The Humanist Society of Australia withdraws support from Steve Pinker’s book tour
Why Evolution is True
By Jerry Coyne
The post The Humanist Society of Australia withdraws support from Steve Pinker’s book tour appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Out Today: “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Ring of Fire”
Out today: “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Ring of Fire“, by David Mack.
When murder and sabotage imperil the time-sensitive and top-secret mission of a team of civilian scientists, Starfleet deploys Captain Christopher Pike and the Enterprise crew to Kathara Station, a classified research facility located above the accretion disk of a black hole.
Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley soon discovers the station’s director, Valkeya, is hiding secrets—but so is Captain Pike, who many years earlier visited this same black hole on a mission that went tragically wrong, and whose consequences have haunted him ever since.
Caught in the crossfire on the station are Science Officer Spock, Nurse Christine Chapel, and Security Chief La’An Noonien-Singh, whose romantic entanglements old and new threaten to unravel their bonds of friendship.
As enemies converge upon the station, can Valkeya and Pike both atone for the mistakes of their pasts in time to avert a tragedy? With time running out, the survival of Kathara Station, the USS Enterprise, and dozens of innocent lives hinges on their acts of contrition….
Buy on Amazon.com
Buy On Books-A-Million.com
DTI Treklit Investigation for the week of October 7, 2025
Here’s a look at the books printed this week in the past.
FFRF urges Hernando County (Fla.) to remove Christian nationalist chaplain
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling on the Hernando County School Board (Fla.) to end its newly created chaplain program and rescind the appointment of Rev. John “Jack” Martin as the state’s first school chaplain.
FFRF has warned in a letter sent to the board that the program and appointment raise profound constitutional and practical concerns under both the U.S. and Florida constitutions.
Hernando County is the first school district in Florida to appoint a chaplain under a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2024. The district selected Martin, a self-identified member of the “Black Robe Regiment” — a Christian nationalist movement that seeks to mobilize pastors for political engagement. The movement’s founder, William Cook, spoke at the “Jericho March” in Washington, D.C., which occurred the night before the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
Martin has publicly defended the Jan. 6 rioters, writing: “Truth be told the crime in the capitol that day was the ratification of the theft of the presidency of the United States, but they want you to watch the shiny coin.” He has also written a song, “The Ballad of J6ers,” portraying the insurrection as a “peaceful, patriotic protest.” In addition, Martin has argued that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, has asserted that non-Christians should not be allowed to pray in Congress, and has encouraged parents to pull their children out of public schools.
“Public schools are charged with educating students in an inclusive environment, not providing religious or spiritual guidance or prayer leaders,” FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line writes to the board. “Rev. Martin has openly promoted Christian nationalism and disparaged public education itself. His stated views are incompatible with the religious neutrality required of public schools and threaten to undermine the trust and inclusivity essential to serving Hernando County’s diverse student body.”
FFRF’s letter emphasized that students needing emotional or psychological support must be served by licensed professionals — not clergy with religious and political agendas. Chaplains lack the training, credentials, and neutrality required to provide appropriate care to all students. Allowing clergy into public schools risks coercion, favoritism and litigation.
“Public schools should educate, not evangelize,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “This program is a dangerous step toward turning Florida’s schools into Christian nationalist recruiting grounds, and Hernando County should not be leading that charge.”
FFRF is urging the Hernando County School Board to immediately cease its chaplain policy, remove Rev. Martin from his role, and recommit to protecting the constitutional rights of students.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 42,000 members and several chapters nationwide, including more than 2,000 members and a chapter in Florida. 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.
The post FFRF urges Hernando County (Fla.) to remove Christian nationalist chaplain appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Star Trek Book Deals For October 2025
This month’s ebook deals have landed with 20 books on sale for $1.99 – $3.99 each, books that have never been on sale are in bold:
There’s a couple $4 books in here, so if you just buy them all, please watch out for those! This month you can get the entire Genesis Wave story and don’t let the confusing numbering of the Dominion War books fool you, that’s the complete story of what the Enterprise was up to during the Dominion War.
Star Trek: Articles of the Federation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Dominion War: Book 2: Call to Arms
Star Trek: Enterprise: The Expanse
Star Trek: Enterprise: The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor’s Wing
Star Trek: Errand of Fury Book 2: Demands Of Honor
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: Myriad Universes: Infinity’s Prism
Star Trek: New Frontier Omnibus
Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many
Star Trek: Picard: Second Self
Star Trek: The Next Generation: 1 Ghost Ship
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Dominion War: Book 1: Behind Enemy Lines
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Dominion War: Book 3: Tunnel Through The Stars
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Genesis Wave: Book 1
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Genesis Wave: Book 2
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Genesis Wave: Book 3
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Technical Manual
Star Trek: The Original Series: Child of Two Worlds
Star Trek: Titan: Synthesis
Star Trek: Troublesome Minds
Freethought Radio – October 2, 2025
After reporting on state/church news, we hear the song “Friendly Atheist T-shirt” by the Freethought Band of Humanists of Minnesota. Then, we speak with University of Toronto Professor of Religion Kevin Lewis O’Neill about his book, Unforgivable: An Abusive Priest and the Church That Sent Him Abroad.
The post Freethought Radio – October 2, 2025 appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF co-sponsors ‘No Kings II’ throughout nation on Sat., Oct. 18
The Freedom From Religion Foundation once again is proud to be a co-sponsor of the “No Kings II” National Day of Action taking place on Saturday, Oct. 18. Already, there are 2,100-plus events planned in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and internationally.
As freethinker and Founder Thomas Paine wisely pointed out: “In America, the law is king.”
Please sign up here to be counted as an FFRF supporter and to find an event near you.
James Madison warned, “It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties.” As a group dedicated to defending the freedoms protected by the First Amendment, FFRF is thoroughly alarmed. Very obviously we cannot be successful in an authoritarian or theocratic nation. To defend our secular form of government, we must also defend democracy.
The “No Kings II” website features a map showing events near you, messaging and many resources, including a host toolkit, and even graphics and signs.
The post FFRF co-sponsors ‘No Kings II’ throughout nation on Sat., Oct. 18 appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Happy 2025 Birthday to Diane Carey!
(no image available)
Happy birthday to Diane Carey!
Diane Lydia Carey-Brodeur is an author from Flint, Michigan with over forty novels written in total in her career, which stretches back to the late 1970s. Best known for co-creating Star Trek: New Earth with John J. Ordover, she is one of the most prolific Star Trek authors, with over thirty novels to her name.
She currently resides in Owosso, Michigan with her husband, fellow Trek novelist, Greg Brodeur. Her primary work is owning and managing Falconbane Historic Events and Weddings, but she has also taught English and Business Communications for one of the local schools, Baker College.
Outside of her writing and work, her hobbies include playing the bagpipes, working on historic sailing ships, and motorcycling. She and her family also spend much time rescuing dogs and cats and finding new homes for them.
She also uses the pen names Lydia Gregory and D.L. Carey.
Check out the Diane Carey credit page to view more updates and a full list of credits!
Find Diane Carey’s work on Amazon.com
DTI Comic Book Investigation for the week of October 2, 2025
Here are all the comics printed this week in years past.
2025 National Convention Guide
The FFRF convention guide has been both emailed and mailed to all registrants. It includes the most up-to-date schedule (subject to minor changes), local restaurant recommendations, site maps, and other important travel and event information.
The post 2025 National Convention Guide appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Happy 2025 Birthday to Michael Dismuke!
()
Happy birthday to Michael Dismuke!
Michael Dismuke writes various supplements for the Star Trek Adventures line of tabletop roleplaying games. He reverse engineers the television shows and movies into amazing gameplay. Writing new adventures and developing modules for fantastic fun and exploration makes him tick. He is also a fiction writer published in Star Trek Explorer magazine, premiering in issue #11 with a story featuring Seven of Nine and Captain Liam Shaw. He is also the writer and creator of Gamemasters, a manga graphic novel featuring kids whose powers are based on the popular gags and games children love.
Check out the Michael Dismuke credit page to view more updates and a full list of credits!
