hastily organize a shuttle caravan to a nearby gas station for the nearly 200 attendees needing to use toilets. This entailed a major time expense for volunteer organizers and individuals needing the ride, as well as financial outlay for gas and mileage. For some individuals, the inconvenience caused by the breach of contract meant missing parts of the protest.

Tri-State Freethinkers provided a lot of water for participants. As the day heated up, those in the open sun by the highway were drinking copious quantities. The denial of convenient toilets produced inevitable discomfort. To those affected, the denial of service felt like a punishment for their views.

It is unlawful for legitimate businesses to discriminate on the basis of religion. In addition, Tri-State Freethinkers relied on the promise of Five Star Septic to deliver a service, and it reneged on that promise because of the protesters' reasonable message.

The nonreligious population in this country is the fastest growing segment by religious identification, with fully 23 percent of Americans identifying as nonreligious. Nationally, about 35 percent of millennials—those born after 1981—are nonreligious. That would be a lot of individuals for Five Star Septic to refuse to serve on discriminatory grounds.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to the separation of state and church, with almost 24,000 nonreligious members across the country, including members in Kentucky who were present at the protest. FFRF Co-President Dan Barker also participated.

Ark Encounter entrepreneur and fundamentalist Christian evangelist Ken Ham may have just bet the farm.

He has announced that the $28 children's admission price to his biblical Noah's ark theme park (dinosaurs included!) will be slashed to $1 for any public school student. He will also waive the $40 adult rate for accompanying teachers.

Ham's latest salvo seems to be in direct response to the Freedom From Religion Foundation's caveat, in a mass mailing to more than 1,000 school districts in Kentucky and nearby states, about the Ark Encounter. FFRF contacted public schools to warn that they should not be organizing trips for students to either Ham's Creationist Museum or the new ark park. Ham has fired off roughly a dozen tweets and penned a blog to denounce the organization. None of them cited a single case law.

FFRF noted in its memo that Ham has plainly stated in a recent letter his motivation for building the ark park. "Our motive is to do the King's business until He comes. And that means preaching the gospel and defending the faith, so that we can reach as many souls as we can," he wrote. Public schools and their administrators have a statutory obligation to protect a captive audience of students from proselytizing hucksters seeking to take advantage of youthful credulity.

Ham's latest move underscores FFRF's message in its letter yesterday to Kentucky Commissioner of Education Stephen L. Pruitt, expressing disappointment with his lackluster memo to Kentucky schools. Pruitt claimed the Kentucky Department of Education isn't responsible for approving specific field trip selections. FFRF reminded Pruitt of a statutory duty to ensure that Kentucky schools and employees abide by all laws.

Ham had previously taken to social media, saying "The [FFRF] have [sic] no right to tell schools what excursions they can and can't do thus violating 1st amendment—that's the schools [sic] decision" and that "public schools can visit [Ark Encounter] for historical/education/recreational reason [sic]."

The ark has been rightly termed a "monument to stupidity." The flood fable teaches both cruelty (creating, then drowning most of the world's inhabitants in a fit of pique) and misinformation. But the absurd tale has been gift-wrapped as a lure for children enticed by the animals.

"Taking public school students to an ark park would be as unconstitutional as taking them to church on a Sunday morning," says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. "In some ways, it is worse because the constitutional issues are compounded by the anti-science, anti-history indoctrination Ham is imposing on visitors."

FFRF will be closely monitoring public schools that are in cahoots with Ham's special brand of snake oil. Our public school children should not be exposed to his fakery.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has convinced a Texas school district to take a harder stance against showing harmful Christian propaganda and anti-evolution movies to students.

In Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches, Texas, two teachers showed their students extremely questionable films. In a ninth grade health class, an instructor screened "God's Not Dead," a movie blatantly Christian and proselytizing in nature. And in a ninth grade science class, another teacher, remarking to his students that he didn't believe in evolution, played "Expelled: Intelligence Not Allowed," an intelligent design propaganda work that the New York Times described as "a conspiracy-theory rant masquerading as investigative inquiry."

FFRF contacted the Central Heights Independent School District in May to alert school officials that the teachers were out of line.

"Intelligent design is a religious belief, not a legitimate scientific theory," Staff Attorney Sam Grover wrote to Central Heights Independent School District Superintendent Bryan Lee. "The district has a duty to ensure that 'subsidized teachers do not inculcate religion' or use their positions of authority to promote a particular religious viewpoint." 

