A multifaceted freethinker is interviewed on the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Freethought Matters” TV show this Sunday.

Matt Dillahunty is a popular talk show host, public speaker and debater who advocates for skepticism, humanism, secularism and atheism. He has hosted “The Atheist Experience” call-in show for more than 15 years. And now he has a second show called “The Hangup.” He is also a magician. And he serves on the board of directors for a number of secular organizations.

“If somebody asks me, ‘Hey, what's the explanation for the origin of everything?’ Dillahunty tells “Freethought Matters” co-host Dan Barker. “My answer is: ‘I don’t know.’ And as far as I can tell, neither do you or neither does anyone.”

If you don’t live in the quarter-plus of the nation where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch the interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel. You can also receive notifications when we post new episodes of Freethought Matters by subscribing to FFRF's YouTube channel.

This is the fall/spring season’s 29th episode of “Freethought Matters,” airing in over a dozen cities on Sunday, March 14.

Coming shows include interviews with Congressional Freethought Caucus member Rep. Jerry McNerney and author, atheist and humorist Malachy McCourt, brother of Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes).

“Freethought Matters” airs in:

• Chicago, WPWR-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 9 a.m.
• Denver, KWGN-CW (Ch. 2), Sundays at 7 a.m. (The Matt Dillahunty episode is being pre-empted and will be broadcast in Denver on June 6.)
• Houston, KUBE-IND (Ch. 57), Sundays at 9 a.m.
• Los Angeles, KCOP-MY (Ch. 13), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• Madison, Wis., WISC-TV (Ch. 3), Sundays at 11 p.m.
• Minneapolis, KSTC-IND (Ch. 45), Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
• New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• Phoenix, KASW-CW (Ch. 61, or 6 or 1006 for HD), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• Portland, Ore., KRCW-CW (Ch. 32), Sundays at 9 a.m. Comcast channel 703 for High Def, or Channel 3.
• Sacramento, KQCA-MY (Ch. 58), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• San Francisco, KICU-IND (Ch. 36), Sundays at 10 a.m.
• Seattle, KONG-IND (Ch. 16 or Ch. 106 on Comcast). Sundays at 8 a.m.
• Washington, D.C., WDCW-CW (Ch. 50 or Ch. 23 or Ch. 3), Sundays at 8 a.m.

Previous guests from the fall season include: pundit Eleanor Clift, whose interview you can watch here, actor and FFRF After-Life Member John de Lancie of “Star Trek” “Q” fame, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Linda Greenhouse, the country’s leading analyst of the U.S. Supreme Court, and legislative stalwart and feminist and civil rights pioneer U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton. One of the most eminent public intellectuals in the world, Professor Steven Pinker, was interviewed a few episodes ago talking about his new course on rationality. Legendary TV host, actor and singer John Davidson was the guest in early December. Recently, the show featured Ann Druyan, the co-creator of “Cosmos,” possibly the most acclaimed TV series of all time. A.C. Grayling, a prominent British philosopher and the author of about 30 books, grappled on the show with philosophy and the pandemic, and discussed how he himself dealt as a nonbeliever with a personal tragedy. And a few weeks ago, the show interviewed Robert P. Jones, the CEO and founder of Public Religion Research Institute who is an expert on the intersection of religious and racial extremism. 

Watch previous seasons here, including interviews with Ron Reagan, Julia Sweeney and Ed Asner, as well as U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin, co-chairs of the Congressional Freethought Caucus.

Please tune in to “Freethought Matters” . . . because freethought matters.

P.S. Please tune in or record according to the times given above regardless of what is listed in your TV guide (it may be listed simply as “paid programming” or even be misidentified). To set up an automatic weekly recording, try taping manually by time or channel. And spread the word to freethinking friends, family or colleagues about a TV show, finally, that is dedicated to providing programming for freethinkers!

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is admonishing the FBI for conducting Christian devotions and otherwise unconstitutionally promoting religion.

An FBI employee has informed the national state/church watchdog about serious concerns regarding increased religious promotion within the Bureau. The FBI reportedly has a chaplain offer a Christian invocation at FBI graduation ceremonies and allows religious figures into the VIP section during FBI Academy events. The complainant has also reported that last summer, an FBI supervisor (Assistant Director Renae McDermott) forwarded an email from the Academy chaplain to all employees reminding them “that there is a divine power in charge of all things. You are all very much appreciated and I have been praying for you and your loved ones each week. . . . I have restocked the chapel with Bibles, MP3 sticks and tracts for all.”

