The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling out the U.S. Small Business Administration for flying a Christian nationalist “Appeal to Heaven” flag at its Washington, D.C., headquarters during a Flag Day ceremony on June 14. FFRF is filing a Freedom of Information Act request to uncover how a federal agency approved this deeply inappropriate and sectarian display.
The “Appeal to Heaven” flag — widely flown by Jan. 6 rioters and now embraced by Christian nationalist movements — does not represent all Americans. It symbolizes a radical theocratic agenda that seeks to replace constitutional governance with biblical rule.
The flag’s namesake organization is explicit in its mission: “to honor the Lord by networking elected officials who are believers in Jesus Christ, who regularly attend and display a commitment to an evangelical, Gospel-centered church and who will commit to live and govern based on biblical, constitutional and Federalist principles.”
Yet someone at the SBA allowed the flag to be flown during a government-sponsored Flag Day ceremony promoted by SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler on social media: “It is a privilege to serve under its Stars and Stripes — on behalf of the 34 million small businesses who represent the best of America.” The irony is striking; while pretending to honor all small businesses, the SBA is flying a sectarian flag that excludes millions of nonreligious Americans, religious minorities, LGBTQ entrepreneurs, and others who don’t subscribe to the narrow and dangerous worldview the flag represents.
“The ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag is a symbol of Christian nationalism — not patriotism,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Government buildings should never fly a flag that represents religious favoritism, political extremism, and the anti-democratic movement that tried to overturn the 2020 election.”
Flying such a flag at a federal agency directly undermines the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which prevents the government from aligning itself with a particular religious movement. It sends a message that only evangelical Christians are “real” Americans, and that public institutions will serve their interests above all others.
FFRF is demanding an immediate explanation from the SBA and a commitment that the “Appeal to Heaven” flag will not be flown at future government events. Small business owners and taxpayers of all beliefs — and none — deserve a government that respects the constitutional principle of separation between church and state.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