The School District initially replied that the teachers were within their rights to show these movies, especially since they had given their students the right to opt out. 

In its rebuttal letter last month, FFRF stressed that neither of the movies could be justified on any educational grounds and that allowing the students to opt out did not mitigate the situation. It urged Lee to enforce the "hard stance against any 'proselytizing' by teachers in the classroom." 

FFRF's perseverance paid off. Just this week, it received a letter from the Central Heights Independent School District's law firm stating that district staff members will be trained on First Amendment issues to educate them better on the separation of state and church. 

FFRF appreciates the assurance.

"We are glad that the district is going to enforce its policies and stop miseducating its captive audience," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "However, the onus shouldn't be on us to remind school districts about their constitutional obligations."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is dedicated to the separation of state and church, with 24,000 nonreligious members all over the country, including almost 1,000 in Texas.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has warned a Kentucky judge about his refusal to marry a nonreligious couple.

Mandy Heath and her fiancé, Jon, were planning on getting married in Trigg County on July 22 at the courthouse of County Judge Executive Hollis Alexander. Heath arranged with the county clerk to get the marriage license and have Alexander perform the legal formalities in his courtroom. The couple planned a family ceremony for the next day.

Heath requested that the courthouse marriage be secular. After she made those plans with the clerk, Alexander called Heath to inform her that he wouldn't be able to perform the ceremony at the courthouse. When asked why, Alexander apparently responded: "I include God in my ceremonies, and I won't do one without him." He then told the couple, who are not from Kentucky, that they could go locate another officiant.

FFRF emphasizes to Alexander that under the U.S. Constitution, he, as a government official, has an obligation to remain neutral on religious matters.

"The Supreme Court has established that the 'First Amendment mandates governmental neutrality between religion and religion, and between religion and nonreligion,'" Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel writes to Alexander. "Moreover, it has stated, 'the preservation and transmission of religious beliefs and worship is a responsibility and a choice committed to the private sphere.'" 

By refusing to provide secular ceremonies, Trigg County sends a message of religious endorsement. However, according to the Constitution, it is illegal to condition a government benefit on a religious test. By conditioning the receipt of a marriage license from Trigg County on an agreement to have a religious ceremony, the county is violating the rights of nonreligious couples to equal access to government benefits.

Under Kentucky law, marriage may be solemnized by religious figures and government employees and officials, FFRF reminds Alexander. There is no requirement that such ceremonies be religious, since any such requirement would be unconstitutional. As a government employee, Alexander has a constitutional obligation to remain neutral on religious matters while acting in his official capacity and has no right to impose his personal religious beliefs on people seeking to be married.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit dedicated to the separation of state and church, with more than 24,000 members all over the country, including almost 200 and a chapter in Kentucky.

A prayerful Indiana public school coach was given a talking to, following a Freedom From Religion Foundation complaint.

The girls' tennis coach at Bellmont High School in Decatur, Ind., led members of his team and their families in a Christian prayer at the last match of the year.

FFRF pointed out to school officials that it is illegal for public school coaches to guide their teams in prayer.

"The U.S. Supreme Court has continually struck down school-sponsored prayer in public schools," FFRF Legal Fellow Ryan Jayne wrote to North Adams Community Schools Superintendent Brent Lehman. "The coach's conduct is unconstitutional because he endorses and promotes his personal religion when acting in his official capacity as a school district employee. Therefore, he may not lead his team in prayer and he may not organize or advocate for students to pray." 

The school district got the message.

"I have investigated your report of June 16, 2016," Lehman replied in a letter. "The athletic director met with the coach about the allegedly improper behavior. The coach was reminded about rules and he expressed his intent to follow these rules in the future. The athletic director intends to issue a reminder to the entire coaching staff when school resumes this fall about such matters." 

FFRF is pleased at the swift reaction.

"Public school coaches have a responsibility to follow constitutional limitations placed against proselytizing a captive audience of students," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national organization dedicated to the separation of state and church, with nearly 24,000 nonreligious members nationwide, including more than 300 in Indiana.