Scheduling prayers at FBI events such as Academy graduation ceremonies is unconstitutional and a violation of rights of conscience, FFRF informs the FBI.

“It is a fundamental constitutional principle that publicly funded institutions cannot support, promote or otherwise endorse religion or engage in religious exercises,” FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line writes to McDermott. “Therefore, it is inappropriate for a public institution such as the FBI Academy to schedule an invocation as part of a secular graduation ceremony.”

Furthermore, FFRF adds, a call to FBI agents, their families and friends, and officers — who may be of varying faiths or no faith — for collective prayer is coercive, embarrassing and beyond the scope of a government training academy. The FBI ought not to lend its power and prestige to religion, amounting to a governmental endorsement of religion that excludes the 24 percent of Americans who are not religious — including, quite certainly, FBI trainees.

Prayers at FBI Academy events are especially coercive. Although the prayer may technically have been voluntary, agents would likely interpret a commanding officer’s suggestion to participate in the prayer as a command and would likely be unwilling to publicly dissent because of potential negative consequences on their new career.

The Academy’s chaplain program and chapel, regularly stocked reportedly with bibles and other Christian materials, also conveys a message that the FBI endorses religion in general and Christianity in particular. This endorsement violates the Establishment Clause of the First amendment to the U.S. Constitution, since law enforcement agencies acting in their official capacities may not proselytize or promote religion. Chaplains are not meant to proselytize to government employees or send out emails reminding government employees that “there is a divine power in charge of all things,” or that they “have been praying for you.” Nor should McDermott be sending these kinds of religious messages to her employees through her official FBI email account as assistant director. That’s why, FFRF advises, the Academy should end its chaplaincy program, perhaps replacing it with a secular alternative.

FFRF is requesting the FBI to abide by the Constitution and is putting in a Freedom of Information Act request to ensure that the nation’s law-enforcement agency indeed does that.

“The FBI is meant to be setting a standard for the entire country in constitutional matters, including secularism,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Instead, it is engaging in practices that are alienating to its non-Christian trainees — and to the nation’s non-Christian population at large.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 35,000 members and several chapters all across the United States. Its purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

Photo of the FBI Academy in the Public Domain

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has announced its 2021 essay competitions for freethinking students — offering more than $45,000 in total scholarships.

Each of these four contests has 10 top prizes: First place — $3,500; second place — $3,000; third place — $2,500; fourth place — $2,000; fifth place — $1,500; sixth place — $1,000; seventh place — $750; eighth place — $500; ninth place — $400; and 10th place — $300. FFRF also offers optional honorable mentions of $200.

William J. Schulz Memorial Essay Contest for College-Bound High School Seniors
High school seniors graduating this spring and attending college in the fall are asked to write on the topic of “In science I trust.”

Write a personal statement about why you trust science over faith — and why you think society should do the same. Please include an example of how religious faith has obstructed science or analyze a historic or current issue related to religion vs. science, such as with the pandemic, stem-cell research, climate change or medical (and psychiatric) science.

Word limit: 300–450. Deadline: 11:59 p.m. May 31.

Michael Hakeem Memorial Essay Contest for Freethinking College Students
Currently enrolled college students (up to age 24) may write on: “How religion divides us, and secularism unites us.”

Write an essay about the divisiveness of religion personally, historically and/or politically, and why secularism is unifying. You may wish to incorporate analysis of current events and controversies to make your case. Tell us why you personally reject religion.

The $1,000 prize in the ongoing college competition is now being generously endowed starting in 2021 by actor and FFRF Lifetime Member Madison Arnold. Madison, who is 89, has given a $30,000 endowment as a living bequest, what he calls a “pre-quest.”

Word limit: 450–650. Deadline: 11:59 p.m. June 30.

The David Hudak Memorial Contest for Black, Indigenous & Students of Color
Black, Indigenous and Students of Color ages 17–21 (college-bound high school seniors to currently enrolled college students), may write on the topic of: “What I would like to tell my family (or friends) about my atheism or nonbelief.”