Find Michael Dismuke’s work on Amazon.com
Out Today: “Star Trek: Red Shirts #3”
Out today: “Star Trek: Red Shirts #3“, by Christopher Cantwell.
It’s a race to the top as the anti-Federation spies and the Red Shirts summit the towering antenna on Arkonia 89. The spies seek to escape a transporter disrupter and make it back to their ship with their stolen data, and Raad, Grash, Vesta, and Miller will try to stop them by any means necessary. The climb is made all the more difficult by fire raining from above via a cloaked Warbird captained by a young Romulan and a mysterious Tal Shiar officer.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Lanier, Amiga, and DeMatrio realize a hidden secret about the deceased Cromarty’s base. It just might be their ticket out of this mess alive, but as more lives are senselessly lost, the Red Shirts start to wonder if Starfleet would even care if they made it back at all.
Buy From Things From Another World
Buy on Amazon.com
Buy On Books-A-Million.com
Latest ‘religious liberty’ hearing promotes privilege, not freedom
The Freedom From Religion Foundation warns that the latest meeting of President Trump’s “Religious Liberty Commission” featured a lopsided agenda promoting Christian nationalism.
The hearing, billed as the second in an exploration of “religious liberty in education,” was dominated by panels advocating for even more religious privilege rather than protecting true freedom of conscience. It also elevated individuals who have misused their public roles to advance personal religious beliefs.
“This hearing was not about protecting religious liberty,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “It was about promoting the Christian nationalist agenda, privileging Christianity in public schools, funneling taxpayer money to religious institutions, and weaponing ‘religious liberty’ to undermine equality.”
The hearing included testimony from Hutz Hertzberg, chief education officer of Turning Point USA’s education arm, who urged teaching young children biblical values to counter what he called “anti-American, woke ideology.” He urged people not to trust the public education system to train children in truth and morals, and advocated for indoctrinating children into the “absolute authority” of the bible.
Commissioner Carrie Prejean Boller urged the commission to take advantage of the current Christian nationalist moment, remarking that “now is the time to build, to put those crosses and nativity scenes back up. We have more rights as Christians than we’ve ever had.”
Former high school coach Joe Kennedy, who turned his government position into a platform for public prayer and was at the center of a Supreme Court case that dangerously eroded the separation of state and church, claimed he was “prosecuted and persecuted” for his religious expression. Kennedy also alleged that peoples’ lives are being overturned by a backlash to faith practices.
Without naming FFRF, Kennedy called out secular groups: “I don’t know a lot about law and liberty, but I know that you’re supposed to advise people on the truth and the facts, and they’re not. They have an agenda, and their agenda is well set and in place, working very well at keeping prayer out of the public square. They’re still doing it. So, that needs to be exposed. And, those lawyers need to be held accountable.”
Virginia teacher Monica Gill described defying a district policy requiring teachers to use students’ preferred names and pronouns, framing her refusal as an act of religious obedience. “God’s truth is more important than my job,” Gill said. “My employer gave teachers a choice: deny truth or risk everything. … I knew that I could not stand in front of my Father in heaven one day and say: ‘My pension plan was more important than your truth.’ I also knew that if I say that I love my students, the only right choice would be to stand in love and truth for them.”
Connecticut teacher Marisol Arroyo-Castro recounted suing her school after administrators ordered her to remove a crucifix she had prominently displayed in front of the students in her classroom.
Commissioner and Christian nationalist Eric Metaxas turned the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment on its head: “The Establishment Clause means that secular religion cannot be established. If your view is opposing or pushing against a biblical or a Christian worldview, if you’re pushing against what you call a religious worldview, you are yourself taking a religious position. And that’s not neutral.”
“Dr. Phil” McGraw, also a commissioner, encouraged using government authority to advance what FFRF considers to be a Christian nationalist agenda: “There has to be a call to action. The most common way to lose power is to think you don’t have it to begin with. We do have power, and we need to rally with that power.”
Other participants represented Hillsdale College (a small, doctrinaire Michigan Christian institution with an outsized influence), the Becket Fund (a far-right Catholic legal outfit) and faith-based schools seeking public funding while demanding the right to discriminate.
All speakers represented only conservative evangelical, Catholic or Jewish perspectives. No nonreligious voices were included despite nearly a third of Americans identifying as nonreligious, many of whom are harmed by government entanglement with religion. Students and families experiencing coercive prayer, favoritism or discrimination were also not invited to participate.
“The First Amendment is supposed to ensure government neutrality — protecting the right to practice religion or no religion at all,” comments FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “This commission already has a foregone agenda to promote conservative Christian faith and encourage its further encroachment into our public institutions.”
FFRF will continue defending the rights of nonreligious Americans and upholding the constitutional wall separating church and state.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post Latest ‘religious liberty’ hearing promotes privilege, not freedom appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Quincy’s controversial mayor steps in it again with anti-LGBTQ remarks about the Catholic sexual-abuse crisis
Media Nation
By Dan Kennedy
The post Quincy’s controversial mayor steps in it again with anti-LGBTQ remarks about the Catholic sexual-abuse crisis appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Deion Sanders sees Colorado crowds spiral out of control with religious slurs
MARCA
By Staff
The post Deion Sanders sees Colorado crowds spiral out of control with religious slurs appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Knoxville City Councilmember Debbie Helsley pushes 8-week delay on Chilhowee Park vote
Knox News (Knoxville, TN)
Allie Feinberg
The post Knoxville City Councilmember Debbie Helsley pushes 8-week delay on Chilhowee Park vote appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Freedom From Religion Foundation is monitoring Knoxville’s Chilhowee Park vote
Knox News (Knoxville, TN)
By Allie Feinberg
The post Freedom From Religion Foundation is monitoring Knoxville’s Chilhowee Park vote appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Happy 2025 Birthday to Simon Hawke!
(no image available)
Happy birthday to Simon Hawke!
Simon Hawke is an American author of mainly science fiction and fantasy novels. He was born Nicholas Valentin Yermakov, but began writing as Simon Hawke in 1984 and later changed his legal name to Hawke. He has also written near future adventure novels under the pen name J. D. Masters and a series of humorous mystery novels. He was the Colorado Writer of the Year, 1992.
As Nicholas Yermakov, his early books were published in 1981-1984 including two Battlestar Galactica novelizations. Since re-launching his career as Simon Hawke in 1984, he has produced a large volume of lighter fiction. Almost all of his books published after 1984 have been either part of a series and/or tie-in novels and novelizations.
His first major work as Simon Hawke was the Timewars series, which recounts the adventures of an organization tasked with protecting history from being changed by time travellers. In the world of the series, many people and events we consider fictional are historical, and vice versa; the action of each book in the series weaves in and out of the events of a famous work of literature. For example, in the first book in the series time travellers contesting the fate of Richard I of England become caught up in Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe.
He has also written a series of humorous murder mysteries which features a young William Shakespeare and a fictional friend, Symington “Tuck” Smythe.
Check out the Simon Hawke credit page to view more updates and a full list of credits!
Find Simon Hawke’s work on Amazon.com
Lake school board addresses prayer concerns after legal complaint
Your Ohio News (Millersburg, OH)
By Joy Burnett
The post Lake school board addresses prayer concerns after legal complaint appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Azhar Majeed on ‘America Prays,’ Christian Nationalism, and Defending Secular Democracy
The Good Men Project
By Scott Douglas
The post Azhar Majeed on ‘America Prays,’ Christian Nationalism, and Defending Secular Democracy appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Quincy’s controversial mayor steps in it again with anti-LGBTQ remarks about the Catholic sexual-abuse crisis
Media Nation
By Dan Kennedy
The post Quincy’s controversial mayor steps in it again with anti-LGBTQ remarks about the Catholic sexual-abuse crisis appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Deion Sanders sees Colorado crowds spiral out of control with religious slurs
MARCA
By Staff
The post Deion Sanders sees Colorado crowds spiral out of control with religious slurs appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Knoxville City Councilmember Debbie Helsley pushes 8-week delay on Chilhowee Park vote
Knox News (Knoxville, TN)
Allie Feinberg
The post Knoxville City Councilmember Debbie Helsley pushes 8-week delay on Chilhowee Park vote appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Freedom From Religion Foundation is monitoring Knoxville’s Chilhowee Park vote
Knox News (Knoxville, TN)
By Allie Feinberg
The post Freedom From Religion Foundation is monitoring Knoxville’s Chilhowee Park vote appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Out Today: “Star Trek: Voyager Omnibus”
Out today: “Star Trek: Voyager Omnibus“, by Dave Baker and Paul Allor.
