While most of the Christian churches in the U.S. (which number about 320,000) proselytize on marquees, secular groups haven't promoted freethought in a similar manner. But now, FFRF has debuted its prominent digital marquee as part of the Oct. 9 grand opening of its newly expanded Freethought Hall in downtown Madison, Wis.

"What the freethought movement has needed is a marquee of its own," said Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. FFRF will keep its marquee "upbeat and positive" while still forthright, unlike many church marquees that include lakes of eternal fire and brimstone, putdowns of nonbelievers or quips against equal rights for gays, atheists and women.

"We're putting freethought on the map," added Co-President Dan Barker, "and we want Freethought Hall to be a landmark."

Name: Dawn Thom.

Where I live: Green Bay, Wis.

Where and when I was born: I was born in the town of Upham in Wisconsin over 80 years ago.
Family: Six lovely children, all college educated with good careers, nine beautiful grandchildren and two wonderful great-grandsons who make me laugh.

Education: I went to a one-room school during my elementary years except for one year in a two-room school. I graduated from high school and went to business college for two years.
Occupation: At retirement, after 21 years, I was an internal auditor for a bank.

How I got where I am today: I was a stay-at-home mom until the children were self-sufficient and then went back into the workforce. My employer used to say I should just turn my salary over to my college-age children as that is where the money went, even though they also worked.

Eighteen years ago, my then husband, who was Lutheran and head of the family in his eyes and the church's, wanted to teach me a lesson, so I was served divorce papers. His minister quoted the bible that women were not to speak and only ask their husband if they wanted to know anything. The hate in my ex's eyes as he said I belonged in jail and he would try to put me there, set the stage to extract myself from the area. I moved to my present city to be safe.

Where I'm headed: I have written three books, two on local history, now located in the Green Bay library historical section, and one on domestic abuse, which has been approved by Golden House, the Green Bay abuse center. I volunteered for hospice work for a couple of years, learned to fly little planes and kept up on politics.

At this age, it's a one-way trip, but I will end it, kicking and screaming all the way. I'm researching penal institutions, especially how communities and people treat felons who lack of housing and jobs when released, then show amazement when they reoffend. They have created the self-fulfilling prophecy of recidivism.

It has always puzzled me that most people judging someone for making bad choices are the most religious. So many do not have the empathy to reach down and give a hand to the needy. It is like they would soil their hands and not make it to heaven. Yet, Jesus is supposed to have said, "As ye do to the least of these, you do unto me."

Ideas for two new books are rolling around in my head, but I haven't been able to master the software needed. One would be on farm life in the 1930s to 1960s, the other about a young man incarcerated for 18 years after he made a bad decision at age 19 and the trials he has to overcome after release. Something always interferes, especially now with the hysterically funny politics.

My mother lived to be 91 and her brother to age 93, driving a car until he was 92. My father's sister was well over 100 when she passed. All three stayed mentally alert. My brother is turning 88, drives his own car, and he and his wife take care of their house with very few problems. Full steam ahead!

Person in history I admire: The strong women who have stood up for equal rights and had the strength to not back down. Many are "unknown" but have lent their courage to the rest.
A quotation I like: "Let me live in my house by the side of the road and be a friend to man. " (Sam Walter Foss, 1858-1911) "Your candle does not glow brighter if you blow someone else's candle out."

These are a few of my favorite things: Flowers, pets, people, traveling, cruises, jokes, music and playing the piano.

These are not: Rigid thinking, negative people, control freaks, especially the ones who use religion as a reason.

My doubts about religion started: Until I was 10, we went to a Congregational church with a lovely woman minister named Mrs. Lavis. Then we moved to my maternal grandparents' farm where the closest church was Lutheran, which my grandfather wouldn't attend, so we went to the United Brethren Evangelical Church. The first time I went to the church service, the ritual seemed normal until the minister started thundering how you could only be saved if you gave yourself to Jesus. Otherwise, you would go to hell. He looked and acted crazy. My eyes opened wide, I shrunk into my seat and clung to my grandmother. This was not religion as I had known it up to then.

The more I was forced to go, the more I resisted. But my parents insisted it wouldn't hurt me, so catechism was a must. I hid the book and did not study and knew only one answer when it came time to pass the test, which embarrassed my family no end.

Before I die: My bucket list starts getting shorter, and then other things pop up, so it is never-ending. Those two books are rattling around in my head just waiting to be put down in the computer. Traveling to see different cultures would be a lot of fun. I've outlived traveling companions. It would be fun to go to D.C. again and see the changes made in the last decades.