In an essay written in the form of a letter to a religious family member, friend or teacher, etc., please tell them what you think is most important to know about why you are an atheist or otherwise reject religion. (You may prefer to describe yourself as an agnostic, freethinker, humanist or a similar term.) You may wish to address common misconceptions or stereotypes about atheism, reassure them about your morality or explain why rejecting religion has improved your life. If you choose to discuss harm caused by religion, please include at least one reason why you also consider religion to be untrue.

This contest is offered to provide support and acknowledgment for freethinking students of color, as a minority within a minority. The other FFRF student contests are open to all students.

Word limit: 400–600. Deadline: 11:59 p.m. July 15.

Brian Bolton Essay Contest for Graduate and “Older” Students
Graduate students (through age 30) and “older” undergrads (ages 25–30) are asked to write on the topic: “The dangers of religious extremism in 21st century America.”

Please write about the dangers of religious extremism today in the United States, whether by individuals, churches, public officials or the judiciary. You may wish to address Christian nationalist threats to civil rights or American principles. Provide some examples and analysis, and make a case for secularism.

Word limit: 550–750. Deadline: 11:59 p.m. July 31.

Note: In none of the essay competitions are we looking for an opinion or theory about the origin of religion or why religion exists.

FFRF thanks Phil Zuckerman, author and professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College, for suggesting several of the topics for the competitions.

Additional prompts on the topics and contest rule requirements can be found here.

Students are required to submit their essay via the online application, and should carefully review all contest rules. The contests cater to students in different age/class ranges. Students may only enter one FFRF contest annually and may not enter a contest if they have previously won an award in that particular contest. All eligible entrants will receive a digital year-long student membership in FFRF. Those who do not win are offered an additional thank you gift.

FFRF has previously announced its third annual essay competition for law school students. The award prizes and number of slots differs slightly, with $10,000 in scholarships offered. The deadline for that 1,500-word essay is June 15, and rules and the application are available here.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is appreciative of FFRF members who make the effort to contact local high schools, colleges and universities to help publicize its competitions.

Eric Barber of Parkersburg, W.Va., is alleged to have participated in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6

Christian nationalist Eric Barber, a former member of the City Council in Parkersburg, W.Va., has been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. FFRF, which is suing the City Council, had called in early January for an investigation of his role in the assault.

Barber was charged yesterday with entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct and theft, and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.

“If you were to be convicted of any of these charges, you would be exposed to years in prison,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Dwane Tinsley told him during an initial hearing out of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Until recently, Barber was a member of the City Council that FFRF and local plaintiffs are suing over its practice of beginning governmental meetings with an unconstitutional recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, which derives from the New Testament.

Due to his aggressive conduct, FFRF had singled Barber out in reporting on developments in our litigation: “At least one member of the City Council has been openly hostile to nonparticipants, the lawsuit charges. Councilman Eric Barber glared at attendees who sat during the prayer at a meeting. At the end of that prayer, Barber positioned himself near his microphone, pressed the button, and shouted, ‘Amen.’” FFRF had highlighted video of his behavior at one of the council meetings.

Barber’s behavior at the City Council meetings seems to have been true to type. Disturbing video footage shows Barber in a military-style helmet during the attacks.

Another Christian nationalist in West Virginia who seems to be involved in the insurrection is state Sen. Mike Azinger, who has been open about his attendance and wish that Trump will call protesters back to D.C. FFRF had condemned a school bible bill that Azinger sponsored in the state Senate.

“We know from personal experience that Christian nationalists at all levels of our government pose a grave threat to individual liberties and our secular form of government,” comments Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “Now we see just how dangerous some of these Christian nationalists really are.”

The FBI had received several tips identifying Barber’s presence at the Capitol. CCTV footage from U.S. Capitol Police shows Barber moving through the Capitol, taking selfie photographs in the rotunda and searching through C-SPAN equipment at a media station in Statuary Hall, where he allegedly unplugged a portable power station and stole it.

An Indian movie star who is also a leading activist for secularism in his country is the guest on the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Freethought Matters” TV show this Sunday.