Join Captain Janeway and the Voyager crew in four tales of adventure and intrigue!
First, in Seven’s Reckoning, a chance encounter with a reptilian alien race draws Seven of Nine and the rest of the U.S.S. Voyager crew into an ancient class conflict that’s on the brink of exploding into all-out war! Set during Star Trek: Voyager‘s amazing fourth season, Seven finds her newfound humanity in conflict with her commitment to the Prime Directive. When she finally makes her choice, will it have the desired result? And will there still be a place for her aboard the Voyager once the dust clears? By writer Dave Baker and artist Angel Hernandez.
Then, in Mirrors and Smoke, it’s 2372. Rebel ship Voyager—captained by Kathryn Janeway, an escaped slave from a brutal Cardassian mining facility—is flung halfway across the universe. Stranded in the Delta Quadrant, Janeway and her ragtag rebel crew are faced with a choice. Find their way home, or quietly forge a new life far away from Klingons, Cardassians, and the Rebellion? Janeway chooses the third option. The Voyager will stay. The Voyager will plunder. The Delta Quadrant will be hers, and she will be its Pirate Queen. By writer Paul Allor and artist J.K. Woodward.
Closing out this omnibus are two short stories, “The Wildman Maneuver” from Star Trek: Waypoint by writer Mairghread Scott and artist Corin Howell and “The Swift Spoke” from Star Trek: Waypoint Special 2019 by Malachi Ward and Matt Sheehan.
Buy From Things From Another World
Buy on Amazon.com
Buy On Books-A-Million.com
Out Today: “Star Trek, Volume Five: When the Walls Fell”
Out today: “Star Trek, Volume Five: When the Walls Fell“, by .
Arc five of the acclaimed Star Trek ongoing comic series, and the build-up to Star Trek: Lore War, continues here! The android Lore has done the unthinkable: He has detonated the Orb of Destruction, unmaking the universe!
After an extragalactic tumble on the ensuing shockwave, the U.S.S. Theseus sinks into fluidic space. There, the crew melds in and out of a manifold of realities. In its escape from the Delta Quadrant, the Theseus has landed in an unknown sector of space that appears safer—if 100 years younger—than their own. There, the crew receive a signal from an oncoming ship: the U.S.S. Enterprise. Captain James T. Kirk is hailing!
Benjamin Sisko is against a godkiller once again, but this time it’s up to him alone to save reality itself! Volume 5 collects Star Trek issues #25–30 by writers Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing with artists Liana Kangas, Angel Hernandez, Mike Feehan, Tess Fowler, and Travis Mercer.
Buy From Things From Another World
Buy on Amazon.com
Buy On Books-A-Million.com
DTI Treklit Investigation for the week of September 30, 2025
Here’s a look at the books printed this week in the past.
Trump administration brands critics of Christian nationalism as security threats
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is denouncing a new presidential memorandum for dangerously equating dissent and nonbelief with terrorism.
President Trump issued a broadly worded memorandum on Sept. 25 titled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence” that briefly but explicitly singles out “anti-Christianity” and “hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality” as supposed drivers of terrorism. The memo authorizes government-wide investigations into nonprofits, activists, their donors and funders, using vague and overbroad labels of “terrorism” and “conspiracy against rights.”
The memo states: “Common threads animating this violent conduct include anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”
FFRF, which unequivocally condemns political violence, says it appears that the president is invoking political violence in this instance as an excuse to target nonprofits and activists and stigmatize them with the false label of “domestic terrorism.”
“FFRF is deeply concerned that the president is misusing the power of his civil, secular office to brand dissent from Christian nationalism as terrorism,” warns FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “By naming ‘anti-Christianity’ alongside violence and insurrection, and invoking ‘family, religion and morality,’ this administration is telling millions of nonreligious Americans and religious minorities that their views are not only unpatriotic, but could be considered a national security threat.”
FFRF reminds the administration that the United States was founded on freedom of thought and conscience, not loyalty to religion. To demonize those who reject Christianity or call everyone who advocates on issues of race, gender, immigration and LGBTQ rights as “extremists” — is a chilling attack on democracy itself.
“The First Amendment guarantees the right to criticize religion, including Christianity,” adds FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. “This memorandum is not about protecting the nation from violence. It is about silencing open debate over the president’s favored religion and ideology.”
FFRF urges the administration to rescind the memorandum and for Congress to investigate its unconstitutional targeting of religious dissent.
“Labeling tens of millions of peaceful Americans as potential terrorists because they don’t buy into a Christian nationalist worldview is reckless, discriminatory and profoundly un-American,” concludes Gaylor.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post Trump administration brands critics of Christian nationalism as security threats appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF awards $19,650 to 2025 college student essay contest winners
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is proud to announce the 10 winners and 11 honorable mentions of the 2025 Kenneth L. Proulx Memorial Essay Contest for Ongoing College Students.
FFRF has paid out a total of $19,650 in award money for the contest. Students were asked to write on the topic of “Why the only afterlife that should concern us is leaving our descendants and planet a secure and pleasant future.” Actor and FFRF Lifetime Member Mr. Madison Arnold has generously endowed the $1,000 sixth-place prize. Madison, who is 89, has given a $30,000 endowment as a living bequest, which he calls a “pre-quest.”
The winners, their ages, the colleges or universities they attend, and the award amounts are listed below.
FIRST PLACE
Vera Ngene, 23, Wake Technical Community College, $3,500.
SECOND PLACE
Corryn Guarino, 19, University of South Florida, $3,000.
THIRD PLACE
Bryce Springfield, 23, University of Massachusetts Amherst, $2,500.
FOURTH PLACE
Elliot Graham, 21, California Polytechnic State University, $2,000.
FIFTH PLACE
Samantha Lopez, 19, Oregon Institute of Technology, $1,500.
SIXTH PLACE
(MR. MADISON ARNOLD AWARD)
Dipshika Rai, 19, Northern Kentucky University, $1,000.
SEVENTH PLACE
Naila Buckner, 23, Columbia College Chicago, $750.
EIGHTH PLACE
Lucas Papp, 19, University of Georgia, $500.
NINTH PLACE
Renata Hubbs, 18, University of Georgia, $400.
TENTH PLACE
Kevin Garcia, 21, Texas State University, $300.
HONORABLE MENTIONS ($200 each)
Jailyn Agard, 19, Ramapo College of New Jersey.
Gabriella Badami, 20, Savannah College of Art & Design.
Abigail Baltz, 20, Belmont University.
Bianca Brown, 19, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University.
Sabrina Canales, 21, University of Texas at Austin.
Riley Coe, 18, University of New Mexico.
Emma Girten, 20, Auburn University.
Eli Lipsom, 19, Assumption University.
Logan Longenecker, 19, Sam Houston State University.
Godwins Makoule, 22, The College of New Jersey.
Natalie Mendoza, 20, Arizona State University.
FFRF thanks Lisa Treu for managing the details of this and FFRF’s other student essay competitions. We also would like to thank our volunteer and staff judges, including: Adeola Abilawon, Paul Baker, Dan Barker, Jon Galehouse, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Richard Grimes, Tim Hatcher, Linda Josheff, Tori Mizerak, Chris O’Connell, Brian Gillaspie, Ricki Grunberg, Katya Maes, Kurt Mohnsam, Brooks Rimes, PJ Slinger and Karen Lee Weidig.
FFRF has offered essay competitions to college students since 1979, high school students since 1994, grad students since 2010, one for students of color since 2016 and a fifth contest for law students since 2019.
