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STOP THE WAR AGAINST REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE

Defend True Religious Liberty
Under Assault by Catholic Bishops

Do you think Catholic Bishops should have veto power over women's contraceptive health insurance coverage? They think so! U.S. Roman Catholic Bishops are waging war against Health and Human Service's mandate, starting in August to ensure U.S. women workers have contraceptive coverage. In a colossal power play, the Bishops seek to impose their narrow religious doctrine on many of America's employees, whether or not they subscribe to the Catholic faith.

The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops has pledged a multimillion-dollar attack against the contraceptive mandate leading up to July 4, 2012. Over 40 Roman Catholic dioceses and institutions are suing to stop Health and Human Services’ contraceptive mandate. Every Sunday from the pulpit Catholics who shun their own church’s teachings against contraception are being told to help the Bishops use the force of secular law to deny birth control to non-Catholics.

The louder the Church cries “assault against religious freedom,” the harder it works to take away reproductive freedom. While the Bishops preposterously portray themselves as victims of an “attack on religious liberty,” in fact it is they who are the threat to religious liberty. They seek to impose their irrational belief that contraception is “sinful” on everyone else.

True religious liberty requires a separation between dogma and government policy.

The HHS contraceptive mandate does not apply to any church or denominations, including Roman Catholicism. The HHS mandate even exempts non-church religious (or quasi-religious) employers, such as religious hospitals or schools, from providing contraceptive health care for female workers. Instead, HHS is requiring private insurance companies to pick up the costs for providing such contraceptive health care. This policy protects the rights of women employees, and the so-called freedom of conscience of religious institutions. A Methodist woman employed at a Catholic school will be able to use her insurance policy to renew her prescription for birth control pills, for instance, at no cost to the school. This is why the Catholic Bishops are fuming?!

The Bishops have introduced into Congress the so-called “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act,” which goes even further.  They are lobbying Congress to pass a bill that would allow any private employer with a “religious or moral objection” to have veto power over health care coverage. For example, a Jehovah’s Witnesses employer could bar coverage of an emergency blood transfusion for employees. A Southern Baptist or Mormon employer could deny prescription birth control to unmarried female employees.

Don't let church dogma trump civil rights! Join the Freedom From Religion Foundation in standing up for freedom of conscience, women’s right to contraceptive health insurance and true religious liberty.

Look for FFRF’s ‘counter the bishops’ TV blitz airing now!

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is storming the “Bishops’ Bastille” in an unprecedented TV ad campaign to counter the Roman Catholic Church’s inquisition against contraceptive insurance coverage. The 30-second spots feature one of America’s favorite former Catholics — actress Julia Sweeney, beloved by freethinkers for her play, “Letting Go of God,” and by the American public for her portrayal of “Androgynous Pat” on Saturday Night Live! Read more. 

FFRF rebuts Catholic Bishops’ ‘religious freedom’ propaganda

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is fighting back against an offensive by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its upcoming “fortnight for freedom.” Like a secular David defending himself against Goliath, FFRF has launched an opening volley against the monolithic church and its war against the contraceptive mandate. Read more. 

FFRF’s ‘Quit the Church’ billboard hits Times Square

Although Times Square is home to many provocative images, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is upping the ante with its patriotic red-white-and-blue billboard placed this week on Times Square saying: “Quit the Church. Put Women’s Rights Over Bishops Wrongs.”  Read more. 

FFRF debuts ‘Quit the Church’ billboard in St. Louis

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has placed a bold 14x48-foot billboard in patriotic colors at I-70 and North Broadway in St. Louis, Mo., aimed at Roman Catholics, which urges them to “Put women’s rights over Bishops’ wrongs” and “Quit the Church.” Nearly 300,000 people will drive by the board every week during its four-week run. Read more. 

Watch Sneak Preview of FFRF TV commercial starring Julia Sweeney

Julia Sweeney, one of America’s most famous former Catholics as actress and playwright of “Letting Go of God,” stars in a new TV and radio ad just produced by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

The commercial counters the anti-contraceptive campaign by Roman Catholic Bishops. The wealthy U.S. Catholic Church has pledged to spend multimillions in a PR blitz leading up to July 4th to overturn the Obama Administration’s contraceptive health insurance mandate. Read more. 

‘Contraception kills’ 

Did you know “contraception kills”?

That’s what an intrepid coterie of FFRF’ers was told by true believers when we counterpicketed a June 8 rally conducted by the Roman Catholic Church at the federal courthouse here in Madison, Wis.