A Two-Day Celebration for Robert Green Ingersoll
Dinner Party, Wed. Aug 10
Statue Restoration Dedication Thurs. Aug. 11
(Ingersoll Birthday)
Peoria, Illinois

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, with our friends the Robert Green Ingersoll Memorial Committee, Peoria Secular Humanist Society, Center for Inquiry and Freethought Society, cordially invite you to attend the Peoria Park District's public dedication of the restored Robert G. Ingersoll statue:

Thursday, Aug. 11
(anniversary of Ingersoll's birth)
Glen Oak Park
Prospect Road and McClure Avenue
Peoria, Illinois
10:30 AM

FFRF, thanks to many generous donors, took on the fundraising responsibilities to restore this historic 1911 statue of "the Great Agnostic" — the man called "Peoria's most famous citizen." The city plans short speeches and some refreshments Thursday morning.

Plan to meet and mingle with other Ingersoll aficionados by RSVPing to attend a private pre-dedication dinner party, taking place the night before, Wed., Aug. 10:

The Lariat Club
2232 W Glen Ave
Peoria, Illinois 61614
(309)691-4731
6:00 P.M.

Robert Ingersoll, who once wrote, "A good dinner lost is gone forever," was known for his appreciation of good food. This family owned restaurant comes highly recommended by locals and has a private room.

Brief remarks will be given by FFRF Co-Presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor & Dan Barker; Jeff Ingersoll (an Ingersoll descendant) who directs the Robert Green Ingersoll Memorial Committee; Ken Hofbauer, with the Peoria Secular Humanist Society, Tom Flynn, for Center for Inquiry and Margaret Downey, for the Freethought Society.

Entertainment will include Dan Barker at the keyboard putting Ingersoll words to music, and musician Elliott Ingersoll (an Ingersoll descendant).

Individuals will order in person from a choice of 3 entrees and pay the restaurant directly. FFRF will supply complimentary cake to celebrate Ingersoll's 183rd birthday.

RSVP

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please include your name, mailing address, and total number of expected guests. Use subject: Ingersoll dedication. We'll email you dedication and parking details prior to the event. If you prefer, phone FFRF at 1-800-355-4021, 9-5 Central Weekdays to RSVP. 

Because the restaurant needs an advance headcount, please RSVP by Monday, Aug. 1 if possible. (If you're not sure of your plans until after Aug. 1, RSVP no later than Monday, Aug. 8.)

Entrees include baked potato, salad, rolls, iced tea or coffee and a choice of:

Top Sirloin (gluten free), $29.19
Salmon Filet (gluten free), $32.47
Wild Mushroom Ravioli (vegetarian), $23.84
Prices above include 10.5% sales tax and 20% gratuity. You'll pay for your meal directly. 

LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS

A room bloc is being held for Wed., Aug. 10 and Thursday, Aug. 11 at the Peoria Marriott Pere Marquette, 501 Main St., Peoria Illinois 61602, for $129.00 plus tax through at least Wed., Aug. 20, so make plans now. The bloc will be extended as rooms are available after that date. Phone 800.228.9290 and mention "Ingersoll dedication" or use this reservation link.

The park with the statue is about a 35-minute walk from that hotel. 

LOCAL HOTELS

Mark Twain Hotel
225 NE Adams St
Peoria IL 61602
866-430-2692

Peoria Marriott Pere Marquette
501 Main St, 
Peoria, IL 61602
(309) 637-6500

Hampton Inn Peoria at the River Boat Crossing
11 Winners Way
East Peoria IL 61611
309/694-0711

Embassy Suites Hilton
100 Conference Center Drive
East Peoria IL 61611
1-309-694-0200

Click here to view the map. 

Hope to see you there! 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is inviting Midwesterners to a "godless game" on Saturday, July 16. The "St. Paul Saints" will be renamed "Mr. Paul Aints" for the evening at an event that FFRF is co-sponsoring with the Minnesota Atheists for the third consecutive year.

Tickets can be purchased at Saintsgroups.com (password is 2016atheists). The Infield (aka "Infidel") section has sold out, but a few general admission seats are available.

The player jerseys will feature a modified "Aints" team logo, and include the scarlet "A" popularized by Richard Dawkins. The unsaintly jerseys will be autographed by players and auctioned off during the game, with proceeds going to Camp Quest, Minnesota Atheists and FFRF.