“FFRF is pleased to honor this year’s winners, and is encouraged by the willingness of so many students to raise their voices for freethought,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “FFRF is proud of its ongoing support for the next generation of freethinkers, the largest generation of religiously unaffiliated in U.S. history.”
FFRF has offered essay competitions to college students since 1979, high school students since 1994, graduate students since 2010, and one dedicated to students of color since 2016. A fifth contest, open to law students, began in 2019.
More detailed bios and short essays by the winning students will appear in the upcoming November issue of Freethought Today, FFRF’s lively 24-page (almost) monthly newspaper.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post FFRF awards $19,650 to 2025 college student essay contest winners appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: Marquan Adams
FFRF has awarded $30,000 in First in the Family Humanist Forward Freethought scholarships to seven students, thanks to the incredible generosity of FFRF benefactor Lance Bredvold. The students were selected by Black Skeptics Los Angeles (BSLA), an African American humanist/atheist-based organization.
Marquan Adams, UCLA, $5,000
Knowing that humanists often advocate for the separation of church and state, and understanding how LGBTQ+ individuals are frequently targeted by religiously motivated laws such as those opposing same-sex marriage, I came to the realization that I will become the humanist to try to stop this oppression of the LGBTQ+ community.
I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but one thing I was sure of was that in order to start this new wave of humanism, I had to become somebody my peers respected, even the homophobic ones. So, I started grinding academically, becoming one of the top 10 students in my class. I also began putting myself out there socially. Soon, I became a figure for the LGBTQ+ students at my campus.
I was selected out of 30 students to read my AP Research Capstone project findings during an assembly, which detailed how verbal abuse negatively impacts queer students in our city. After my speech, many students who were once against the queer community reached out to me and told me they didn’t know how devastating the effects were, and that they’d change. Even my school’s football team, known for having many homophobic individuals, reached out to the LGBTQ+ club and wanted to fundraise with us, thus building long-lasting friendships. This served as evidence that this new wave of humanism is effective, being that many of those students are strongly religious, yet they put aside their religious beliefs to help and build friendships.
BSLA is the first secular humanist/atheist organization to specifically address college pipelining for youth of color through its ongoing scholarship, college and K-12 youth leadership partnerships. FFRF has proudly partnered with BSLA for 12 years to provide tuition grants, gradually increasing the funding and number of scholarships.
Those who would like to donate toward the Forward Freethought Fund, a needs-based scholarship dedicated to helping freethinking students who might otherwise be unable to attend college, may designate “tuition scholarships” in the ffrf.org/donate dropdown or earmark checks for “Forward Freethought Fund” or “tuition scholarships.” All donations to FFRF remain deductible for income-tax purposes.
The post First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: Marquan Adams appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: Aviana Anderson
FFRF has awarded $30,000 in First in the Family Humanist Forward Freethought scholarships to seven students, thanks to the incredible generosity of FFRF benefactor Lance Bredvold. The students were selected by Black Skeptics Los Angeles (BSLA), an African American humanist/atheist-based organization.
Aviana Anderson, Tuskegee University, $5,000
My mother, a single parent, is one of the most dedicated people I have ever met, but it was not prayer alone that has raised me and my siblings. It was her working late at night to prepare dinner and care for my paralyzed aunt, her walking to work when we couldn’t even afford gas, and her sharing what little we had with neighbors who had even less. I saw her and learned that you don’t need divine mandate to act with kindness. You just need love. You just need people who believe in each other. I identify as a freethinker and humanist not because I’m anti-religion, but because I hold faith in another kind of faith, a faith in humans, in our ability to convert pain into progress, and in the power of showing up for one another with no strings attached. Humanism is a faith that says we don’t have to wait until the afterlife to start changing this one. It’s action in the present moment, justice in the present moment, healing in the present moment.
BSLA is the first secular humanist/atheist organization to specifically address college pipelining for youth of color through its ongoing scholarship, college and K-12 youth leadership partnerships. FFRF has proudly partnered with BSLA for 12 years to provide tuition grants, gradually increasing the funding and number of scholarships.
Those who would like to donate toward the Forward Freethought Fund, a needs-based scholarship dedicated to helping freethinking students who might otherwise be unable to attend college, may designate “tuition scholarships” in the ffrf.org/donate dropdown or earmark checks for “Forward Freethought Fund” or “tuition scholarships.” All donations to FFRF remain deductible for income-tax purposes.
The post First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: Aviana Anderson appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: Madison Biddle
FFRF has awarded $30,000 in First in the Family Humanist Forward Freethought scholarships to seven students, thanks to the incredible generosity of FFRF benefactor Lance Bredvold. The students were selected by Black Skeptics Los Angeles (BSLA), an African American humanist/atheist-based organization.
Madison Biddle, Southwest College, $2,500
Growing up in South Los Angeles as the child of a single mother living with lupus, I learned early on what it means to be both vulnerable and resilient. I was raised without organized religion, and over time, I began to identify more with secular and freethinking values that prioritize empathy, critical thinking, and action over belief. My mom’s strength, despite her chronic illness, taught me that people, not divine forces, are the ones who bear the responsibility to support and uplift each other. Identifying as nonreligious allows me to focus on real-world solutions and justice, grounded in the here and now. Secular humanism, to me, means addressing inequities through reason, compassion, and accountability not relying on religious explanations for suffering or progress. My lived experience has shown me that social change happens when people organize, educate, and build systems of support, especially in communities like mine that are too often overlooked.
I aim to create a more just and compassionate world where human lives are valued not for their conformity to a belief system, but for their inherent worth and potential.
BSLA is the first secular humanist/atheist organization to specifically address college pipelining for youth of color through its ongoing scholarship, college and K-12 youth leadership partnerships. FFRF has proudly partnered with BSLA for 12 years to provide tuition grants, gradually increasing the funding and number of scholarships.
Those who would like to donate toward the Forward Freethought Fund, a needs-based scholarship dedicated to helping freethinking students who might otherwise be unable to attend college, may designate “tuition scholarships” in the ffrf.org/donate dropdown or earmark checks for “Forward Freethought Fund” or “tuition scholarships.” All donations to FFRF remain deductible for income-tax purposes.
The post First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: Madison Biddle appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: KeVonna Dixon
FFRF has awarded $30,000 in First in the Family Humanist Forward Freethought scholarships to seven students, thanks to the incredible generosity of FFRF benefactor Lance Bredvold. The students were selected by Black Skeptics Los Angeles (BSLA), an African American humanist/atheist-based organization.
KeVonna Dixon, Coastal Carolina College, $5,000
I identify as nonreligious because of who I am and what I’ve endured as a Black queer woman. As someone who started their early life in foster care, it has shown me that love doesn’t always come from the places where it’s expected. I’ve been raised by holy narcissists who have labeled me as the devil or sinister. I’ve had people who I thought were friends quote bible verses at me for not believing, saying I’d go to eternal hell if not. I’ve had peers tell me I need God to fix me, but I stand on the basis that you don’t need God to teach you how to care. What you need is a heart and empathy, the simple ability to see someone struggling and to give them a shoulder.
As someone who has struggled with my identity and has not felt safe and seen for simply existing with the way I was made, I’ve learned that compassion without conditions is a powerful testimony. I’ve found that power in secular humanism. It’s an act of belief that anyone and anybody, no matter the race, sex, sexual orientation or religion, deserves protection and freedom because we are all human. And, as I walk through life, that’s what I hold dear to my heart.
BSLA is the first secular humanist/atheist organization to specifically address college pipelining for youth of color through its ongoing scholarship, college and K-12 youth leadership partnerships. FFRF has proudly partnered with BSLA for 12 years to provide tuition grants, gradually increasing the funding and number of scholarships.
Those who would like to donate toward the Forward Freethought Fund, a needs-based scholarship dedicated to helping freethinking students who might otherwise be unable to attend college, may designate “tuition scholarships” in the ffrf.org/donate dropdown or earmark checks for “Forward Freethought Fund” or “tuition scholarships.” All donations to FFRF remain deductible for income-tax purposes.
