A chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation

Freedom From Religion, Albuquerque (FFR-ABQ) is working to keep state and church separate and to educate the public about the views of non-theists. We are gradually "coming out of the closet," speaking truth to power as non-believers providing a balance to religious influences. We call ourselves "non-theists" or "free-thinkers," which means "a person who forms opinions about religion on the basis of reason, independently of tradition, authority, or established belief."

FFRF members in NM started meeting in 2010 and registered with the state in the spring of 2012 as an educational non-profit. We established a board of directors with five offices – president, vice president Secretary, Treasurer, and past president. We are accepting donations to our billboard fund and for our quarterly Meet and Greet events with speakers and refreshments.

We have had some great activist projects. We meet once each month, and meeting topics so far have included the following:

• Obtaining legal support from FFRF for local violations of C/S
• Billboard funding and placement (see photos)
• Monitoring City and County Commission meetings
• Creating various brochures for FFR-ABQ
• Ending religious graphics on the cover of the NM Bar Association newsletter
• Ending creationism instruction in a public school
• Competing with Hobby Lobby Christian Nation ads in the Albuquerque Journal
• Constitution Day celebrations and advertisement, Sept. 17
• A debate in 2012 on "God is Dead?" with Jim Travis (yes) and Trent Horn (no) – find it on YouTube
• A talk on Non-Believer Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans by the author, David Niose
• Darwin Day celebrations and advertising around February 12, including "A Comparison of Science and Religion" talk by Ron Herman at the NM Museum of Natural History that sparked controversy
• Discussions of Christianity in New Mexico
• Gay pride and equal rights tabling at PrideFest 2013
• A talk on Born Atheist by the author, Tim Covell
• Review of Catholic hospital "missionary" policies regarding women's healthcare
• Renewed efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment to ensure women's rights
• Two talks with musical entertainment by Dan Barker, FFRF co-president, including one with the Albuquerque Atheist Band
• Assertiveness workshop, Jerry Gilbert, retired clinical psychologist.
• "The Trouble With Christmas," Tom Flynn, Executive Director of The Council for Secular Humanism and Editor of the Free Inquiry magazine.
• Production of a YouTube video on church/state separation
• Co-sponsored a visit by the "Unholy Trinity Tour" by Matt Dillahunty, Aron Ra, and Seth Andrews in 2014

We are part of the growing movement against the national god obsession! We might be "fallen-away" Catholics or former members of other religions, born atheists or agnostics, self-discovered free-thinkers, or doubting New-Agers. We welcome diversity.

Contact:
FFR-ABQ Board of Directors

A chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation

Our goals: To educate the public on non-theism and protect the First Amendment - Separation of Religion from Government.

The Greater Sacramento Chapter of FFRF is a local chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. We are a non-religious community of local people committed to living our lives free from religion, superstition, dogma and mysticism. We are freethinkers - people who form opinions about religion and spirituality independent of tradition, authority or established belief, in favor of rational inquiry.  

Our members are composed of Agnostics, Atheists, Humanists, Skeptics, Deists, and secular-minded people still searching for answers who come from all walks of life. The common thread we all share is that we uphold the US and California Constitutional principles of separation between government & religion.

Living in the current "Christian Frenzy" era, that has been gaining popularity by leaps and bounds since the mid-1950s, accelerated by 9/11, we must be ever more vigilant about especially Christian Fundamentalism working hard to dominate the political arena at all levels. Thus we educate the public with letters to the editors, news releases, legally savvy communication with our local government agencies, and one-on-one encounters, as appropriate, by our members, legally taking appropriate action to preserve our rights when necessary.

Sacramento is wonderfully supplied with many freethinking organizations which all provide many social opportunities for the local freethinkers, such as potlucks, game nights, book clubs, skeptic gatherings, movies, historical discussions, notable speakers, activist opportunities, and other events.  So, this Chapter of FFRF does not feel the need to organize more of these events.  Members are, instead, asked to join other local groups doing those things.  Many of our members belong to multiple local groups.  For a comprehensive local events calendar, please click here.

Instead, and the reason we formed, is to support eyes and ears on the ground, at the small, local level, to simply monitor separation issues.  We began as a response to one atheist in a small outlying town standing up by herself against seeing religious infiltration of their official town holiday celebration.  Before this Chapter was even officially announced, another infraction was caught and stopped by another local city wanting to support an evangelical fund-raiser.  It's all around us.  Our members are called Monitors, all of them, whether they monitor weekly city council agenda and minutes and school board agenda and minutes, or if they simply want to support other local friends, neighbors and members who are more actively pursuing this cause.

If you are a freethinker who is supportive of the separation of church and state, please feel free to email us with any questions you have.

TO JOIN OUR CHAPTER:
First, please join the national FFRF organization at http://ffrf.org. Then, send us an email letting us know you've done that.  The Greater Sacramento Chapter does not charge any fees - we just need your email address.  We will call you a Monitor.  You will receive regular supportive updates telling you everything happening at our local level, plus tips on how to watch for problems.  All reported potential violations are of course always pursued anonymously.  Or, you can help this wonderful cause from the background.  Thanks for your important support.  

For more information, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Greater Sacramento Chapter of FFRF is a tax-exempt 501c3 California corporation. Donations are tax deductible in accordance with the law. Our mailing address is Greater Sac Chapter FFRF, PO Box 2883, Rocklin CA 95677. Checks may be made payable to Sac FFRF. Our gratitude for your local support!