I held a sign, “Quit the Church,” accompanied by about 20 other FFRF members, staffers, interns and volunteers. It was chilling to hear a young male speaker intone, “God is on our side.” At one surreal point during the rally, which featured at least six prayers, a priest instructed all of the present faithful to turn away from the podium and face us counter-protesters. As they prayed aggressively at us we had fun chanting my mother’s mantra: “Nothing Fails Like Prayer.” Read more.

FFRF’s ‘Quit the Catholic Church’ ad in weekend USA Today

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s signature full-page ad, “It’s Time to Quit the Catholic Church,” is in today’s USA Today (Money Section), which stays on the newsstands all weekend. The ad by FFRF, a state/church watchdog and the nation’s largest atheist/agnostic association with over 18,000 members, urges liberal and nominal Roman Catholics to “quit” their church over its war against contraception. Read more. 

FFRF’s ‘Quit the Catholic Church’ ad in today’s Washington Post

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s full-page ad, “It’s Time to Quit the Catholic Church,” runs in today’s Washington Post (A-5 Main), urging liberal and nominal Roman Catholics to “quit” their church over its war against contraception. Read more.

FFRF’s ‘Quit the Catholic Church’ ad in today’s Washington Post

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s full-page ad, “It’s Time to Quit the Catholic Church,” runs in today’s Washington Post (A-5 Main), urging liberal and nominal Roman Catholics to “quit” their church over its war against contraception. Read more.

FFRF ad, ‘Quit the Catholic Church,’ runs in today’s Times

The Freedom From Religion Foundation placed an open letter via a full-page ad in today’s New York Times (page 10, front section) urging liberal and nominal Roman Catholics to “quit” their church over its war against contraception. Read more.

Open Letter to ‘Liberal’ and ‘Nominal’ Roman Catholics: ‘It’s time to quit the Catholic Church’

Dear 'Liberal' Catholic: It’s time to quit the Roman Catholic Church. It's your moment of truth. Will it be reproductive freedom, or back to the Dark Ages? Do you choose women and their rights, or Bishops and their wrongs? Whose side are you on, anyway?

It is time to make known your dissent from the Catholic Church, in light of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops’ ruthless campaign endangering the right to contraception. If you're part of the Catholic Church, you're part of the problem. Read more. 

Vatican rules over health care? 

Who will President Obama side with? Women or Catholic bishops? The bishops are trying to boss Obama around, and it's time he showed them that the United States already has a secular "boss" — a Constitution that precludes theocratic interference with our government and its citizens. Read more.

What Does The Bible Say About Abortion? (12 or 100 pack)

Nontracts — the freethought answer to ubiquitous religious tracts. Brief but thorough, easy to read, 3 1/2 x 4 1/4-inch folded brochures address many common myths about freethought or religion. Order individual packs (12 for $4), a Sample Pack or by bulk (100 or more of the same nontract).

Nontract #7 Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc.

Absolutely nothing! The word "abortion" does not appear in any translation of the bible!

Out of more than 600 laws of Moses, none comments on abortion. One Mosaic law about miscarriage specifically contradicts the claim that the bible is antiabortion, clearly stating that miscarriage does not involve the death of a human being. If a woman has a miscarriage as the result of a fight, the man who caused it should be fined. If the woman dies, however, the culprit must be killed:

"If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

"And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth . . ."

—Ex. 21:22-25

The bible orders the death penalty for murder of a human being, but not for the expulsion of a fetus.

When Does Life Begin?

According to the bible, life begins at birth--when a baby draws its first breath. The bible defines life as "breath" in several significant passages, including the story of Adam's creation in Genesis 2:7, when God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Jewish law traditionally considers that personhood begins at birth.

Desperate for a biblical basis for their beliefs, some antiabortionists cite obscure passages, usually metaphors or poetic phrasing, such as: "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Psalm 51:5 This is sexist, but does nothing other than to invoke original sin. It says nothing about abortion.

The Commandments, Moses, Jesus and Paul ignored every chance to condemn abortion. If abortion was an important concern, why didn't the bible say so?

Thou Shalt Not Kill?

Many antiabortionists quote the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:13) as evidence that the bible is antiabortion. They fail to investigate the bible's definition of life (breath) or its deafening silence on abortion. Moreover, the Mosaic law in Exodus 21:22-25, directly following the Ten Commandments, makes it clear that an embryo or fetus is not a human being.