Sushant Singh is a well-known Indian movie and TV actor and presenter. He’s done an array of roles, including in period dramas such as “Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar” (about the father of the Indian Constitution) and “The Legend of Bhagat Singh,” where, in his perhaps most famous part, Singh played the freethinking radical Indian freedom fighter’s comrade Sukhdev. Singh identifies as an atheist and has been in the forefront of protests against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalism. He was the host from 2012-19 of the very popular true crime show “Savdhaan India” till he was fired after speaking at a rally against Modi’s policies. At FFRF’s next convention, Singh will be receiving the Avijit Roy Courage Award of $5,000, which goes to an individual working for rational and logical discourse in the face of obstacles.

“The ritualistic part of religion somehow never sat well with me, because if there is God, then he’s omnipotent, everywhere,” Singh explains to “Freethought Matters” co-host Annie Laurie Gaylor and guest host Amitabh Pal why he’s an atheist. (He was interviewed sitting in his parked car late night on a busy Mumbai street after his acting shoot.) “So I don’t need a particular place to worship that God. Nature is created by that God, everything in this universe is created by God. Wherever I am, I am with that God. So why do I need a particular place or particular symbol?”

If you don’t live in the quarter-plus of the nation where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch the interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel. You can also receive notifications when we post new episodes of Freethought Matters by subscribing to FFRF's YouTube channel.

This is the fall/spring season’s 28th episode of “Freethought Matters,” airing in over a dozen cities on Sunday, March 7.

Coming shows include interviews with Congressional Freethought Caucus member Rep. Jerry McNerney and author, atheist and humorist Malachy McCourt, brother of Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes).

“Freethought Matters” airs in:

• Chicago, WPWR-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 9 a.m.
• Denver, KWGN-CW (Ch. 2), Sundays at 7 a.m.
• Houston, KUBE-IND (Ch. 57), Sundays at 9 a.m.
• Los Angeles, KCOP-MY (Ch. 13), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• Madison, Wis., WISC-TV (Ch. 3), Sundays at 11 p.m.
• Minneapolis, KSTC-IND (Ch. 45), Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
• New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• Phoenix, KASW-CW (Ch. 61, or 6 or 1006 for HD), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• Portland, Ore., KRCW-CW (Ch. 32), Sundays at 9 a.m. Comcast channel 703 for High Def, or Channel 3.
• Sacramento, KQCA-MY (Ch. 58), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• San Francisco, KICU-IND (Ch. 36), Sundays at 10 a.m.
• Seattle, KONG-IND (Ch. 16 or Ch. 106 on Comcast). Sundays at 8 a.m.
• Washington, D.C., WDCW-CW (Ch. 50 or Ch. 23 or Ch. 3), Sundays at 8 a.m.

Previous guests from the fall season include: pundit Eleanor Clift, whose interview you can watch here, actor and FFRF After-Life Member John de Lancie of “Star Trek” “Q” fame, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Linda Greenhouse, the country’s leading analyst of the U.S. Supreme Court, and legislative stalwart and feminist and civil rights pioneer U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton. One of the most eminent public intellectuals in the world, Professor Steven Pinker, was interviewed a few episodes ago talking about his new course on rationality. Legendary TV host, actor and singer John Davidson was the guest in early December. Recently, the show featured Ann Druyan, the co-creator of “Cosmos,” possibly the most acclaimed TV series of all time. A.C. Grayling, a prominent British philosopher and the author of about 30 books, grappled on the show with philosophy and the pandemic, and discussed how he himself dealt as a nonbeliever with a personal tragedy. And a couple of weeks ago, the show interviewed Robert P. Jones, the CEO and founder of Public Religion Research Institute who is an expert on the intersection of religious and racial extremism. 

Watch previous seasons here, including interviews with Ron Reagan, Julia Sweeney and Ed Asner, as well as U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin, co-chairs of the Congressional Freethought Caucus.

Please tune in to “Freethought Matters” . . . because freethought matters.

P.S. Please tune in or record according to the times given above regardless of what is listed in your TV guide (it may be listed simply as “paid programming” or even be misidentified). To set up an automatic weekly recording, try taping manually by time or channel. And spread the word to freethinking friends, family or colleagues about a TV show, finally, that is dedicated to providing programming for freethinkers!

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has obtained a victory for secularism and free speech in Alabama.