Ways I promote freethought: By my actions and discussing my beliefs in a rational manner (most of the time, not always calmly) with those who question or make uneducated remarks about beliefs that conflict with theirs.

Linda Josheff

Name: Linda Josheff.

Where I live: Town of Cross Plains, Wis.

Where and when I was born: July 1946, Madison, Wis.

Family: Husband, Phil; children and spouses, Julie and Rob, Tess and Jeremy; grandchildren, Cameron, 19, Bailey, 17, Addison, 5; dogs, Bob, Annie and Maizie.

Why I volunteer for FFRF: I believe in the work that is being done here.

What I do as a volunteer: This summer I read essay submissions from students.

What I like best about it: Reading what these young people have to say. It pleases me to see the large number of responses and the thought that went into each entry.

Education: Madison Area Technical College, practical nursing program, 1966; MATC, associate degree in human service, 1985.

My day job is/was: Retired LPN with 35 years of nursing experience.

These three words sum me up: Funny, sentimental, impatient.

My freethought heroes are: Anne Gaylor, Christopher Hitchens, Margaret Sanger.

Things I like: Dogs, fresh air, reading, laughter.

Things I smite: Hypocrisy, the denial of availability of birth control for all women.

Sue Schuetz

Name: Sue Schuetz.

Where I live: Cross Plains, Wis.

Where I was born: Madison, Wis.

Family: Sons Steven and Gary, four grandsons, two daughters-in-law, two sisters, a brother and lots of great friends!

Education: Coursework at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison Area Technical College and Edgewood College.

My day job is/was: I worked 18 years for the Dane County Sheriff's Office. Now I enjoy being a very busy and engaged retiree.

Why I volunteer for FFRF: Because I believe in this important work and the amazing, inspiring people here.

What I do as a volunteer: Whatever needs to be done! For example, reading high school and college essays and helping with mailings.

What I like best about it: Being around like-minded people.

Something funny that's happened here: Realizing, every time I walk into the library, Charles Darwin is not a live person.

These three words sum me up: Energetic, creative, curious.

My freethought heroes are: Anne Nicol Gaylor, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, Andrew Seidel.

Things I like: Walking, reading, Wisconsin Public TV and Radio, being with my grandsons and friends and family, staying at my cabin and doing my artwork.

Things I smite: Barking dogs, wind chimes, pesticides.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana filed a federal lawsuit Oct. 7, challenging an annual live nativity performance at Concord High School in Elkhart, Ind.

The complaint notes that for several decades Concord High School has organized a "Christmas Spectacular." Every performance, of which there were five last year, "ends with an approximately 20-minute telling of the story of the birth of Jesus, including a live nativity scene and a biblical scriptural reading. During this segment, students at the high school portray the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the Three Wise Men, shepherds and angels."

FFRF has brought suit on behalf of its 23,000 members, including more than 360 in Indiana, and a local family, whose high school student "Jack Doe" is a member of the performing arts department. Attendance and performance at the event is mandatory for students enrolled in the performing arts department.

The suit alleges that the nativity performance and the reading of the biblical story of the birth of Jesus are "well-recognized symbols of the Christian faith. Their presence at the Christmas Spectacular is coercive, represents an endorsement of religion by the high school and the school corporation, has no secular purpose, and has the principal purpose and effect of advancing religion."

"FFRF is suing to ensure that nonreligious and non-Christian students are able to fully participate in their school's winter concert," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "The nativity represents the pinnacle of Christian belief and its most holy day. This spectacle would be appropriate at a private Catholic school, but is a blatant and egregious promotion of religion in a public school setting."

FFRF dismissed its lawsuit against Emanuel County School District in Swainsboro, Ga., after the district agreed to stop teacher-led prayer and proselytization in its public schools.

A concerned family had contacted FFRF about prayer in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. FFRF sent a letter in August 2014 to the district but teachers continued to subject students to prayer, and the family's students were bullied and ostracized. FFRF filed suit in February, alleging that teasing classmates and pressure to pray from teachers led one child to drop out of kindergarten, while teachers told the first-grader to start praying and not to listen to the child's mother, whom one teacher described as a "bad person."

But after the suit was filed, the district relented. Emanuel staff have received educational training on their obligations not to promote religious beliefs in their classrooms and the family has been financially compensated.

"We're pleased that the Emanuel County Schools has taken action to correct the egregious constitutional violations that were taking place in its classrooms," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "No devotions and religious practices should take place in public schools, and no small child should ever be pressured to take part in such illegal practices."