An honest reader must admit that the bible contradicts itself. "Thou shalt not kill" did not apply to many living, breathing human beings, including children, who are routinely massacred in the bible. The Mosaic law orders "Thou shalt kill" people for committing such "crimes" as cursing one's father or mother (Ex. 21:17), for being a "stubborn son" (Deut. 21:18-21), for being a homosexual (Lev. 20:13), or even for picking up sticks on the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32-35)! Far from protecting the sanctity of life, the bible promotes capital punishment for conduct which no civilized person or nation would regard as criminal.

Mass killings were routinely ordered, committed or approved by the God of the bible. One typical example is Numbers 25:4-9, when the Lord casually orders Moses to massacre 24,000 Israelites: "Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun." Clearly, the bible is not pro-life!

Most scholars and translators agree that the injunction against killing forbade only the murder of (already born) Hebrews. It was open season on everyone else, including children, pregnant women and newborn babies.

Does God Kill Babies?

"Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."

—Psalm 137:9

The bible is not pro-child. Why did God set a bear upon 42 children just for teasing a prophet (2 Kings 2:23-24)? Far from demonstrating a "pro-life" attitude, the bible decimates innocent babies and pregnant women in passage after gory passage, starting with the flood and the wanton destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, progressing to the murder of the firstborn child of every household in Egypt (Ex. 12:29), and the New Testament threats of annihilation.

Space permits only a small sampling of biblical commandments or threats to kill children:

• Numbers 31:17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones.
• Deuteronomy 2:34 utterly destroyed the men and the women and the little ones.
• Deuteronomy 28:53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters.
• I Samuel 15:3 slay both man and woman, infant and suckling.
• 2 Kings 8:12 dash their children, and rip up their women with child.
• 2 Kings 15:16 all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.
• Isaiah 13:16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled and their wives ravished.
• Isaiah 13:18 They shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children.
• Lamentations 2:20 Shall the women eat their fruit, and children.
• Ezekiel 9:6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children.
• Hosea 9:14 give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
• Hosea 13:16 their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

Then there are the dire warnings of Jesus in the New Testament:

"For, behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the womb that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck."

–Luke 23:29

The teachings and contradictions of the bible show that antiabortionists do not have a "scriptural base" for their claim that their deity is "pro-life." Spontaneous abortions occur far more often than medical abortions. Gynecology textbooks conservatively cite a 15% miscarriage rate, with one medical study finding a spontaneous abortion rate of almost 90% in very early pregnancy. That would make a deity in charge of nature the greatest abortionist in history!

Are Bible Teachings Kind to Women?

The bible is neither antiabortion nor pro-life, but does provide a biblical basis for the real motivation behind the antiabortion religious crusade: hatred of women. The bible is anti-woman, blaming women for sin, demanding subservience, mandating a slave/master relationship to men, and demonstrating contempt and lack of compassion:

"I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

— Genesis 3:16

What self-respecting woman today would submit willingly to such tyranny?

The antiabortion position does not demonstrate love for humanity, or compassion for real human beings. Worldwatch Institute statistics show that 50% of abortions worldwide are illegal, and that at least 200,000 women die every year--and thousands more are hurt and maimed--from illegal or self-induced abortions. Unwanted pregnancies and complications from multiple pregnancies are a leading killer of women. Why do antiabortionists want North American women to join these ghastly mortality statistics? Every day around the world more than 40,000 people, mostly children, die from starvation or malnutrition. We must protect and cherish the right to life of the already-born.

Do Churches Support Abortion Rights?

Numerous Christian denominations and religious groups agree that the bible does not condemn abortion and that abortion should continue to be legal. These include:

• American Baptist Churches-USA
• American Ethical Union
• American Friends (Quaker) Service Committee
• American Jewish Congress
• Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
• Episcopal Church
• Lutheran Women's Caucus
• Moravian Church in America-Northern Province
• Presbyterian Church (USA)
• Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
• Union of American Hebrew Congregations
• Unitarian Universalist Association
• United Church of Christ
• United Methodist Church
• United Synagogue of America
• Women's Caucus Church of the Brethren
• YWCA
• Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
• Catholics for Free Choice
• Evangelicals for Choice

Belief that "a human being exists at conception" is a matter of faith, not fact. Legislating antiabortion faith would be as immoral and unAmerican as passing a law that all citizens must attend Catholic mass!