An Alabama resident contacted the state/church watchdog after being told that a request for a personalized “S8TAN” plate was “offensive to the peace and dignity of the state of Alabama” and would not be issued. The individual had been given a temporary plate for a couple of months, but then the Motor Vehicle Division in the Alabama Departmen of Revenue sent a letter refusing the plate.

Alabama’s regulations concerning the wording of personalized plates are unconstitutional, FFRF informed the Alabama Motor Vehicle Division. Just last year, FFRF and the ACLU of Kentucky won a three-year legal battle on behalf of a Kentucky resident who was denied a license plate saying, “IM GOD.” The state of Kentucky was ordered to pay more than $150,000 in attorneys fees as a result of defending its unconstitutional conduct.

“The Motor Vehicle Division’s restriction of the message because of the viewpoint being expressed violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment,” FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line wrote to Alabama Motor Vehicle Division Director Jay Starling. “The Supreme Court has continually struck down viewpoint discrimination by the government.”

FFRF recently learned from its complainant that its communication with the state of Alabama had an effect and that a triumph for free speech was indeed achieved.

“My husband and I are members of The Satanic Temple; its fundamental tenets fit with what we believe,” the person emailed FFRF in a missive that profusely thanked the national state/church watchdog. “The state of Alabama has no business judging us for our or anyone else’s beliefs.”

The Satanic Temple functions as a secular group that works in part to promote the separation of state and church.

“Some of the reasons we choose S8TAN are that it represents to us freethinking, standing for rights, opposing injustice, common sense, belief in science, protecting other’s rights, compassion towards others, treating people with dignity and respect,” says FFRF’s complainant.

FFRF is pleased at ensuring equal protection of viewpoints on license plates in Alabama, where religious messages are permitted.

“Our complainant learned that folks at the Alabama Motor Vehicle Division laughed and said that S8TAN would never be on a tag in the state of Alabama,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Now look who is having the last laugh.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 35,000 members across the country, including hundreds of members in Alabama. Its purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, who built a reputation for pushing religion onto public school football players, today repeated his Christian nationalist talking points on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

As a coach, Tuberville was instrumental in spreading the harmful practice of scheduling Christian college football chaplains to push religion onto public school athletes. Tuberville played a prominent role in the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s comprehensive report, “Pray to Play,” exposing such abuses at the collegiate level. As the report pointed out, Tuberville is personally responsible for instituting unconstitutional chaplaincies at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati.

Tuberville today declared from the floor, “We've got to start teaching our young people moral values again. That starts with putting God and prayer back in our schools.” Tuberville then lamented that U.S. students are underperforming in reading, science, and math compared to their counterparts abroad.

Tuberville is wrong twice over. First, prayer was never taken out of U.S. public schools, except when illegally imposed on students as an official part of the school day. “So long as there are pop math quizzes, there will be prayer in public schools,” quips FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. In fact, at least half of public schools in the United States were not scheduling classroom or other school-imposed prayer at the time of the 1962 and 1963 Supreme Court decisions protecting student rights of conscience. Tuberville wants to inflict his brand of religious rituals on all public school students, as he demonstrated when he was a football coach.

Second, Tuberville is laughably wrong to say that more religion is the solution to low science scores. Religion has historically inhibited scientific progress, insisting that gaps in our scientific knowledge must be filled with dogma rather than by reason-based evidence. From the heliocentric model of the solar system to evolution, religion has always been there to condemn the quest for scientific truth and progress.

Religion is the typical justification of politicians like Tuberville who reject the science on vaccines, climate change and more. Tuberville should reflect on the fact that the countries that have outpaced the United States in terms of academics are, on a whole, much less religious.

FFRF is not optimistic about Tuberville’s prospects of helping to advance science while on the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee. That committee should be composed of lawmakers who respect science and are committed to upholding the rights of public school students, including the right to a secular education.

The U.S. Supreme Court has engaged yet again in religiously preferential conduct toward churches resisting Covid-19 health orders, much to the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s alarm.

In an unsigned order issued on Friday night, the high court blocked local health regulations seeking to slow the spread of Covid-19 via indoor worship services. A group of churches suing Santa Clara County, Calif., appealed to the Supreme Court after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals left in place limits on indoor worship. The court’s brief order simply refers to one of its prior decisions: “This outcome is clearly dictated by this court’s decision in South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom.” Justices Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

The county had argued that its regulations, which temporarily limited “all indoor gatherings of all kinds,” are neutral and did not single out churches. The county also filed a letter with the court indicating that decreasing rates of Covid-19 would lead to allowing indoor worship gatherings as early as Wednesday, March 3. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court went ahead with its order.

