The Freedom From Religion Foundation says an illuminated Latin cross atop the San Angelo Police Department in San Angelo, Texas, must come down.

FFRF is a national state/church watchdog with over 19,000 members nationwide, including over 900 in Texas.

FFRF and its local complainant contend that the cross is in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and is "an unmistakable symbol of Christianity."

"The building is clearly marked 'San Angelo Police Department,' which allows all passersby to identify it as a city building. Its hosting of a powerful sectarian symbol cannot be seen as a traditional decoration of the holiday season, but instead can only be a message of government support of Christianity," wrote FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert in a Dec. 5 letter to Police Chief Tim Vasquez.

The illuminated cross is part of the police department's annual Christmas display.

Markert points out that the cross sends a harsh message to members of the community who are non-Christian or non-religious that they are outsiders. Illuminating a cross at night for all to see is an overt and egregious endorsement of Christianity, "which is prohibited under the Constitution." She added that the law is on FFRF's side, as many courts have ruled against Latin cross displays in government spaces.

FFRF urges the police department to take immediate action to remove the cross.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation returns to Macomb County (Warren, Mich.) this holiday season — this time with its bright and timely Winter Solstice banner.

With the help of local member Douglas Marshall, the display is set to go up tomorrow at 2 p.m. near the highly contested "Satawa nativity scene." Marshall applied for a permit to place FFRF's banner near the nativity at Mound Road (about 110 feet south of Chicago Road) in Warren, Mich.

"It is our hope that one day government spaces will be free from religious — or irreligious — displays, but until then we will do our best to counter these unlawful displays and remind passersby of the 'real reason for the season' — the Winter Solstice," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.

FFRF has been involved with this particular nativity scene in one way or another for the past four years. In 2008 FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert sent a letter to the Macomb County Road Commission requesting an investigation into the placement and permit of the nearly 10 foot-tall crèche.

The commission determined Satawa never received a proper permit to install the display in the median of a highway, so they ordered him to remove it. After being denied a permit in 2009, Satawa sued the commission, alleging an Establishment Clause violation and violation of his right to free speech. FFRF filed an amicus brief supporting the commission. While the dispute was litigated, the nativity scene was displayed at St. Anne’s Catholic Church.

In 2011, the U.S. District Court ruled against Satawa, arguing that the nativity scene posed a traffic safety hazard. U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen said that "Concern for public safety constitutes a reasonable, viewpoint neutral reason for excluding speakers from a nonpublic forum." Satawa, unhappy with the decision, appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals who overruled the district court.

Now any individual or organization can apply for a permit to put up a display (pursuant to Macomb County Road Commission policy).

FFRF is also placing a Winter Solstice banner in Gladwin, Mich.

Warm thanks to FFRF Member Douglas Marshall for all of his help with this project.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation contacted Prescott public schools, the City of Prescott, Yavapai County and the Arizona Secretary of State over their support and participation in a devotional Christmas celebration in front of the county courthouse in downtown Prescott, Ariz., that crosses the constitutional line.

FFRF has over 19,000 members, with more than 500 in Arizona, including in Prescott, and a local chapter based in Phoenix, The Valley of the Sun Chapter. This ceremony excludes the “almost one million Arizonans [who] are not Christian,” according to the American Religious Identification Survey (2008) for Arizona.

Bennett has been engaged in this ceremony for the past 20 years, during which time he was on the Arizona Board of Education, including two terms as president, and a member of the state Senate.

“This ceremony flouted the First Amendment requirement that state and church remain separate. The public schools, city, county, and state all clearly endorsed the central tenets of Christianity: that Jesus was born of a virgin and that he is humanity’s ‘savior,’ ” wrote FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel in a Dec. 12, 2012 letter to all public officials involved.

A copy of the letter can be read here.

Among Supreme Court rulings Seidel cited was this caveat: “The government may acknowledge Christmas as a cultural phenomenon, but under the First Amendment it may not observe it as a Christian holy day by suggesting people praise God for the birth of Jesus.” Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, 492 U.S. 573, 601 (1989). Seidel noted that “the city, county, state and schools far exceeded this constitutional limitation during this ceremony.”

The “story” Bennett read was text from the book of Luke in the Christian bible, chapters one and two. The songs the children were asked to sing were overtly religious as well. “To address only one of the seven songs, “Joy to the World’s” lyrics include references to ‘the Lord,’ our ‘King,’ ‘Heaven,’ ‘the Savior reigns,’ ‘sins,’ ‘He rules the world through truth and grace’ and ‘His righteousness.’ According to the opening verse of the song the world is meant to feel joy because ‘The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare him room…’ This proclaims Jesus the King of the Earth and asks every listener to become Christian. In other words, the government stamp of approval is given to a song not only espousing Christianity, but also proselytizing for Christianity.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is hosting a noon solstice celebration on Friday, Dec. 21 from 12-1 p.m. at the Wisconsin State Capitol (GAR Memorial Hearing Room — use door 413 North or 417 North.