The bible does not condemn abortion; but even if it did, we live under a secular constitution, not in a theocracy. The separation of church and state, the right to privacy, and women's rights all demand freedom of choice.

Nontract No. 7. © 2007 Published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., PO Box 750, Madison WI 53701. This nontract may also be purchased here.

You may email this page, but please do not distribute printed copies of this document in this form.

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Secular Vote

Dear Freethinker:

The 2012 election will be pivotal in America's history - and freethinkers can be the deciding voice!

The "Nones" (nonreligious) conservatively make up a fifth of the U.S. adult population. At least a quarter of young adults are "Nones." This makes seculars as powerful as the core "religious right."

Inform the debate so that secular voices are heard and our vote counts! Register yourselves and others, and participate by voting in upcoming run-offs and on November 6.

Our nation faces major challenges: the economy, increasing poverty, environmental crises. Educational challenges and competing in a global market are made more problematic in America, which is handicapped by misplaced loyalty to religion over progress and reason.

The political debate is further complicated by the intense pressure on political candidates to wear religion on their sleeves, by "gotcha" issues which encourage politicians to kowtow to religious lobbies, and by polls which show that an atheist would still be voters' least desirable presidential candidate. Only 54% of Americans recently told Gallup they would vote for an atheist (which is up from previous polls) and 58% would vote for a Muslim, while 90% or more of Americans would vote for a black, a woman, Catholic, Hispanic or Jewish presidential candidate.

This is a country where half of the population rejects evolution, making Americans credulous, uninformed and vulnerable to political manipulation. Many religiously-motivated referenda will be appearing on ballots, which is used as a way to lure "religious right" voters to the polls.

(Get one of these bumperstickers)

The religious right remains dogged in its religion-based attacks on the separation between state and church, specifically citing scripture and doctrine to target women's rights, reproductive liberty, health care reform, gay rights, and marriage equality.

Never in our history has there been a greater need for engaged, informed secular citizens to stand up for freethought, family and freedom.

(Get one of these bumper stickers)

(Get one of these lapel pins)

The religious right — fundamentalist and Catholic churches — are tirelessly exploiting church congregations to reach and influence voters. We expect many election-year political abuses. Some theocratic organizations are even openly encouraging ministers to break the IRS code and endorse from the pulpit.

Student voters

A special word to freethinking students — this is an exciting time to be on campus, where you can make a difference. Make voter registration the goal of your freethought clubs through November 6. Set up tables. Arm yourself with the facts. Know your rights. Check with your city or county voter registrar's office to ensure you and your friends know how to register and apply in time for the appropriate ID (government photo ID is being required now in many states that used to accept campus photo ID).

Standing up for our godless and secular Constitution,

Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor

Co-Presidents, Freedom From Religion Foundation

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, FFRF is strictly prohibited from engaging in political campaigns. We do not endorse or oppose any candidates for public office at any level of government. This page is merely intended to encourage our members and other American secularists to get out the vote this election season.

Did you know that American law is not based on the Ten Commandments?

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent demand letters to two Pennsylvania school districts, warning that if FFRF did not receive word by Friday, Sept. 7 that the districts were removing illegal Ten Commandment markers on school property, it and local plaintiffs will sue in federal court.

Connellsville violation. New Kensington violation. (photo): Stephen Hirtle.

FFRF has hired counsel and has parent plaintiffs in both school districts. Marcus B. Schneider of Pittsburgh wrote both districts on Aug. 29 on behalf of FFRF, noting that these Ten Commandment monuments “will not withstand judicial scrutiny.” Read letter to New Kensington School District. Read letter to Connellsville Area School District.

In response, the Connellsville Area School District quickly contacted Schneider, agreeing to remove the six-foot-tall, tombstone-like Eagles Ten Commandments located near the Junior High School East entrance by the auditorium. By Friday, Sept. 7, the district had placed plywood over the front of the monument (although vandals apparently removed the plywood over the weekend). The district assured Schneider it would arrange to remove the biblical marker as soon as possible.

However, FFRF has received no such assurances from New Kensington-Arnold School District, which FFRF first contacted last March. The six-foot granite monument prominently displayed at Valley High School is visible by the school entrance, sitting between two footpath bridges leading from the parking lot to the main entrance of the school.