Covid-19 cases have topped 114 million globally, with more than 2.53 million deaths.

“Given the fact that the United States is the worst-hit country with the highest number of cases and deaths, it’s appalling that the Supreme Court has gone out of its way to favor churches,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Churches and religious gatherings have figured highly as superspreaders. This decision is not based on the science, but on privileging churches.”

Other California churches that challenged health orders have flaunted their disregard for public health — and have been coddled by the highest court in the land. Harvest Rock Church was granted an injunction by the Supreme Court on Feb. 5. Its most recent Sunday service featured 30 straight seconds of shouting as part of a 40-minute sing-along.

“This reckless behavior is exactly why churches should have to follow the same rules as other gatherings,” adds Gaylor.

Epidemiologists have warned about extended worship gatherings that involve singing. Kagan had previously cited the state of California’s expert witness, who reported that there is an increased risk of community spread where churches have lengthy gatherings that involve singing or chanting.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court continues to favor churches over science.

Photo by Rena Child via Shutterstock

Christian nationalism was on full display at the just-concluded Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla.

“We were dismayed but not surprised by the lies and Christian nationalist rhetoric spouted on stage this weekend,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. The stage itself appeared to be shaped like a Nazi rune.

The Christian nationalism paraded at the conference broke the irony meter when a widely circulated video showed organizers wheeling around a golden idol representation of a cartoonish Donald Trump wearing American flag shorts, a bizarre reference to the biblical golden calf. And almost all the members of Congress who addressed the gathering were featured in FFRF’s recent report on Christian nationalism and the Capitol insurrection.

Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, who helped foment the Capitol riot, both spoke on Friday. Hawley claimed that the Declaration of Independence shows that “our rights come from God, not government” and that “our rights come from God, not Google.” The declaration actually says that rights come from the “laws of nature and of nature’s god,” an invocation of natural law, not supernatural law. When Hawley spoke of his objection to the free and fair election and his vote to overturn it, he received a standing ovation that was nothing short of chilling.

Cruz’s speech smacked of desperation and hit common themes with shocking hyperbole: “You can French kiss the guy next to you yelling, ‘Abolish the police,’ and no one will get infected. But if you go to church and say, ‘Amazing grace,’ everyone’s going to die.” He ended his speech by hoarsely screaming “freedom.”

Common fearmongering themes at the conference included:
• Attacks on public health orders applying to all gatherings, including churches.
• Attacks on wokeness, political correctness, critical race theory and cancel culture.
• Demonization of LGBTQ people, especially transpeople.
• Assertions that God is in control of America.
• Promotion of the Big Lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 election, which was perhaps the most repeated falsehood.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn read out the First Amendment, pausing occasionally to pontificate. She did not spend any extra words on the Establishment Clause or separation of state and church, but fearmongered over “cancel culture.” Rep. Matt Gaetz called for a “new patriotic nationalism.”

Twice-impeached former President Trump spoke on Sunday. He tapped into the same Christian nationalism that carried him into office in 2016: “We are committed to defending innocent life and to upholding the Judeo-Christian values of our founders and our founding.” This line, a nearly perfect encapsulation of Christian nationalism, received a standing ovation. It’s also untrue.

These twin attacks — on reproductive rights and on our secular founding — are a direct threat to the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s mission. Trump went further, claiming that America “is an exceptional nation blessed by God.” And he ended his speech, as did every speaker, with “God bless you and God bless America,” a Christian nationalist concluding trope that dates to President Nixon’s first address on the Watergate scandal, explains FFRF’s Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel.

“It’s doubly wrong,” says Seidel. “The ‘Judeo-’ in ‘Judeo-Christian values’ is meant to blunt the edge of a deliberately exclusionary movement, one that seeks special privileges and status for conservative Christians. And Judeo-Christian values are fundamentally opposed to America’s founding principles,” Seidel adds, an argument he makes in his recent book, The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American.

CPAC was not the only Christian nationalist conference in Orlando last weekend. Former member of congress and noted white nationalist Steve King and Rep. Paul Gosar both spoke at the America First Political Action Conference. FFRF documented Gosar’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Reports of this conference, which heavily featured white nationalism, are deeply disturbing.