The post First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: KeVonna Dixon appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: Bailee Morris
FFRF has awarded $30,000 in First in the Family Humanist Forward Freethought scholarships to seven students, thanks to the incredible generosity of FFRF benefactor Lance Bredvold. The students were selected by Black Skeptics Los Angeles (BSLA), an African American humanist/atheist-based organization.
Bailee Morris, Georgia Guinnett College, $5,000
I am secular because I believe that the transformation for the better is done by human hands and minds and not religious groups or forces beyond. Rather than relying on prayer or tradition to solve the pressing issues in my community, I’ve come to believe in action working collectively to build structures, systems and opportunities that uplift everyone, especially the most marginalized. Humanism’s insistence that all human beings should be treated with dignity no matter their race, gender or origin is central to how I understand equity. I am most concerned with addressing the inequities that exist for Black youth in terms of education, access and exposure to STEM professions. These are not merely systemic problems, they are problems that involve human beings, and they must be solved by humans through solutions that engage compassion, justice and fairness.
Secular humanism allows me to pursue this calling with confidence: individuals need support systems, not sermons; they need access to opportunity, not pie-in-the-sky promises.
BSLA is the first secular humanist/atheist organization to specifically address college pipelining for youth of color through its ongoing scholarship, college and K-12 youth leadership partnerships. FFRF has proudly partnered with BSLA for 12 years to provide tuition grants, gradually increasing the funding and number of scholarships.
Those who would like to donate toward the Forward Freethought Fund, a needs-based scholarship dedicated to helping freethinking students who might otherwise be unable to attend college, may designate “tuition scholarships” in the ffrf.org/donate dropdown or earmark checks for “Forward Freethought Fund” or “tuition scholarships.” All donations to FFRF remain deductible for income-tax purposes.
The post First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: Bailee Morris appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: Bradley Newman
FFRF has awarded $30,000 in First in the Family Humanist Forward Freethought scholarships to seven students, thanks to the incredible generosity of FFRF benefactor Lance Bredvold. The students were selected by Black Skeptics Los Angeles (BSLA), an African American humanist/atheist-based organization.
Bradley Newman, Morehouse College, $2,500
I believe empathy, logic and our shared humanity are reason enough to do the right thing. That mindset led me to challenge unjust situations, sometimes loudly and passionately, earning me the nickname “Malcolm X” within my family. My secular worldview comes not from a place of rebellion, but from a belief in people. I do not rely on a higher power to right the world’s wrongs; I believe that individuals, through small and intentional actions, can collectively create powerful change. Life as a queer Black boy raised in a conservative religious setting came with constant tension and isolation. But instead of turning inward, I chose to cultivate empathy — for others who, like me, did not quite fit the mold. That empathy has evolved into a humanist commitment to justice, equity, and inclusion for all people, regardless of race, gender, or background.
As someone who knows what it’s like to face adversity without adequate emotional support, I want to create a space where healing is accessible and stigma-free. Secular humanism empowers me to focus on evidence-based care, compassion and community-driven solutions. I do not believe that change is inevitable. I believe it is made day by day, by people who care enough to act.
BSLA is the first secular humanist/atheist organization to specifically address college pipelining for youth of color through its ongoing scholarship, college and K-12 youth leadership partnerships. FFRF has proudly partnered with BSLA for 12 years to provide tuition grants, gradually increasing the funding and number of scholarships.
Those who would like to donate toward the Forward Freethought Fund, a needs-based scholarship dedicated to helping freethinking students who might otherwise be unable to attend college, may designate “tuition scholarships” in the ffrf.org/donate dropdown or earmark checks for “Forward Freethought Fund” or “tuition scholarships.” All donations to FFRF remain deductible for income-tax purposes.
The post First in the Family Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardee: Bradley Newman appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Freethought Radio – September 25, 2025
After covering state/church news, we report on the “war-mongering” Christian nationalist rhetoric at Charlie Kirk’s memorial. Then, we hear distinguished attorney Richard Katskee speaking at the Scopes Trial Centennial conference about his role in the 2005 lawsuit in Dover, Pennsylvania, defending the teaching of evolution in the public schools.
The post Freethought Radio – September 25, 2025 appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Supt. Walters resignation a victory for Oklahoma’s families and public education
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling the resignation of Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters a major win for the Constitution and for the state’s students.
FFRF has been demanding for two years that he step down — and was the first organization to do so. Walters spent his time as superintendent relentlessly undermining the separation of state and church. In March, he sued FFRF for sending letters to school districts objecting to unconstitutional religious activity — a lawsuit even a President Trump-appointed federal judge swiftly dismissed as meritless. The court found that Walters’ Department of Education had not been harmed in any way by FFRF’s advocacy, affirming that the First Amendment protects FFRF’s right to petition government officials and speak out against constitutional violations.
Walters’ resignation comes after years of extreme, unconstitutional actions. In 2024 alone, Walters:
- Issued a “compulsory” bible mandate to Oklahoma schools, claiming the bible and the Ten Commandments must be taught as “foundational” texts.
- Proposed spending $6 million in taxpayer money on Trump-endorsed “God Bless the U.S.A.” bibles, an action FFRF is challenging in court, and later purchased hundreds of copies for AP government classes.
- Created an “Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism” within the Department of Education to promote Christian nationalism and direct schools to show students a video in which Walters prays over Trump and urges students to join him.
- Pushed new social studies standards with more than 40 explicit references to the bible, designed to inject Christian teachings into public classrooms.
“Walters turned the Oklahoma Department of Education into a Christian nationalist propaganda machine, trying to force religion into classrooms at every turn,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “His resignation is good news for every Oklahoma student who deserves a public education free from religious coercion.”
FFRF has been part of multiple coalitions fighting Walters’ unconstitutional policies, including the state lawsuit challenging his bible mandate and directives to Oklahoma schools.
“Walters’ resignation is a welcome step, but much work remains to repair the damage he inflicted on Oklahoma’s public schools,” adds FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. “Oklahoma families deserve lasting safeguards to ensure no future official in this position can exploit their office to impose their religion.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 42,000 members nationwide, including hundreds of members in Oklahoma. 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.
The post Supt. Walters resignation a victory for Oklahoma’s families and public education appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF successfully protests Ky. elementary school’s religious assembly
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is pleased to learn that it has persuaded a Kentucky school system to protect the First Amendment rights of elementary school students.
A concerned parent reported that on Sept. 16, 3 Heath Brothers, a Christian boy band, performed for all students, including those as young as 6 years old, at Breathitt Elementary School (in Jackson, Ky.) for a school-sponsored assembly. Parents reportedly received no notice about the religious assembly.
Additionally, 3 Heath Brothers distributed a “Keys for Kids” devotional pamphlet at the assembly. Keys for Kids is a youth ministry organization that exists “to ignite a passion for Christ in kids, teens and families worldwide.” The 100-page pamphlet includes explicitly religious stories with references to bible verses, promotion of a religious podcast and solicitation of donations. For example, the booklet tells students, “Lots of kids don’t know they need Him to be saved from sin,” and instructs that such kids “need someone to tell them — and Jesus may want you to be that person.” Another example states, “It’s good to do your best and recognize your abilities, but never forget that you have no reason to be proud. It’s God — not you — who is the source of all good gifts.”
The parent reported that their child believed the pamphlet is a storybook their parents should read to them, which required the parent to discuss religion with their child before they were ready. The parent had a timeline and curriculum for exploring religion with their child, but instead was forced into having this conversation due to the school’s actions.
FFRF notes that this is not the first time the 3 Heath Brothers band has abused a school-sponsored platform to push their religious agenda. Students at a North Carolina school similarly received Keys for Kids devotional pamphlets and were forced to listen to nine songs with Christian messages. After FFRF informed the North Carolina district of the violation, its legal counsel provided guidance to the board of education regarding the distribution of religious material.
FFRF’s letter to the Kentucky school system offered sound constitutional advice.
“Elementary students cannot legally or practically be expected to dissent and leave what appeared to be a mandatory school assembly in order to resist their school violating their constitutional rights,” FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Charlotte R. Gude wrote to Breathitt County Schools Superintendent Phillip Watts. “Further, the school violated parents’ First Amendment right to determine which faith, if any, they teach their children to believe.”