“The permanent display of the Ten Commandments in front of a New Kensington-Arnold school violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Courts have continually held that public schools may not display religious messages or iconography,” wrote FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott. He further cited the Supreme Court decision that ruled posting the Ten Commandments in schools violates the Establishment Clause:

The pre-eminent purpose for posting the Ten Commandments on schoolroom walls is plainly religious in nature…The Commandments do not confine themselves to arguably secular matters…rather, the first part of the Commandments concerns the religious duties of believers: worshipping the Lord God alone, avoiding idolatry, not using the Lord’s name in vain, and observing the Sabbath Day. Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39, 41 (1980)

Because the New Kensington marker is a Roman Catholic version of the Ten Commandments (due to numbering and the missing commandment against ‘graven images’), it not only promotes religion over nonreligion, but Catholicism over other forms of Christianity, Elliott pointed out.

Justice Breyer has noted that Ten Commandment displays have no place “on the grounds of a public school, where, given the impressionability of the young, government must exercise particular care in separating church and state.”

“The New Kensington school district deserves an ‘F’ for its irresponsible dereliction of its duty to protect the freedom of conscience of its captive audience of students,” commented FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "It should not be necessary for parents and FFRF to sue over such an egregious violation, to waste our money and taxpayer funds when the outcome is foregone — the Ten Commandments monument must go from Valley High School.”

“The First Commandment alone shows why the government may not post or endorse the Ten Commandments. A school district has no business telling students and their parents which god to have, how many gods to have or whether to have any gods at all! In the United States, individuals may believe or disbelieve as they like, but the government and our public schools may not take sides on matters left to personal conscience.”

FFRF has more than 18,500 nonreligious members nationwide, including almost 700 in Pennsylvania. Acting as a state/church watchdog, it has brought over 60 laws since being founded in 1978. Currently, it is suing on behalf of its members, including 41 named state members, and its chapter, Nittany Freethought, challenging the declaration by the Pennsylvania House that 2012 is “The Year of the Bible.” In July, seven months after it first protested a city nativity scene owned and placed by Ellwood City Borough Council (Pa.), the council voted finally not to put up the devotional display in the future.

The Grove City [Pa.] Area School District Board of School Directors voted Sept. 10 "to eliminate prayer" at meetings, according to a Sept. 13 letter to the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

School Solicitor Timothy McNickle was responding to a July 10 letter of complaint from FFRF and a Sept. 5 follow-up letter about the illegal prayers.

The board voted in June against changing the prayer to a moment of silence, which led to FFRF Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert's first letter. In it, she reminded the board of numerous court rulings that said scheduled prayer at school board meetings is unconstitutional.

McNickle and Superintendent Richard Mextorf then told the board that it was unlikely that the prayer would meet legal scrutiny and recommended a moment of silence instead.

Grove City is the second Pennsylvania board to recently drop prayer after getting an FFRF letter. Big Spring [Newville, Pa.] Board President Wilbur Wolf announced Aug. 28 that “prayer will be removed from future meeting agendas to avoid the potential cost of legal action against the board and Big Spring School District.”

The Foundation also sent letters in August to three other Pennsylvania school boards. Octorara Area School Board in Atglen suspended its usual recitation of the Lord’s Prayer until further review of FFRF’s request. Greencastle-Antrim School Board in Greencastle has gone to a moment of silence for the moment. FFRF is awaiting word from Eastern Lancaster County School Board in New Holland.

"Courts look askance at the imposition of religious ritual by public school boards," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "Students are often represented on boards or attend meetings. They must be afforded the same protections of freedom of conscience as in the classroom."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a federal lawsuit today against New Kensington-Arnold School District to remove a prominent Ten Commandments monument from the grounds of Valley High School, New Kensington, Pa. 

FFRF, a Madison, Wis.-based nonprofit state/church watchdog with 18,500 nonreligious members including more than 673 in Pennsylvania, is a named plaintiff, along with two local parents with children in the school district. They are: FFRF member Marie Schaub, who has a child, Doe 1, in the school district who regularly encounters the bible edict, and Doe 2, a student at Valley High School, along with Doe 3, parent and guardian of Doe 2. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania. Both parent plaintiffs have felt stress and anxiety over concern that they and their children would continue to encounter the religious monument at school.

A tombstone-like monument of the Ten Commandments, approximately six foot tall, is directly in front of the main school entrance, near two footbridges that students and visitors use to enter the building. The bible monument was presented by the New Kensington branch of the Eagles, a fraternal order that has littered the landscape with similar monuments. FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott first sent a letter in March to the District Superintendent requesting that he remove the Ten Commandments monument because it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The district failed to move the monument or even write an official response.