FFRF Co-President Dan Barker will be on hand at the game, singing the national anthem to start things off. He will also be speaking before the event at a local library, giving a talk and signing copies of his latest book, "God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction," from 1-2:30 pm at the Rondo Library (461 Dale St N) in town.

"All nonbelievers are hitting a home run with this game," says Barker. "There's nothing quite like it on Wrigley Field."

The first pitch against the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks is scheduled for 7 p.m., but grilling and tailgating will start in the southeast parking lot at 3 p.m. Food and drink will be plentiful.

There will be skeptic-themed antics between innings, such as a "Doubting Thomas, " who will go around the stadium wearing a shepherd's robe vocally doubting things and questioning calls from umpires during the game. Local atheists will have a greeting table by the entrance with some free items, including the popular Get Out of Hell Free cards in the style of the Monopoly board game. FFRF and Minnesota Atheists will have banners strategically displayed at CHS Field.

The motto of Minnesota Atheists is "Positive Atheism in Action," so it is asking fans to give up their "soles" for charity. A team of volunteers designed large wooden crates for fans to donate their gently worn shoes for individuals and families experiencing poverty. All of the shoes collected will be sent directly to the secular global nonprofit Soles4Souls, which will then distribute the shoes to those in need.

It takes a special team to feature an "Atheist Night" game like this, especially since religious belief has such a strong presence in baseball and all other professional sports.

The St. Paul Saints ownership includes Mike Veeck and Bill Murray (yes, that Bill Murray). The Saints have one of the most competitive teams in the American Association league and are expected to make the playoffs again this year.

If people can't make it but would still like to support the only atheist-themed baseball team in the history of professional sports, they can purchase a replica newly designed Mr. Paul Aints T-shirts for $20 (two for $35). Proceeds directly benefit FFRF and Minnesota Atheists. 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a nationwide nonprofit that educates on nontheism and safeguards the constitutional separation between state and church, with nearly 24,000 nonreligious members all over the country, including more than 500 in Minnesota.

 The Freedom From Religion Foundation is objecting to a Delaware county's repeated grants to religious groups for religious purposes.

FFRF wrote the Sussex County Council on Feb. 9 regarding a $10,000 grant to Delmarva Teen Challenge, a religious ministry that purports to help drug addicts by converting them to Christianity. The money paid for a fundraiser for the religious group. The county responded that it would consider FFRF's input for similar grant requests in the future. That's why FFRF is dismayed that the council has continued to fund religious ministries with taxpayer money.

On June 21, the council voted unanimously to award $2,500 from Councilman Samuel Wilson's discretionary grant account to Grace-N-Mercy Ministries, a Christian church in Greenwood, "for youth camp expenses." In its grant application, the ministry stated that the grant would be utilized for expanding its summer youth camp, which "combines the social recreation and team building activities of a traditional summer camp with the faith-based principles of a vacation bible school."

The Vacation Bible School is an overtly religious curriculum aimed at indoctrinating young children in Christianity. Its website states that "after every Bible story, kids will hear how that story ties into God's bigger story—his plan of salvation! Each day kids will learn about Christ's sacrifice for them and be challenged to respond to God's love in real and meaningful ways." The county apparently took no steps to ensure that the $2,500 would be used for entirely secular purposes. Although the Grace-N-Mercy Ministries' grant application plainly stated the religious nature of the camp, the audio recording of the council meeting demonstrates that councilmembers voted on the grant without even discussing the possibility that the funds will be inappropriately used to promote religion.

On June 28, the council decided to give $2,000 to yet another summer bible camp, Nanticoke Young Life. The group's website makes clear that its primary goal is to convert kids to Christianity. The County Council again awarded the money without discussing whether it was proper to force Sussex County taxpayers to fund a sectarian religious event.

"The Supreme Court has consistently held that direct grants to religious institutions require appropriate safeguards against the money ever being used for religious purposes," FFRF Legal Fellow Ryan Jayne writes in a letter to Sussex County Attorney J. Everett Moore Jr. "The county violates both the Delaware and U.S. Constitutions when it uses public money to maintain a ministry or to fund religious activities." 