The festivities will include solstice carols with Dan Barker on piano and Ken Lonnquist on guitar, as well as sweet treats and hot beverages. Donations of non-perishable food items and money will be collected for Second Harvest. FFRF will also be accepting donations for the Women’s Medical Fund, directed by FFRF founder Anne Gaylor. 

Stop by to admire FFRF's two Capitol displays, our Winter Solstice sign and our do-it-yourself natural Winter Solstice 'Nativity' display (countering a crèche), in 1st floor (not ground floor) rotunda. Click here to view a copy of FFRF's Natural Nativity scene flyer. 

Reason's Greetings and Merry Solstice!

Ten bus signs bearing four different messages from the Freedom From Religion Foundation went up today for a month on Anchorage city (“People Mover”) buses.

FFRF, based in Madison, Wis., is a state/church watchdog and the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics) with more than 19,000 members nationwide. FFRF has placed billboards or bus signs in more than half the states since starting a public relations campaign to up the visibility of freethought.

Two buses bear the seasonal sign showing a jolly Santa saying, “Yes, Virginia, there is no God.” The "Yes, Virginia" reference is a play on the famous question posed by 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon in 1897 to the New York Sun newspaper. In an unsigned editorial, the Sun's Francis P. Church wrote his oft-repeated "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" line. The message and artwork was designed by Steve Benson, a former Mormon turned atheist who is the Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist for the Arizona Republic.

Dan Barker, Foundation co-president, a former minister-turned atheist, said Christians tend to think "they own the month of December. We don't agree. No month is free from pagan reverie!"

FFRF’s other bus signs all employ a stained-glass window motif. Three ask the passenger to “Imagine No Religion,” two advise, “Sleep in on Sundays,” and three say: “Enjoy Life Now: There Is No Afterlife.”

Placing signs on Anchorage buses was suggested by an Anchorage member of FFRF who generously underwrote much of the cost.

A recent PEW study reported that 1 in 5 adult Americans now identifies as “nonreligious.”

“Given that independent streak Alaskans are known for, there are many nonbelievers in Anchorage and Alaska at this time of year, who also have a message of good news and cheer — that reason is the answer,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.

Freedom From Religion Foundation's new Chicago-area chapter has placed a Winter Solstice banner in Niles, Ill., celebrating the "nativity" of our Bill of Rights. It depicts the Founding Fathers reverently observing the Bill of Rights in a manger.

The FFRF Metropolitan Chicago Chapter is posting its colorful secular banner to counter the religious displays in the Village of Niles Plaza, which regularly include a life-size nativity scene during the month of December.

FFRF is a national state/church watchdog with over 19,000 members nationwide, including over 670 in Illinois.

FFRF Metropolitan Chicago Chapter President Tom Cara approached Village administration back in November about the possibility of adding a little freethought into the overtly religious plaza displays. Town officials approved the group's sign and the rest is history (literally, as the sign depicts the Bill of Rights, which was ratified on Dec. 15, 1791).

"We are very pleased that Tom and our new chapter were able to convince the Village of Niles to 'make room at the inn' for this creative Winter Solstice display, honoring U.S. liberties, including the vital principle of separation between state and church," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.

The Winter Solstice sign is 18"x24" and is in a mostly "drive by" location.

Warm thanks to Jake Fortin and Rimon Bar for the contributed banner idea and artwork. Jake hosts "The Good Atheist," a successful podcast about all things atheist.

FFRF points out that the Winter Solstice (Dec. 21) — the shortest and darkest day of the year, signaling the return of the sun in the Northern Hemisphere — is "the real reason for the season." It is a natural holiday that has been celebrated for millennia with festivals of light, gift-exchanges and feasting.

FFRF Metropolitan Chicago Chapter Members pose with the sign.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging Kansas Governor Sam Brownback to rescind his religious proclamations and opt not, in his official capacity, to attend or endorse the overtly Christian event "Going to the Heart," which is scheduled to broadcast live from Topeka, Kan., on Dec. 8 from 3-6 p.m. CST.

Brownback not only publicly declared Dec. 8 a "Day of Restoration," but recorded a promotional video for the national simulcast, calling on citizens to "pray to God, in humility and in unity to ask for his favor and assistance in these difficult times."

FFRF Co-Presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker wrote to Brownback on Dec. 6: "If you wish to endorse religious events and religious groups, you must do so in your private capacity as a citizen, not in your official capacity as the highest elected executive of the State of Kansas."

They also pointed out that at least 300,000 Kansans are not religious, so the sectarian proclamations exclude a large segment of the state's diverse population.

The "Going to the Heart" event is part of ReignDown USA, "a worship and prayer movement that began on April 26, 2008, with simultaneous worship and prayer led from the Capitol in Washington, D.C. broadcast via satellite around the world."