Thankfully, the district acted quickly and appropriately in response.
Breathitt County Schools Superintendent Phillip Watts emailed a reply the day after FFRF’s Sept. 22 letter, outlining a plan of action to correct the violation. “Our [b]oard attorney will provide training and guidance for school administrators on issues relating to speakers/performers for student assemblies and events and on material distribution to students by outside groups,” Watts wrote, adding that the training would be occurring within 30 days of his writing.
While FFRF is satisfied with the resolution, it warns that the 3 Heath Brothers are engaging in a troubling pattern.
“The 3 Heath Brothers seem to be perfectly pleased to make a mess for school districts with deceptive promises of assemblies before pushing dogma onto impressionable students,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor states. “We’ve seen them act without concern for the rights of children and their parents, forcing a difficult topic onto one family before they were ready. This band of brothers needs a firm lesson on the constitutional right to be free from religious coercion at schools.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 42,000 members nationwide, including over 300 members in Kentucky. 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.
The post FFRF successfully protests Ky. elementary school’s religious assembly appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF’s work paid off in Iowa after a middle school removed religious items from a classroom. (October 2025)
Iowa —
FFRF’s work paid off in the Newton (Iowa) Community School District after a middle school removed religious items from a classroom.
A concerned parent reported that an instructor of Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates at Berg Middle School was using his position to promote his personal religious beliefs to students. The parent reported that the teacher displayed religious iconography in his classroom, including a Christian cross and a poster of the Last Supper. The instructor in question was listed as a staff member at Berg Middle School.
“It is inappropriate and unconstitutional for the district or its agents to display religious imagery on school property in clear view of students and other employees because it conveys government preference for religion over nonreligion,” FFRF Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow Kyle J. Steinberg wrote.
FFRF’s letter was met with a response from District Superintendent Tom Messinger, who agreed with FFRF’s sentiments that the district is constitutionally required to remain secular. “Upon reviewing your letter, we reviewed the matter in accordance with district policies and procedures,” Messinger wrote. “In response to that review, we made contact with the individual and directed him to come to the school and remove items from the classroom which could be perceived by students as sponsorship of a particular religion or religion in general.” Messinger also informed FFRF that the district planned to review the Establishment Clause with relevant and other personnel to remind them of their responsibilities and to comply with them.
The post FFRF’s work paid off in Iowa after a middle school removed religious items from a classroom. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Churchill County School District listened to FFRF and put a stop to including school-sponsored prayers at a high school graduation. (October 2025)
Nevada —
Churchill County School District in Fallon, Nev., listened to FFRF and put a stop to a multiyear practice of including school-sponsored prayers at a district high school graduation.
A district alumnus reported that Churchill County High School had previously scheduled prayers as part of the graduation ceremony. FFRF found that the 2022 graduation ceremony included a prayer led by a former instructor. The prayer was overtly religious and the prayer-giver requested that all attendees, including students, join them in prayer.
“School officials may not invite a former or current teacher, faculty member or clergy member to give any type of prayer, invocation, benediction or sermon at a public high school-sponsored event,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district.
Sharla Hales, general counsel for the district, wrote back in response to FFRF’s letter, confirming that prayers had been included in the graduation ceremonies for many years. However, as Hales had never attended the ceremonies, the practice had gone unexamined. “Superintendent Parsons and I have discussed this situation,” Hales wrote. “Although your letter was received too late to alter the graduation plans for this year, the district agrees that school-sponsored prayers should not be a part of graduation ceremonies.”
The post Churchill County School District listened to FFRF and put a stop to including school-sponsored prayers at a high school graduation. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF worked with the Columbus County School system to keep the district from infusing religion with mandatory school events. (October 2025)
North Carolina —
FFRF worked with the Columbus County (N.C.) Schools system to keep the district from infusing religion with mandatory school events.
A district parent and multiple employees have reported that East Columbus Junior/Senior High School held several assemblies featuring religious speakers. FFRF learned that at the school’s awards assembly on Feb. 5, a staff member delivered a call-and-response poem which explicitly credited God and religion for the student’s accomplishments. The audience, consisting of all students and staff, were directed to repeat portions of the poem aloud.
Additionally, on April 15, East Columbus High held an honor roll ceremony to celebrate student achievement, and that students were told they would receive ice cream later in the day as a reward for making the honor roll. During the lunch period that day, a religious organization appeared on campus and distributed religious pamphlets and small gifts to students as they entered the cafeteria. Reportedly, a district staff member was visibly involved in the distribution of these religious materials, and when students went to get their ice cream reward, they had to walk past a group distributing bibles. Students reported feeling uncomfortable, harassed and pressured into taking a bible.
“Even if students had known about the religious content of these activities, voluntariness is no excuse for violating students’ rights,” FFRF Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow Kyle J. Steinberg wrote.
FFRF received correspondence from the district’s legal representative William W. Phipps after the complaint was filed. Phipps confirmed that the superintendent and the assistant superintendent immediately began an investigation after learning of the violations. Phipps, alongside the superintendent and assistant superintendent, met with the board addressing the incidents occurring at the school. “The superintendent also advised of the conference he held with the principal and the staff allegedly involved in these three incidents, counseling them on the mistakes, and what should have been done to avoid the same,” Phipps wrote. “He counseled them also on communication being important to avoid future instances related to the issue of separation of church and state and religious viewpoint discrimination.”
The post FFRF worked with the Columbus County School system to keep the district from infusing religion with mandatory school events. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF made sure that the Chartiers-Houston School District would no longer allow for biblical references at the annual graduation ceremony. (October 2025)
Pennsylvania —
FFRF made sure that the Chartiers-Houston School District in Houston, Pa., would no longer allow for biblical references to occur at the annual graduation ceremony.
A concerned parent of a graduating senior reported that Chartiers-Houston Jr./ Sr. High School included a pre-planned invocation at its graduation ceremony, and that Superintendent Gary Peiffer and the school’s principal inappropriately promoted bible verses and faith in remarks. In the principal’s speech, he referenced 1 Corinthians 13:13 before telling students that “faith” was the first of “four pillars for [their] journey ahead.” Later, Peiffer also made reference to the bible, favorably comparing Jesus to teachers. Infusing the ceremony with religion throughout made the concerned parent uncomfortable, as they are an atheist and felt that prayer and biblical references are out of place for a public high school graduation.
FFRF additionally learned that preplanned prayers appeared to be a regular occurrence during the Chartiers-Houston High School’s graduation ceremonies. Video recordings of the 2023, 2024 and 2025 ceremonies showed that the school-sponsored events included scheduled prayers at the beginning of each ceremony, with the class secretary being tasked with delivering the prayer each year.
“It makes no difference how many students want prayer or wouldn’t be offended by prayer at their graduation ceremony; the courts have continually reaffirmed that the rights of minorities are nonetheless protected by the Constitution,” FFRF Staff Attorney Maddy Ziegler wrote to Peiffer.
Quickly after FFRF’s letter, Peiffer issued a response concerning the complaint. “As superintendent, I take responsibility for what occurred during commencement,” Peiffer wrote. “Considering the issues you expressed; I understand your concerns and acknowledge that the comments made by myself and others were inappropriate for a public-school graduation.”
Peiffer additionally laid out new policies, confirming that no administrator or facility member will reference or cite biblical texts in school-sponsored activities, graduation will be structured so that only student and guest teacher speakers will have the podium to make extensive remarks and comments to the class and any songs performed as part of the ceremony will be secular in nature.
The post FFRF made sure that the Chartiers-Houston School District would no longer allow for biblical references at the annual graduation ceremony. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF convinced the West Tennessee Public Utility District to keep their social media account free from religious postings. (October 2025)
Tennessee —
FFRF’s legal work has convinced the West Tennessee Public Utility District in Huntingdon, Tenn., to keep their social media account free from religious postings.