FFRF says that this pattern of unconstitutional grants must stop and that Sussex County councilmembers may not use discretionary funds to promote their personal religion or religion in general. It requests that the county respond in writing with steps it is taking to stop its regular practice of allowing councilmembers to fund religion with taxpayer money.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a nationwide nonprofit that educates on nontheism and safeguards the constitutional separation between state and church, with nearly 24,000 nonreligious members all over the country, including in Delaware.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has co-filed a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the denial of a Missouri grant to a church.

The Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Mo., is appealing the refusal of a state grant for the upgrading of a playground at a preschool it runs. FFRF joins the brief filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Missouri.

"Missouri could not have included Trinity Lutheran Church in the grant program without violating the First Amendment because the Establishment Clause squarely prohibits direct payment of taxpayer funds to churches and other houses of worship," states the brief. "In short, Missouri's decision to exclude Trinity Lutheran Church from the program was not merely permissible; as a constitutional matter, it was required."

The brief reminds everyone that the use of taxpayer dollars to aid churches was one of the greatest concerns of the framers of the U.S. Constitution and, in large part, animated the passage of the Establishment Clause. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson recognized that compelling taxpayers to provide direct financial support to houses of worship encroaches on the right of conscience and threatens our freedom to decide for ourselves which faith to practice and support, or whether to follow any faith at all. Madison was adamant that even "three pence" in aid was too much of a threat to religious liberty.

"This court's Establishment Clause jurisprudence has few bright-line rules, but in this instance, the court should reiterate that our historical aversion to direct taxpayer funding of churches is one line that may not be crossed, no matter how well-meaning the government program may be," says the brief. "Strict enforcement of this constitutional boundary is essential to maintaining the delicate balance that the framers sought to create in singling out religion for special protection."

Tying houses of worship financially to the state also undermines religious freedom by inviting the government to scrutinize and oversee their operations. Despite any short-term gain for the government-funded religious institution, in the long run, religious liberty is corroded, and, in the case of direct aid to a church, church autonomy is impeded, the brief asserts.

Additionally, the limited record before the court shows a significant risk that the church will use its taxpayer-improved playground for religious activities, the brief contends. Trinity Lutheran Church integrates religious teaching into all aspects of the preschool and is, therefore, likely to use its taxpayer-financed playground for religiously oriented activities.

For all these reasons, the various organizations co-filing the brief urge the U.S. Supreme Court to reaffirm that, under the First Amendment, the government may not provide taxpayer dollars directly to churches and other houses of worship.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to the separation of state and church, with almost 24,000 nonreligious members across the country, including more than 300 in Missouri. Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel was FFRF's point person on the brief.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is protesting the participation of two Kentucky public high school bands at a ceremony celebrating a new religious theme park.

The Williamstown High School (Williamstown, Ky.) and Grant County High School (Dry Ridge, Ky.) marching bands performed at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Ark Encounter on Tuesday, July 5. Photos show band members marching by the ark wearing T-shirts that bear the Ark Encounter logo on the front and back and the names of two bands: the Williamstown High School Marching Band and the Grant County High School Marching Band. Many appear to be using the marching band equipment that belongs to the school. The Williamstown High School "Band of Spirit" Facebook page also shared the broadcast of the ceremony.

The Ark Encounter is a Christian ministry run by the creationist Ken Ham, who also built the notorious Creation Museum. Ham has been clear about the proselytizing nature of the ark park from the beginning. In a June 27 letter entitled, "Our Real Motive for Building Ark Encounter," he lays out a clear, evangelistic goal: "Our motive is to do the King's business until He comes. And that means preaching the gospel and defending the faith, so that we can reach as many souls as we can."

Public schools and public school staff may not take part in celebrations for a park that has a clear religious goal and portrays fiction as divine truth. Ham is free to erect monuments to his bible, but public schools are not permitted to expose the children in their charge to religious myths and proselytizing, says FFRF. It is unacceptable to expose a captive audience of impressionable students to the overtly religious atmosphere of Ham's Christian theme parks.

"Schools have a constitutional obligation to ensure that their programs 'do not inculcate religion,'" as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel writes in a letter to the superintendent of Williamstown Independent Schools and the legal counsel of Grant County Schools. "Taking public school students to a site whose self-professed goal is to convert children to a particular religion and undermine what is taught in public school science and history classrooms is inappropriate." 

There are also serious constitutional issues with public schools helping a private religious ministry to launch a park meant to convert people and collect a fair bit of money in the process. The fact that this trip might have been considered "voluntary" is irrelevant, FFRF asserts, since courts have summarily rejected arguments that voluntariness excuses a constitutional violation.

