The Freedom From Religion Foundation has brought its seasonal Winter Solstice display to the Arizona Capitol this week for the first time.
A large red banner put up on the Capitol grounds by FFRF Arizona Valley of the Sun Chapter President Philip Lentz and other chapter members has the message:
At this Season of the Winter Solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.
The Winter Solstice, which occurred this year on Dec. 21, is the shortest, darkest day of the year, signaling the rebirth of the sun and the natural new year. It’s been celebrated for millennia with festivals of light, feasts, gift exchanges and the display of evergreens, which symbolize enduring life, and, FFRF maintains, is the true “reason for the season.”
The display is up until Dec. 24.
“People with no faith are an ever-expanding portion of the population and deserve equal representation in public spaces,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 35,000 members and several chapters across the country, including over 900 members in Arizona and the Valley of the Sun chapter. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