These conferences unfortunately signal that Christian nationalism remains a serious political threat in the United States.

Image Via C-Span

Terminate your unconstitutional teamwork with a local church, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is insisting to a North Carolina school district.

Burns High School (in Lawndale, N.C.) is reportedly working with Hope Community Church to help the church attract students. The church is building a new campus across from the high school, and district staff members have been directly communicating with church leaders about how the church can “minister and benefit” district staff and students. A local complainant informs FFRF that the church intends to become an everyday part of the school by including a gym for school sports teams to use, a banquet hall available for school use and areas for teachers to hold meetings. The church will apparently also be building a pool for the school’s swim team if space allows. There is even talk about allowing students in special occupational education to earn credit by working on church facilities.

Hope Community Church is explicit in its religious mission: “We want everyone who we interact with to be able to live life in community, with Jesus Christ and with others. (Matt. 22:37-39).” It accomplishes this mission by “getting people involved in Community Groups where they can build relationship through fellowship, prayer, and conversation,” which ultimately furthers its primary goal, which is “to build relationships that help spread the gospel.” In all the discussions of this new partnership FFRF is not aware of any discussions of potential safeguards that will protect students and staff members from proselytizing.

Partnering directly with a church to entice students to visit a church where they will inevitably be proselytized is an egregious constitutional violation, FFRF is emphasizing to Cleveland County Schools.

“As you are aware, the district cannot allow its schools to be used as recruiting grounds for churches,” FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line writes to the district’s legal counsel. “It is well settled that public schools may not advance or promote religion. It is inappropriate and unconstitutional for the district to offer religious leaders unique access to its students and to work with those leaders to entice its students to join the church, which signals school endorsement of religion.”

Courts have repeatedly struck down public school practices that affiliate such schools with religious groups and religious instruction, FFRF adds. The partnership between Hope Community Church and Burns High School impermissibly advances religion, communicates a message of school district endorsement of religion and is marked by excessive entanglement between the school district and the church.

Even if participation in school-sponsored events at the church would be voluntary, this is still unconstitutional, FFRF underscores. Courts have summarily rejected arguments that voluntariness excuses a constitutional violation.

In order to respect the rights of conscience of its students and staff members and to avoid potential legal liability, Cleveland Community Schools must immediately cease any collaborative efforts with Hope Community Church, FFRF concludes.

“The church’s attempt to attract students, especially athletes, reeks of foul play,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The school district should be putting a stop to such practices, not encouraging them.”

FFRF is a national nonprofit organization with more than 33,000 members and several chapters across the country, including several hundred members and a chapter in North Carolina. Its purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

A Black skeptic, humanist activist and author is the guest on the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Freethought Matters” TV show this Sunday.

Sikivu Hutchinson, founder of Black Skeptics Los Angeles, talks on the show about her latest book, Humanists In The Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist, and Heretical. Hutchinson is a novelist, playwright, director and founder of the Women’s Leadership Project, a mentoring and civic engagement program for South Los Angeles’ girls of color. She’s been named 2020 Harvard Humanist Of The Year and will be receiving FFRF’s Freethought Heroine Award at its next national convention. Hutchinson’s many books and plays also include Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and The Values War and White Nights, Black Paradise (about Rev. Jim Jones of Jonestown, Guyana, infamy).

“The traditions of black liberation struggle have been informed by social justice, self-determination with regard to humanist beliefs and humanist movement organizing,” she discusses her new book with “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “For example, we can look at folks like Frederick Douglass and his absolutely unequivocal critique of the hypocrisy of Christian dogma and Christian idolatry when it came to black enslavement and white supremacy. We can look at folks like the organizer A. Phillip Randolph, who all the way back in the 1930s with his seminal journal The Messenger, sponsored this amazing contest called ‘Is Christianity A Menace to the Negro’ — framing that not only in terms of pushing back against white supremacists’ idolatry and its nexus with Christian nationalism, but also looking at it in terms of ways that Black churches siphon critical funds and critical resources and multigenerational wealth from impoverished African-American communities.”

If you don’t live in the quarter-plus of the nation where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch the interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel. You can also receive notifications when we post new episodes of Freethought Matters by subscribing to FFRF's YouTube channel.