A local resident reported that on March 9, the district’s official Facebook page posted a religious photo including reference to a bible verse. The test overlaying the photo read: “You are God’s masterpiece. Ephesians 2:10.”
The district apparently had also posted religious messages for Good Friday and Easter. “The district’s social media channels should provide all residents with a sense of community and inclusion,” FFRF Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow Kyle J. Steinberg wrote to the district. “For the West Tennessee residents who subscribe to a minority religion or no religion at all, their utility district telling them they are ‘created in Christ Jesus’ and promoting Christian holidays is exclusionary.”
After filing the complaint, FFRF was informed that Michael U. King, general counsel for West Tennessee Public Utility, would be working on behalf of the district in the matter. King informed FFRF then that the district “removed the Facebook posts based on your complaint.”
The post FFRF convinced the West Tennessee Public Utility District to keep their social media account free from religious postings. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Thanks to FFRF, the Kanawha County Schools system will now keep churches out of school-sponsored events. (October 2025)
West Virginia —
Thanks to FFRF, the Kanawha (W.Va.) County Schools system will now keep churches out of future school-sponsored events.
A concerned Kanawha County Schools student reported that on April 17, Riverside High School hosted an egg hunt for students outdoors. FFRF learned that during the egg hunt, a table was set up by a representative of the Chesapeake Family Worship Center to solicit students to attend the church, and the representative distributed religious materials and trinkets. FFRF’s complainant reported being asked whether they attend church, and was given a flyer and then offered a ride to the church when they responded that they did not attend. Reportedly, the representative of the Worship Center distributed other religious materials, including wristbands with a bible verse inscribed on them, a card containing a variety of bible verses, and a small figurine of Jesus Christ.
“Students have the First Amendment right to be free from religious indoctrination in their public schools, including when participating in school-sponsored activities,” FFRF Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow Kyle J. Steinberg wrote. “Public schools may not show favoritism toward or coerce belief or participation in religion.”
After FFRF’s letter, the district thankfully listened to reason, with FFRF receiving a formal response from Superintendent Paula A. Potter. “The incident you reference in your letter has been investigated and addressed with the administrative staff at Riverside High School,” Potter wrote. “We recognize and have told the school administration that churches should not have been at the event. All schools will be trained on the same.”
The post Thanks to FFRF, the Kanawha County Schools system will now keep churches out of school-sponsored events. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Thanks to FFRF, the Pike County School system worked with bus drivers to ensure that religious music is not played on school buses. (October 2025)
Georgia —
Following intervention by FFRF, the Pike County (Ga.) School system has worked with bus drivers to ensure that religious worship music is not to be played on district-controlled school buses.
A district parent reported to FFRF that a district bus driver played religious music on the bus every day while picking up and dropping off students. FFRF was informed that the music is specifically Christian worship music, and per a message and video that the bus driver recently publicly posted to their Facebook account, they played worship music every morning to “set the tone” for the bus. FFRF’s parent-complainant, who is nonreligious, expressed concern that their children would be confused and negatively affected by their bus driver playing religious music.
“As the district is aware, students have the First Amendment right to be free from religious indoctrination in their public schools, including when being transported by district-controlled school buses driven by school district employees,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote.
FFRF received a response from the district’s legal representative Cory O. Kirby after the complaint was filed. “School district administration has met with the bus drivers to remind them of the requirements of the First Amendment as it relates to the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses,” Kirby wrote. “Every effort is made at the school level to ensure that the rights of all stakeholders are protected.”
The post Thanks to FFRF, the Pike County School system worked with bus drivers to ensure that religious music is not played on school buses. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF objects to Ga. county board’s $450,000 grant to faith-based crisis pregnancy center
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is protesting the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners’ irresponsible grant of hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds to a religious anti-abortion clinic.
A concerned Gwinnett County resident informed FFRF that on Aug. 5, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners voted to approve $450,000 in Department of Housing and Urban Development funding for a local faith-based crisis pregnancy center, the Georgia Wellness Group. Reportedly, the group was previously under the Obria name, and the national Obria website still lists it as a clinic. Obria is a national health nonprofit whose 2024 impact statement makes its religious mission clear: “Our pro-life mission is at the heart of all we do. With a steadfast commitment to life-affirming care, we’re honored to serve our patients with compassion, dignity, and respect every day.” Obria’s mission statement continues: “Being led by God, we provide loving, compassionate, high-quality and comprehensive reproductive, medical health services consistent with the inherent value and dignity of every person.”
Despite the fact that the Georgia Wellness Group appeared to cut ties with Obria, CEO Robin Mauck still recognizes that the organization is faith-based and has stated, “Yes we are faith-based, but that isn’t a deterrent from being able to see us.”
The Board of Commissioners’ proposal was passed before public comment was allowed during the Aug. 5 meeting, and many local organizations have been outspoken in their opposition.
FFRF is urging the board to refrain from transferring $450,000 in public funds to the Georgia Wellness Group, and to desist from awarding grants to religious organizations in the future.
“By partnering with and leading citizens to an explicitly Christian organization, the county will signal blatant favoritism toward religion over nonreligion, and Christianity over all other faiths,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence writes to Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chair Nicole Love Hendrickson.
Numerous studies have shown that so-called crisis pregnancy centers, like the Georgia Wellness Group, often sacrifice sound medical advice and basic ethical standards to spread their religious message.
Studies in multiple states have found that crisis pregnancy centers incorrectly inform pregnant teens that condoms are ineffective in reducing pregnancy and the transmission of certain STIs, and that abortion causes mental illness. These deceptive tactics are obviously employed to scare women from using contraception or seeking abortions, both of which crisis pregnancy centers oppose for purely religious reasons. It is inappropriate and irresponsible for Gwinnett County to provide grant funding to such an entity.
While Gwinnett County’s residents are free to seek out the support and services of religious organizations, facilitating and funding that relationship is beyond the scope of a secular government. The government cannot subsidize certain religions or dispense special financial benefits to religious organizations or ministries. The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause requires government neutrality between religions, and between religion and nonreligion.
Using public funds to support services from Christian organizations rather than secular alternatives needlessly marginalizes and fails to adequately serve the Gwinnett County residents who are part of the 37 percent of Americans who are non-Christians and the nearly one in three Americans who are now religiously unaffiliated. Furthermore, it is the duty of the county to ensure that information — not disinformation, propaganda and dogma — is disseminated via publicly supported resources.
The decision to pass the proposal without community input shows that the board is more concerned with advancing its own explicitly religious worldview on a vulnerable population. FFRF stands firmly on the side of bodily autonomy, and believes that women should receive appropriate, well-funded and scientifically based reproductive care options that suit their lives best, regardless of belief or nonbelief. Georgia already bans abortion at about six weeks, before most women even know they are pregnant.
“Democracy requires sunlight, and it’s clear the board of commissioners sought to avoid community concerns by approving this funding without notice or public input,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor says. “It is grossly irresponsible to advance religiously motivated misinformation at a time when reproductive rights are under attack in Georgia.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 42,000 members nationwide, including over 600 members in Georgia. 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.
The post FFRF objects to Ga. county board’s $450,000 grant to faith-based crisis pregnancy center appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
DTI Comic Book Investigation for the week of September 25, 2025
Here are all the comics printed this week in years past.
A Florida school system agreed not to include prayer in graduation ceremonies thanks to FFRF’s work defending students’ First Amendment rights. (October 2025)
Florida —
The Hardee County (Fla.) School system agreed not to include prayer in graduation ceremonies thanks to FFRF’s work defending students’ First Amendment rights.
FFRF learned that Hardee Senior High School had a practice of including pre-planned, Christian prayer at its graduation ceremonies. These prayers had been documented in YouTube videos of the 2020 and 2021 graduation ceremonies and in livestreams posted by the Hardee County School District Facebook account of the 2024 and 2025 graduation ceremonies. These prayers were overtly religious and made references to a “lord” and “his son,” a “Heavenly Father,” the “Father, son, and holy spirit,” and “Jesus.”
