As legislative sessions across the country draw to a close, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is celebrating the defeat of several Christian Nationalist bills.
In Florida, H.B. 341 and its Senate counterpart, S.B. 746, both died, ensuring that public schools will not be forced to offer bible classes. H.B. 7103, a proposal that would have permitted prayer over the loudspeaker at state-sponsored athletic competitions, has also died.
Meanwhile, a similarly problematic bill has been defeated in New Hampshire. H.B. 1148 sought to place the theocratic motto “In God We Trust” in public schools. This is similar to other “In God We Trust” bills that have popped up in states across the country over the past year.
While politicians claim that these laws are intended to showcase the national motto or inspire patriotism, it is clear that their true purpose is to peddle religiosity to a captive audience. These laws are about advancing the Big Lie that the United States was “founded on God” or Christianity, dismantling the wall of separation between religion and government. It is a victory for state/church separation and our secular education system that New Hampshire students will not be subject to this religious pandering.
Florida’s bible class bill and New Hampshire’s “In God We Trust'' bill were both the creation of the Christian Nationalist legislative push called Project Blitz. It seeks to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious bills, imposing the theocratic version of a powerful few on We The People. Their proposals signal an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we cherish most about our democracy and now must tirelessly defend.
FFRF members and supporters in New Hampshire and Florida sent hundreds of messages to their lawmakers urging them to oppose these Project Blitz bills and defend the secular institutions in their state. FFRF will continue to call out these sinister legislative agendas for what they are — a calculated, discriminatory Christian Nationalist push fundamentally at odds with the principle of religious liberty for all Americans.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national educational nonprofit with more than 31,700 members and several chapters across the country. The organization protects the constitutional separation between state and church, and educates about nontheism.