The state/church watchdog group has already sent out a letter advising public schools in more than 1,000 school districts against visiting the Ark Encounter. FFRF has received inquiries from concerned parents that overzealous teachers or principals may mistakenly believe it appropriate to schedule school-related trips to the Ark Encounter, as has happened with the Creation Museum. In order to allay such concerns and to remind public schools of their constitutional obligations, it has sent a memo to every school district in Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia and Ohio. 

FFRF enclosed with the memo its "Top 10" brochure, which explains the most common state-church violations in public schools and why schools must avoid them. In the past two years, FFRF has addressed more than 1,300 violations in public schools and offered this constitutional guide with the hope to see fewer violations in coming years. 

The organization seeks written assurances that no further Williamstown Independent Schools or Grant County Schools staff will organize, promote, sponsor or otherwise facilitate trips to the ark park. Students are free to travel to the park, but schools cannot play a role.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit dedicated to the separation of state and church, with 24,000 nontheistic members, including almost 200 in Kentucky.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has been censored in Mississippi.

The first billboard it ever put up in the state, on July 1, was removed today. Lamar Outdoor, contending it was getting "a lot of hate," yanked FFRF's digital display this afternoon.

The election-year billboard at the intersection of Main and Gloster in Tupelo displayed a patriotic-looking message depicting Uncle Sam saying, "God Fixation Won't Fix This Nation."

FFRF is a state/church watchdog group with 24,000 nonreligious members nationwide, including in Mississippi.

A representative from Lamar told FFRF there was significant "backlash from the community" and "too much heat."

Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president, expressed dismay over "this heckler's veto."

"It's more than disappointing that there is no alternative or dissent permitted in Mississippi, that the claims of religion cannot even be questioned or debated," she says.

FFRF thanks its lifetime member in Tupelo, who had underwritten the advertisement.

Mississippi is tied with Alabama as the most religious in the nation, with 77 percent of adult Mississippians saying that they are "very religious," according to the Pew Research Center. At the same time, it consistently ranks at or near the bottom in quality of life.

FFRF has successfully put up billboards in more than half of the states in the country since 2007. FFRF began attempting to display billboard messages in the late 1970s and met only censorship until the past 10 years, when there started to be more openness to freethought ideas. Not in Mississippi, though. Gaylor says it is "distressing and shocking" to be met with such censorship in this day and age.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a court brief asking that a religious exemption for retirement plans be deemed unconstitutional.

The Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) regulates retirement plans, but exempts those managed by churches from requirements such as paying insurance premiums, meeting minimum funding standards, and disclosing funding levels to plan participants. Cases have been brought around the country against large companies like Catholic hospitals that claim the exemption, with FFRF filing amicus briefs in several instances, already resulting in rulings in its favor. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last December and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March ruled that particular retirement plans were not exempt from ERISA requirements. FFRF has submitted a similar amicus brief in a pending case before the 9th Circuit as well.

But the state/church watchdog group wants the courts to go much further.

"Rather than attempt to draw a black line in a black sea, this court can take a clearer path, one that follows a line between black and white," FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel writes in the brief, submitted on June 29 in Medina v. Catholic Health Initiatives before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "To do so, the court must take a step back and look at the entire picture: The church plan exemption is unconstitutional." 

The brief lists the various ways the exemption violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and asserts that imposing the same requirements on religious plans as for all others would in no way be an excessive entanglement of government and religion. The effects of this exemption are not just theoretical, the brief argues, since in the absence of adequate regulation, church plans are deficient in many ways. The vast majority of such plans are underfunded, with 90 percent of them in critical status, FFRF contends, citing a news account in the National Catholic Reporter. Plus, churches take advantage of their exemption from disclosure requirements, revealing barely anything to their plan participants.

"Churches are enjoying several privileges over their secular counterparts when it comes to these pension plans," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "Courts need to take a close, hard look at the heart of the matter: how this exemption contravenes the First Amendment."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a nontheistic organization with nearly 24,000 members nationwide. FFRF extends its appreciation to Staff Attorneys Andrew Seidel and Patrick Elliott, former intern Jarvis Idowu and current intern Davin Skalinder for their work on this brief.