The organization's mission states that "God is now calling ReignDown USA to churches, parks, colleges and other venues across the United States that need a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit and/or want to experience radical change. We're called to cover these places in prayer and intercession, bringing healing and restoration to the people in those communities."

FFRF asks that the governor "rescind this proclamation and refrain from issuing them in the future, and encourage him to "get off your knees and get to work."

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A Freedom From Religion Foundation member has placed the group's Winter Solstice sign in the Milwaukee courthouse today for the second year in a row.

FFRF Lifetime Member Edward Susterich delivered the festive display early this morning.

The Winter Solstice sign first went up last year to counteract an inappropriate nativity scene that began appearing in the courthouse in 2009.

FFRF wrote a letter of complaint in 2010 to Lee Holloway, chair of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, on behalf of its Milwaukee-area members protesting the devotional display appearing in the lobby every December. Then-County Executive Scott Walker helped private individuals place the crèche in the rotunda in 2009. FFRF’s letter went unanswered.

FFRF's Winter Solstice sign, on one side, reads “State/Church: Keep Them Separate,” and on the other says:

“At this season of the Winter Solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”

“Fifteen percent of Milwaukee County is nonreligious. This is their courthouse, too, supported with their tax dollars, and if religion is going to be there, there has to be ‘room at the inn’ for the nonreligious perspective,” commented FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. 

FFRF extends warm thanks to Edward Susterich for his activism.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation helped one of its Pennsylvania members obtain a favorable ruling for nonbelievers from the state Human Relations Commission.

After John Wolff of Lancaster was unable to get the owners of Prudhomme's Lost Cajun Kitchen in Columbia to stop discriminating against atheists and agnostics, he enlisted FFRF's help. The restaurant was offering an illegal 10 percent discount for customers who brought in a church bulletin.

On April 11, 2011, FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert wrote the first of three letters of complaint to owners Sharon and Dave and Sharon Prudhomme.

Markert pointed out that the discount "violates the federal Civil Rights Act in addition to provisions of state civil rights statutes.

"The Civil Rights Act states in relevant part, 'All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation ... without discrimination on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin,' " wrote Markert, adding, "As a place of 'public accommodation,' it is illegal for Lost Cajun Kitchen to discriminate, or show favoritism, on the basis of religion.

After getting no response, Wolff, filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. On Sept. 24, the commission approved the following terms of settlement:

"Respondent will continue to give a discount for any bulletin from any group oriented around the subject of religious faith[,] including publications from the Freedom From Religion Foundations[,] as long as they maintain the Sunday discount program."

Wolff was notified Nov. 21 by letter of the disposition of his complaint.

Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor noted that FFRF publishes a monthly newspaper, Freethought Today, and several irreligious "nontracts" that apparently now qualify as church bulletins. "We have titles such as 'Why Women Need Freedom From Religion,' 'Is America a Christian Nation?' 'What's Wrong With the Ten Commandments?' and 'What Does the Bible Say About Abortion?' "

Gaylor added, "It's nice that atheists and agnostics qualify for the 'church' discount. The 'nones' (those affiliated with no church) are, after all, the fastest-growing group in America."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has racked up four solid victories in the past several weeks on behalf of the separation of state and church.

Victories in Kansas and Michigan will remove direct endorsements of God and Christianity from public schools and government property. Texas and Kentucky victories have stopped proselytizing in public schools.

The Latin cross on the city seal of Buhler, Kan., will be removed in response to a letter from FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott. Buhler Mayor Daniel Friesen told the local media that the decision to change the seal was based on the Constitution, which he said, “protects the view of people who may not agree with the values of this community.” The city's governing body consensually agreed last night to redesign the logo. Now local residents will have a chance to submit their own design by the end of January.

The Buhler seal is displayed on a large billboard in Albert Becker Park, as well as on official city forms.

Students as young as three were being instructed to pray by their teacher in an Elkhorn City, Ky., public school every day before lunch until a concerned parent contacted FFRF. Action from FFRF Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert prompted Elkhorn City Elementary School on Nov. 1 to end the illegal organized prayer and stop posting religious fliers in the school.

The staff of the Deaf Smith Elementary School in Rosenberg, Texas, will no longer be subject to a principal's proselytizing weekly newsletters. FFRF's local complainant referred to the principal's newsletters as “Sunday Sermons” because of their near constant use of biblical verses, references and discussions, and the presentation of biblical stories as fact. After FFRF Staff Attorney Stephanie Schmitt alerted the school district to the situation, the district instructed the principal to stop putting religious references in his school communications. 

FFRF also succeeded in having a promotional church sign on an elementary school lawn in New Haven, Mich., taken down. The church will now only display its sign at Endeavour Elementary School on Sundays, the day it rents the school’s cafeteria.

FFRF has over 19,400 members, and is working hard to see the constitutional principle of separation of state and church honored throughout the holiday season.

A special thanks to FFRF Journalism Intern Sarah Eucalano.