This is the fall/spring season’s 27th episode of “Freethought Matters,” airing in over a dozen cities on Sunday, Feb. 28.

Coming shows include interviews with Congressional Freethought Caucus member Rep. Jerry McNerney, Indian actor/activist Sushant Singh, and author, atheist and humorist Malachy McCourt, brother of Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes).

“Freethought Matters” airs in:

• Chicago, WPWR-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 9 a.m.
• Denver, KWGN-CW (Ch. 2), Sundays at 7 a.m.
• Houston, KUBE-IND (Ch. 57), Sundays at 9 a.m.
• Los Angeles, KCOP-MY (Ch. 13), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• Madison, Wis., WISC-TV (Ch. 3), Sundays at 11 p.m.
• Minneapolis, KSTC-IND (Ch. 45), Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
• New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• Phoenix, KASW-CW (Ch. 61, or 6 or 1006 for HD), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• Portland, Ore., KRCW-CW (Ch. 32), Sundays at 9 a.m. Comcast channel 703 for High Def, or Channel 3.
• Sacramento, KQCA-MY (Ch. 58), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
• San Francisco, KICU-IND (Ch. 36), Sundays at 10 a.m.
• Seattle, KONG-IND (Ch. 16 or Ch. 106 on Comcast). Sundays at 8 a.m.
• Washington, D.C., WDCW-CW (Ch. 50 or Ch. 23 or Ch. 3), Sundays at 8 a.m.

Previous guests from the fall season include: pundit Eleanor Clift, whose interview you can watch here, actor and FFRF After-Life Member John de Lancie of “Star Trek” “Q” fame, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Linda Greenhouse, the country’s leading analyst of the U.S. Supreme Court, and legislative stalwart and feminist and civil rights pioneer U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton. One of the most eminent public intellectuals in the world, Professor Steven Pinker, was interviewed a few episodes ago talking about his new course on rationality. Legendary TV host, actor and singer John Davidson was the guest in early December. Recently, the show featured Ann Druyan, the co-creator of “Cosmos,” possibly the most acclaimed TV series of all time. A.C. Grayling, a prominent British philosopher and the author of about 30 books, grappled on the show with philosophy and the pandemic, and discussed how he himself dealt as a nonbeliever with a personal tragedy. And a couple of weeks ago, the show interviewed Robert P. Jones, the CEO and founder of Public Religion Research Institute who is an expert on the intersection of religious and racial extremism. 

Watch previous seasons here, including interviews with Ron Reagan, Julia Sweeney and Ed Asner, as well as U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin, co-chairs of the Congressional Freethought Caucus.

Please tune in to “Freethought Matters” . . . because freethought matters.

P.S. Please tune in or record according to the times given above regardless of what is listed in your TV guide (it may be listed simply as “paid programming” or even be misidentified). To set up an automatic weekly recording, try taping manually by time or channel. And spread the word to freethinking friends, family or colleagues about a TV show, finally, that is dedicated to providing programming for freethinkers!

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is demanding that the Federal Emergency Management Agency rescind a proposed $1 million-plus handout for a Kentucky church/tornado shelter.

A concerned Versailles city resident and taxpayer had alerted FFRF about an official decision to spend public funds to pay for a new church building on church property. FFRF has written to city officials asking for more details. Now the national state/church watchdog has learned that FEMA has tentatively approved a grant of approximately $1.2 million to construct the new building, which will be owned by First Baptist Church, with the church agreeing to public use of the building during an emergency.

It is unconstitutional for FEMA to direct federal funds to be used to build a new church that will be used for worshiping, FFRF contends.

“The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from funding religious worship,” FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line writes to FEMA Acting Director Robert J. Fenton Jr. “FEMA may not use public resources to fund a church building.”

That’s why FEMA must revoke this unconstitutional grant immediately, FFRF is insisting. It is also requesting that FEMA review the grant to ensure that the applicants have not misled the agency on the purpose of the grant.

“FEMA may not spend a good chunk of taxpayer money on erecting a building that will primarily be used for worship,” says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “Nonbelievers, non-Christians — and Christians who are not Baptist — must not be forced to finance a sectarian religious structure.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 33,500 members and several chapters across the country. Its purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.