Board President Robert Pallone, however, wrote in March on the Facebook webpage called "KEEP THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AT VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL," that the district would not "remove this monument without a fight !!!!!" Clergy in the area held a rally during the school day in front of Valley High School to support the decision to retain the religious monument.

The complaint notes the display "lacks any secular purpose," citing Stone v. Graham, a 1980 Supreme Court decision which ruled the Ten Commandments may not be posted in public school classrooms, because "The pre-eminent purpose" for doing so "is plainly religious in nature."

The District's posting of Ten Commandments monument at the high school not only endorses and advances religion, but "also impermissibly coerces students to suppress their personal religious and non-religious beliefs and adopt the favored religious view of the District." The district also usurps parental authority.

The Eagles campaign started when a devout judge and Eagle member, E.J. Ruegemer— who wanted to promote religion and Minnesota granite — teamed up with film director Cecil B. DeMille, interested in promoting his 1956 epic, "The Ten Commandments." In 2002, FFRF successfully removed one of the first such monuments placed on government property, in the City of Milwaukee. Yul Brenner had turned up for the dedication.

FFRF is asking for a permanent injunction directing the district to remove the Ten Commandments monument from district property, reasonable costs and attorneys' fees, and nominal damages to plaintiffs. FFRF and its plaintiffs are being represented by Marcus B. Schneider of Pittsburgh.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation scored a touchdown against football prayer at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga this week.

The pre-game prayer, which typically included a reference to 'Jesus Christ,' was traditionally delivered by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and had been a home game staple since 2010.

FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor initially wrote to UTC Chancellor Roger Brown on May 15, 2012: "While students, athletes, and athletic event attendees may choose to gather privately in prayer, a public university has no place in encouraging or endorsing religious ritual."

After several months of indecision, Brown announced on Sept. 10 that the university would make "the right decision for the university" and offer a moment of silence in lieu of prayer.

Brown told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that "we need to make sure there is never anybody that goes away from our campus, our stadium, our arena or classroom or work, that feels like they have been excluded or feel uncomfortable in any way."

TAKE ACTION

Please phone Brown today and tell him that you support UTC's wise decision to end pre-game prayer. The religious community is making a loud fuss. To read more about it or watch TV coverage, scroll to the end. In order to sustain this recent victory, Brown's choice must be reaffirmed. Help FFRF keep religion out off the playing field by sharing some secular 'praise' with UTC.

If you are a resident of Chattanooga and/or Tennessee, please identify yourself as such. Include your address and other contact information when appropriate.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has followed up on Walker County Schools’ (Ridgeland, Ga.) response to its request to investigate unusual constitutional violations by Ridgeland High School football coach Mark Mariakis. Although praising the superintendent’s “commitment to upholding the Constitution,” the letter raised some lingering concerns.

FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel’s Aug. 21 letter of complaint had detailed allegations FFRF had received over a number of egregious public sports-church entanglements at Ridgeland High School. Most notably, they included the coach taking public school football teams to pre-game church meals where pre-meal prayers are conducted. FFRF also asked for an investigation into the allegation that Mariakis regularly prays with his teams, had pressured public school students to attend a “Christian football camp,” and that the team had adopted a “team chaplain.”

Walker County Schools Superintendent Damon Raines responded on Aug. 30 that “the district will not have a team chaplain nor will school officials or employees, including coaches, organize, lead, or participate in any prayers. Staff will also refrain from participating in the FCA [Fellowship of Christian Athletes].” The District indicated pre-game meals will no longer include “religious references.”

As Seidel stated in his Sept. 11 reply, “taking public school teams to church still involves constitutional concerns.” Quoting legal precedent that prohibits public schools from holding graduations in churches, Seidel argued that regardless of the purpose in choosing to have a pre-game meal in a church, “the sheer religiosity of the space create[s] a likelihood that high school students . . . would perceive a link between church and state.” FFRF suggested that the district could avoid legal liability and save money on transportation by hosting a “potluck” at the school and allowing “any organization, restaurant, or business to donate meals.”

FFRF was alarmed over Mariakis’ attendance on Sept. 9 of a “Rally to Pray” by those who wish to “keep prayer in the practices and before games.” FFRF’s response called the coach’s appearance “inappropriate,” saying, “It seems to send a message that he is unrepentant and hostile to First Amendment limitations on his proselytizing.” The letter asked the schools to investigate the context of his remarks and to “ensure that Mariakis understands he cannot use his position as coach to ‘share the Gospel’ with his team and other public students.”