FFRF was represented by litigation attorney Wally Nichols of W.R. Nichols and Associates. FFRF Staff Attorneys Sam Grover and Andrew Seidel also worked to build the case.
Grover noted, "Educators in Georgia, where we receive many complaints about religion in schools, and throughout the country, need to know that their duty is to educate students, not fill their heads with religious propaganda."

A 4,743-pound granite monument dedicated to “Atheists in Foxholes and the countless freethinkers who have served this country with honor and distinction” was installed Oct. 6 at FFRF’s new offices in Madison, Wis.

It was dedicated on Oct. 9 during the grand opening of the renovated Freethought Hall. About a fourth of FFRF’s membership are veterans or current members of the military. The monument, made of the same South Dakota granite that Mount Rushmore is carved from, is more than 7 feet high, reflects the long windows that are part of the original 1855 building and provides a focus for the Rose Zerwick Memorial Garden and Courtyard adjoining the new entrance. A teak bench opposite the display provides a spot for reflection. This is FFRF’s second Atheists in Foxholes monument. The prototype, which was carved by World War II veteran Bill Teague, is nestled in the piney woods next to FFRF’s southern Freethought Hall near Munford, Ala., which is overseen by its chapter, the Alabama Freethought Society.

FFRF worked with Pechmann Memorials, which also carved the patio pavers — bearing donor names and slogans — surrounding the monument in the cozy courtyard space.
“FFRF deals with so many state/church entanglements regarding all branches of the military, where substantial incursions by aggressive evangelicals have been made. This monument not only honors nonreligious veterans, but serves as a reminder to our nation that — contrary to that tired, old, untrue cliché — there are indeed many ‘atheists in foxholes,’ ” said Annie Laurie Gayor, co-founder and co-president.

The city of Wadena, Minn., voted on Nov. 10 to no longer place a nativity scene in a public park after getting letters of complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national church/state watchdog.

Wadena, a city of about 4,000 residents located 160 miles northwest of Minneapolis, annually placed the nativity scene in Burlington Northern Park, a city-owned property.

Wadena Mayor George Diess told KARE-11 News from Minneapolis, “When something is put up that many years, it becomes a tradition to the city.”

But despite the mayor’s feelings, the city council voted unanimously, if reluctantly, to remove the nativity scene. 

“The city’s display of a Christian message in the city’s premier park unmistakably sends the message that the city endorses the religious beliefs embodied in the display,” wrote FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott in the original letter to the city. “Putting up a nativity scene on public property tells nonbelievers and non-Christians that they are outsiders in their community, that they are excluded.” 

KARE-11 reported that the city council meeting was packed with residents who spoke in favor of keeping the display on city property. However, the fear of a lawsuit convinced the council members to vote against their wishes. The nativity scene will go to a local ministerial association.

FFRF has more than 23,000 members and more than 500 members in Minnesota.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation invites you to attend a Veterans Day celebration on Wednesday, Nov. 11, to honor freethinking (and all) veterans and to view the new "Atheists in Foxholes" monument.

The brief event will be held in the new Rose Zerwick Memorial Garden and Courtyard at FFRF's office, Freethought Hall in downtown Madison, Wis., starting at 11 a.m. Media and the public are invited to attend.

The monument, which was dedicated on Oct. 9 during a grand opening celebration for the renovated Freethought Hall, is dedicated to "ATHEISTS IN FOXHOLES and the countless freethinkers who have served this country with honor and distinction. Presented with hope that in the future humankind may learn to avoid all war."

The 7-foot-tall, 4,743-pound monument, made of the same South Dakota granite that Mount Rushmore is carved from, reflects the long windows that are part of the original 1855 building and provides a focus for the memorial garden and courtyard adjacent to Freethought Hall's new entrance. A teak bench opposite the monument provides a spot for reflection.

About a quarter of FFRF's members are veterans or in the military, which is about the same percentage of freethinkers in the military or veterans nationwide.

This is FFRF's second Atheists in Foxholes monument. The prototype, which was carved by World War II veteran Bill Teague, is nestled in piney woods next to FFRF's southern Freethought Hall near Munford, Ala., which is overseen by its chapter, the Alabama Freethought Society.

"FFRF deals with so many state/church entanglements regarding all branches of the military, where substantial incursions by aggressive evangelicals have been made. This monument not only honors nonreligious veterans, but serves as a reminder to our nation that — contrary to that tired, old, untrue cliché — there are indeed many 'atheists in foxholes,' " said Annie Laurie Gayor, FFRF co-founder and co-president.

Contact FFRF: Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for directions.

Photo of Joseph Cunningham, WWII Vet and FFRF Executive Board Member. Photo by Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel