The Freedom From Religion Foundation is making certain for a third year running that the Bill of Rights is being venerated in one of Ohio’s most prominent cities.
The Northern Ohio Freethought Society, the local chapter of FFRF, has obtained a spot at the Cleveland Public Square for a FFRF Bill of Rights “Nativity” exhibit. (Bill of Rights Day falls on Sunday, Dec. 15.) The installation has been set up very near a large Christian crèche scene erected by Knights of Columbus, and will be on display through the beginning of January.
The irreverent FFRF cutout by artist Jacob Fortin depicts Founders Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington gazing adoringly at a “baby” Bill of Rights in a manger while the Statue of Liberty looks on. A sign beside the tongue-in-cheek Nativity states: “At this season of the Winter Solstice … Join us in honoring the Bill of Rights, adopted on December 15, 1791, which reminds us there can be no religious freedom without the freedom to dissent. Keep religion and government separate!”
Northern Ohio Freethought Society Co-President Mark Tiborsky and other volunteers with the group helped put up the exhibit, and FFRF helped defray installation costs.
The display exemplifies the can-do spirit of members of the freethought organization, who often assemble such installations in their hometowns to commemorate founding principles and to counter religious displays at governmental public forums in December. FFRF helps out by providing the materials.
“Through the hard work and gumption of our members, we’re making certain that the Bill of Rights is celebrated around the country,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “After all, it’s the foundational document our civil liberties are based on.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is the largest national association of freethinkers (atheists and agnostics) with over 30,000 members and several chapters all over the country, including more than 800 members and the Northern Ohio chapter in Ohio. The organization works to protect the constitutional separation between religion and government.