An irreverent ad featuring a presidential son extolling the Freedom From Religion Foundation returns to MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” today for the next two weeks.
The commercial with Ron (“unabashed atheist . . . not afraid of burning in hell”) Reagan inviting viewers to join FFRF will air tonight through Thursday night this week, and next week from Tuesday to Thursday. The “Rachel Maddow Show” airs at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
In the 30-second spot, Reagan, the progressive son of President Ronald and Nancy Reagan, says:
Hi, I’m Ron Reagan, an unabashed atheist, and I’m alarmed by the intrusion of religion into our secular government. That’s why I’m asking you to support the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the nation’s largest and most effective association of atheists and agnostics, working to keep state and church separate, just like our Founding Fathers intended. Please support the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Ron Reagan, lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell.
The ad ran in late January on late-night shows over Comedy Central and TBS, and, for the first time, on CBS, which had refused to run the commercial for almost six years. It has aired on MSNBC periodically since 2014.
“It’s a heartening sign of the times that atheists and agnostics are being allowed a voice on CBS,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “After all, believing in the concept of eternal torture and punishment should be socially unacceptable, not Ron’s gentle jibe.”
Reagan has received FFRF’s Emperor Has No Clothes Award and addressed FFRF’s national convention in Madison a few years ago. He has publicly identified himself for years as an atheist. He was interviewed recently for FFRF’s “Freethought Matters” TV show.
FFRF advertising is made possible by kind contributions from members. Donations to FFRF are deductible for income-tax purposes.
