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We hear from recipients of the Forward Freethought Scholarships for Black Skeptics, then we complain about a politicking priest saying “You cannot be a Catholic and vote Democratic.” After listening to Tom Lehrer’s “pandemic” song “I Got It From Agnes,” we talk with the actor, singer, game-show host and TV personality John Davidson about his long career in show business and about why he is an outspoken atheist.
After we announce a major state/church victory in Puerto Rico, described by Eva Quiñones, Nigerian activist Leo Igwe tells us about the alarming arrest of humanist leader Mubarak Bala, allegedly for blasphemy. FFRF Legal Fellow Brendan Johnson describes state/church victories in Tennessee and Texas (one involving a school “prayer locker”). Then we talk with the founder and CEO of Public Religion Research Institute Robert P. Jones about his new book: White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity.
For Women’s Equality Day, we talk with author and feminist activist Coline Jenkins, great-great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, about the new women’s statue she helped create and install in Central Park this week. Then we chat with author and screenwriter Chris Matheson, who co-wrote the movie “Bill and Ted Face The Music” which is released this week, and about his new irreverent book The Buddha’s Story.
FFRF is winning state/church victories in many states. We celebrate Women’s Equality Day on the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment by hearing Judy Collins sing the suffragist anthem “Bread and Roses.” Then, FFRF Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Elliott describes the friend-of-the-court brief we submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting Philadelphia’s right to deny public funding to contractors who discriminate on religious grounds.
Dallas megapastor Robert Jeffress attacks FFRF on Fox. Nancy Pelosi calls for prayer. Ventura, Calif., proposes removing religious bigot Junipero Serra from its seal. After hearing James Taylor’s freethinking song “Up From Your Life,” we talk with Andrew Whitehead, co-author of the book (with Samuel Perry) Taking America Back For God, about how Christian Nationalists react differently to the coronavirus pandemic.
FFRF’s Director of Communications Amit Pal updates us on Indian Prime Minister Modi’s attempt to turn secular India into an officially Hindu nation. After hearing the “comfort music” song “Don’t Fence Me In,” by atheist songwriter Cole Porter, we talk with FFRF’s Director of Governmental Affairs Mark Dann about what it’s like to be a D.C. lobbyist during the pandemic, and what accomplishments FFRF has garnered on Capitol Hill with the Congressional Freethought Caucus and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Dallas megapastor Robert Jeffress improperly politicked from the pulpit on “Freedom Sunday.” After hearing the parody “Hang On, Ruthie” (about Ruth Bader Ginsburg), we talk with Skyler Hutto, the South Carolina attorney who is suing his governor for distributing millions of dollars of COVID relief to private (mostly religious) schools. Then we chat with historian, author and commentator Juan Cole about his article, “Fundamentalist pandemics: What Evangelicals could learn from the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam.”
Religion is a major cause of the spread of COVID. The NO BAN Act passed the U.S. House this week, undoing President Trump’s restrictions on travel and immigration from several Muslim countries. FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott tells us about a church-owned property that will now have to pay taxes. We protest an evangelical-owned coffeeshop for violating mask regulations and condemn the South Carolina governor for diverting tax money to religious schools. Then we talk with U.S. Representative Jared Huffman — the only open nonbeliever in Congress — about the Congressional Freethought Caucus’ scathing rebuke of the report by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Commission on Unalienable Rights.
The Catholic Church lobbies for special treatment to gain billions of PPP dollars. FFRF attorney Ryan Jayne tells us about the secret phone calls between the White House and religious groups to funnel money to Trump’s preachers. Then law professors Nelson Tebbe and Micah Schwartzman discuss their powerful New York Times article, “The quiet demise of the separation of church and state.”