FFRF urged the district to adopt a written policy over religion in the schools “clearly prohibiting proselytizing and prayer by school officials or at school-arranged and sanctioned events.” FFRF also noted that it appears public school buses and drivers are taking players, coaches and staff from the school to churches for meals. FFRF further requested a response to an unanswered allegation from its original complaint that the football program has used the bible as a motivational tool.

Seidel concluded his reply: “We hope the Panthers can put this matter behind them soon and concentrate on winning. Good luck against River Ridge on Friday.”

“When a public school district has permitted unconstitutional practices to flourish for years, it creates a climate of intolerance. We see that intolerance in the community’s reaction to our reasonable request to ensure that student rights of conscience, and Supreme Court precedent, are honored in Walker County schools. The business of a public school is to educate, not to proselytize. This is a ‘teaching moment’ for Walker County schools and we feel it is the District’s duty to explain not only to staff, but to students and the community, why the First Amendment was adopted and why its prohibitions against devotionals in public schools are laudable and protect us all,” said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. 

A nonreligious Canadian family has been battling distribution of Gideon bibles in their Ontario public schools by asking the schools to distribute Just Pretend: A Freethought Book for Children, written by Dan Barker and published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. 

It was announced last week that the family’s complaint against the District School Board of Niagara will be heard by the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in February. Rene Chouinard says his family is being discriminated against “due to creed.” 

Rene and Ana Chouinard of Grimsby, Ontario, had complained several years ago after a permission slip to distribute Gideon bibles was sent home with their middle child, then in Grade 5. Their complaints prompted the principal to drop the practice. By the time their youngest child entered Grade 5 in 2010, the distribution of bibles had resumed. The school district has been permitting Gideon bible distribution since 1964.

In March 2010, after Rene Chouinard complained again, the school board amended its policy by inviting other religions to distribute books to children. But the board refused Chouinard’s request to distribute Just Pretend or Barker’s book for adults, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist, also published by FFRF. Chouinard’s intent, as he told media, was not actually to distribute freethought books to children, but to force the school board to stop distributing bibles.

Niagara school officials told him they had consulted the Ontario Multifaith Information Manual, which lists diverse religions but does not mention atheism or secular humanism. Chouinard noted that the manual doesn’t list the Gideon Society, either.

“If all points of view are not allowed, then Ontario’s vaunted respect for equality and diversity is ‘just pretend,’ ” commented FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. 

Just Pretend is an illustrated book suitable for elementary school-age children (or “children of all ages”) that explores myths like Santa Claus and compares them with claims of the existence of a god. In an entertaining and fun way, Just Pretend introduces children to the tests of reason, and encourages them to apply reason to any idea, fairy tale, myth or religion.

“We would consider the bible X-rated and totally unsuitable reading for young children. But Just Pretend is written with the respectful premise that children should be free to decide what to think about religion for themselves, when they are mature enough to understand the concepts,” noted Annie Laurie Gaylor, who co-directs FFRF.

School boards in Toronto, Peel, Durham, York and Waterloo counties had already banned Gideon bibles. In April, the Bluewater District Board in Ontario dropped bible distribution after a parent objected because the distribution of free bibles “undermines the secular nature” of public schools. The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board voted in June to halt distribution of Gideon bibles, according to news coverage.

U.S. Supreme Court actions and First Amendment law bar Gideons from entering U.S. public schools to distribute bibles. Nevertheless, the predatory evangelical Protestant men’s organization is continually flouting the law, with the help of religious principals. 

“It takes constant vigilance to keep the Gideons out of public schools,” says Gaylor. 

FFRF has produced two “bible warning labels” to combat ubiquitous Gideon bibles in hotel rooms, including one, “Gideon Exposed” written by Ruth Green, author of The Born Again Skeptic’s Guide to the Bible, which urges people to judge Gideon for themselves after reading Judges, chapters 6-9. Gideon reputedly murdered thousands for worshiping “false gods.”

FFRF, which serves freethinkers (atheists and agnostics) and works to keep religion out of government, has more than 18,500 members in North America.

Listen to an interview of Rene Chouinard (second half of Freethought Radio broadcast, Sept. 8, 2012) at: http://ffrf.org/news/radio/.