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We filed our first lawsuit in Puerto Rico, with the Humanistas Seculares as plaintiffs. FFRF attorney Sam Grover explains that the public schools in Puerto Rico have been forcing Christian prayer on all students. Then we talk with investigative journalist Nandini Archer about her Open Democracy expose, “Trump-linked religious ‘extremists’ target women with disinformation worldwide,” proving that American anti-abortion evangelicals are funding dishonest crisis pregnancy centers all over the world.
Missouri school board sides with FFRF (and not the state attorney general) in disallowing coach-led prayer. FFRF Director of Communication Amit Pal tells us about Trump’s “religious nationalism” visit to India this week. Then we talk with Erin Louis about her freethought “behind the scenes” book Expose Yourself: How to Take Risks, Question Everything and Find Yourself — Humor and Insights From My Life As A Stripper.
This week we discuss state/church victories and defeats in Florida, Kentucky and Colorado, and celebrate the lives of February freethinkers such as NAACP founder W. E. B. Du Bois and actor Tony Randall. After hearing folksinger Malvina Reynolds sing about “This World,” we talk with Swedish-born Yale professor Martin Hägglund about his book, This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom in which he explains that the concept of eternity destroys true meaning and value.
We report stopping prayer at a Nevada school board and complain about an over-the-top pastoral prayer in the Virginia Legislature. FFRF’s Legal Director Rebecca Markert tells us about our final victory allowing nontheistic invocations in Brevard County, Fla. After parsing the remarks by President Trump at the problematic National Prayer Breakfast, FFRF’s Director of Governmental Affairs Mark Dann tells us how freethought values are being championed in Washington, D.C., through congressional legislation and governmental regulations.
We celebrate Black History Month by honoring the many prominent black Americans and Africans who were/are nonreligious. After parsing President Trump’s religious remarks in his State of the Union speech, we hear Paul Robeson sing “The Bill of Rights.” Filmmaker Jeremiah Camara tells us about his newest movie, Holy Hierarchy: The Religious Roots of Racism in America. Then we hear atheist rapper Greydon Square tell us why he does not believe in God.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers comes out as a nonbeliever. We celebrate the life of former congressman Pete Stark, condemn White House “spiritual adviser” Paula White, parse President Trump’s outrageous “Rally For Life” remarks, and balance that with the song “Every Sperm is Sacred,” co-written by Terry Jones. FFRF attorney Patrick Elliott tells us what is wrong with Vice President Michael Pence’s “celebration” of school choice. Then we hear FFRF “Freethought Heroine” Mandisa Thomas, founder and president of Black Nonbelievers.
This week we respond to President Trump’s guidelines for prayer in school. FFRF litigation attorney Sam Grover tells us about the friend-of-the-court brief we filed in the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with state money for religious schools. After we hear atheist comedian and actor Patton Oswalt talk about “the insanity of faith,” retired Kentucky postal worker Ben Hart tells us what it feels like, after three years of litigation, to finally mount his irreverent “I’M GOD” license plate on his vehicle.
Despite a dismissal on standing, FFRF’s IRS lawsuit about church accountability will continue. We reply to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions after he criticized FFRF for complaint about coach-led baptisms, analyze Trump’s proposal for prayer in schools, analyze FFRF’s Reagan ad on CNN, and denounce the Pentagon for blessing an official Bible. After honoring Rush drummer Neil Peart, we talk with Susan Sackett, who for 17 years was the personal executive assistant for Gene Roddenberry, the creator of “Star Trek.”
FFRF complains over the largest Christian cross in the country being depicted on government property in Effingham, Ill., and about the governor of Nebraska forcing his private religious views about abortion on the state. We parse some of the remarks President Trump made at a rally held in a Miami church. Then we hear professor and author Anthony B. Pinn talk about racism and religion and tell us why freethinkers should be concerned about social justice.
