The Freedom From Religion Foundation's billboard campaign propagating freethought and secularism is proceeding briskly in the Deep South.
A new billboard graphically representing the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment has gone up this week on Spring Road near the intersection of Atlanta Road in the town of Smyrna in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The eye-catching panel proclaims "The Only Wall We Need Is Between Church & State" against the backdrop of two portions of a clearly divided brick wall.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, the nation's largest association of freethinkers (atheists and agnostics), has put up the billboard for a month in Round Three of a new year-long campaign in the South's most bustling metropolis. Two previous billboards in different locations there declared "In Science We Trust," depicting an astronaut suspended in outer space to illustrate the slogan.
Georgia FFRF member Jack Egger is underwriting the campaign, for which FFRF is truly appreciative.
The wall between state and church is under assault as perhaps never before, FFRF contends. All of us should strive to ensure that religion and government are separated from each other, as our Founders envisioned.
"This fundamental constitutional principle needs to be defended today more than ever," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "The United States is not a theocracy: Our government is supposed to be neutral toward religion, and citizens of any religion or no religion are equal under the law. That's why we're reminding the good folks of Atlanta about the importance of this constitutional precept."
The fast-changing demographics of U.S. society makes our secular setup even more essential, FFRF maintains. Current Pew surveys reveal that a quarter of adult citizens and more than a third of Millennials qualify as "None," either specifying atheism, agnosticism or no religion. Since 1990, the number of Americans with no religion has nearly tripled, from about 8 percent to 23 percent. With this trend projected to continue, "Generation Z" is primed to be the least religious generation yet. There are now more "Nones" than Catholics, and by 2035, Nones are projected to outnumber Protestants.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation and its membership work to promote the viewpoint of freethinkers, including atheists and agnostics, and to protect the constitutional principle of separation between religion and government. FFRF has roughly 32,000 members and 20 chapters all over the country, including 500-plus and an Atlanta chapter in Georgia.