Furthermore, the students who led the 2020 and 2024 graduation ceremony prayers also identified themselves as “student class chaplains.” “Students have the First Amendment right to be free from religious indoctrination in their public schools, including when participating in graduation ceremonies,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district.
After receiving FFRF’s letter, the district’s superintendent asked Michael R. McKinley of the Schumaker law firm to respond regarding the situation. Thankfully, FFRF’s arguments were enough to sway the district. “I have discussed the legal contours of our high school graduation with [the superintendent], and she has assured me that she understands your concerns and will instruct the principal of Hardee Senior High School and the class sponsors accordingly.”
The post A Florida school system agreed not to include prayer in graduation ceremonies thanks to FFRF’s work defending students’ First Amendment rights. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF ensured that religious guest speakers would not be allowed to promote their viewpoint to students. (October 2025)
Florida —
FFRF worked with the Escambia County Public Schools in Pensacola, Fla., to ensure that religious guest speakers would not be allowed to promote their viewpoint to captive audiences of students.
A parent reported that on April 17, Longleaf Elementary School permitted an adult magician and evangelist from the organization Motivating Magic to perform for students during a school assembly. FFRF learned that the assembly took place on school property during the school day, and that, during the performance, the presenter gave students free tickets to a religious event billed as a “magic show” that same night at a local church where the kids would “learn about Jesus and the Christian faith.
“A school assembly is an environment ripe for unconstitutional religious coercion,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district. “Elementary school students cannot simply leave the assembly without risking disciplinary action, nor is it reasonable to expect students this young to recognize their constitutional rights are being violated and dissent.”
After the incident and FFRF’s letter, Superintendent Keith Leonard emailed FFRF after addressing the concern. “Our district has established protocols governing the presence of guest speakers and presentations within our schools,” Leonard wrote.
The district’s revised protocols include a requirement for guest speakers to respect the religious viewpoint of all students, and advocating for a particular religious viewpoint would not be permitted.
The post FFRF ensured that religious guest speakers would not be allowed to promote their viewpoint to students. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF successfully urged the Okeechobee County (Fla.) School Board to put an end to multiple First Amendment violations. (October 2025)
Florida —
FFRF successfully urged the Okeechobee County (Fla.) School Board to put an end to multiple First Amendment violations.
FFRF received a report that Okeechobee High School has included a scheduled student-led prayer in graduation ceremonies since 2020. The prayers were overtly religious and the student giving the prayer often requested that all attendees, including other students, join the prayer.
Okeechobee High School also invited graduating students and members of the public to participate in a baccalaureate ceremony at the First Baptist Church of Okeechobee via an official announcement on the school’s website. There was no indication that the baccalaureate ceremony was not school sponsored. Further, the baccalaureate ceremony was the only opportunity for students and their families to view the official senior slide show.
Additionally, via the official website, the Okeechobee County School Board shared a list of summer activities — the “Summer Activity Guide” — for students which included many church-sponsored listings as well as entire sections for vacation bible school programs and church camps.
“Out of respect for students’ First Amendment rights and the community’s diversity, we ask that the board ensure Okeechobee High School cease including school-sponsored prayer at its graduation ceremonies and cease sponsoring, organizing and promoting baccalaureate ceremonies,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote. “Further, we ask that the board refrain from using its “Summer Activity Guide” to promote religious activities going forward.”
After receiving FFRF’s letter, Superintendent Dylan Tedders responded, addressing the complaints. Tedders said that, while Okeechobee High School graduations do not have scheduled prayers, they do have a scheduled opening by students elected as class delegates, which seemed to be where prayers were being delivered. Tedders wrote that he urged administration at the schools to investigate and ensure that future speeches do not infringe upon the rights of other students. Tedders also stated that the baccalaureate event was hosted by students, not staff, but the district would nonetheless end promotion of the event on their official website. Finally, Tedders confirmed that the “Summer Activity Guide” originated via an outside nonprofit provider that discontinued that form of communication, which saw the district continuing the practice to ensure families had access to camps and opportunities for students over the summer. Tedders stated that the production of the document would be shifted to a different outside organization to eliminate the appearance of support from the district.
The post FFRF successfully urged the Okeechobee County (Fla.) School Board to put an end to multiple First Amendment violations. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF ensured that students in the Nenana City School system in Arkansas would not be punished for exercising their freedom of speech. (October 2025)
Arkansas —
FFRF ensured that students in the Nenana City School system in Arkansas would not be punished for exercising their freedom of speech by choosing not to stand for the religious Pledge of Allegiance.
A parent reported that on May 2, their child was reprimanded by a seventh- and eighth-grade teacher for refusing to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. FFRF was informed that the complainant’s child chose to sit quietly and respectfully. However, the teacher repeatedly told the student that they were required to stand for the pledge, but the student refused, correctly asserting that they were not required to participate. The parent stated that the teacher took the child out of the classroom and aggressively admonished them for declining to stand for the pledge, including impliedly threatening to send the student to the principal’s office. This was reportedly not the first time that a Nenana City School teacher had admonished this student over the student’s choice to respectfully abstain from participating in the pledge.
“Public schools cannot force students to recite or stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, nor may they punish students for refusing to participate,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote the district.
FFRF received an emailed response from the district, informing FFRF that the district intends to comply with applicable rules regarding the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, and was actively taking steps toward that end.
The post FFRF ensured that students in the Nenana City School system in Arkansas would not be punished for exercising their freedom of speech. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
A school system in Castle Rock, Colo., recently apologized after allowing a Christian organization to read a religious children’s book to elementary school students. (October 2025)
Colorado —
The Douglas County School District RE-1 in Castle Rock, Colo., recently apologized after allowing a Christian organization to read a religious children’s book to elementary school students.
A district parent reported that on April 1, Prairie Crossing Elementary School invited the politically conservative and Christian organization, Grandparents 4 Kids, to the school to read the book “Why America Matters.” FFRF’s complainant stated that Grandparents 4 Kids is aligned with Christian nationalist organizations such as Moms for Liberty. The book in question explicitly mentions and promotes a belief in God and faith.
FFRF learned that the book reading was at least partially organized by a school board member. The complainant reported that Grandparents 4 Kids were allowed to read the story to multiple classrooms of kids during the day. Additionally, when another parent contacted District Superintendent Erin Kane, Kane stated that she will not prevent Grandparents 4 Kids from presenting similar religious material to students at district schools in the future. FFRF’s complainant explained that they are an atheist and are raising their children to be nonreligious. They stated that they were “extremely upset to learn that [Kane] is sanctioning this and that it will continue.”
“If Prairie Crossing Elementary School now claims that the Grandparents 4 Kids event was voluntary — though our complainant states parents were given no notice of the event and no opt-out option — voluntariness is not a safeguard against violating students’ First Amendment rights,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district.
After FFRF sent the district a letter, the district’s legal counsel wrote back to acknowledge the concerns raised by the complainant. Deputy General Counsel Wendy Jacobs affirmed that the district has policies implemented regarding nondiscrimination related to the basis of religion and educational equity. “In the situation involving the Grandparents 4 Kids presentation on April 1, 2025, the policies were followed, but there was an inadvertent error in the vetting process (a couple of pages were missed),” Jacobs wrote. “It was not the result of a lack of appropriate policies or training, but rather a mistake that has been addressed.” FFRF assured the complainant that the district acknowledged the mistake and would work not to have it happen again.
The post A school system in Castle Rock, Colo., recently apologized after allowing a Christian organization to read a religious children’s book to elementary school students. (October 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
ACLU, religious freedom groups sue to block Texas’ Ten Commandments requirement in 14 more school districts
KVUE ABC (Austin, TX)
By Jaden Edison
The post ACLU, religious freedom groups sue to block Texas’ Ten Commandments requirement in 14 more school districts appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Comal ISD parents sound off on new Ten Commandments lawsuit now in federal court
KSAT (San Antonio, TX)
By Nate Kotisso and Garrett Brnger
The post Comal ISD parents sound off on new Ten Commandments lawsuit now in federal court appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Kincannon proposes changes to save Chilhowee Park deal with Emerald Youth
Knox News (Knoxville, TN)
By Allie Feinberg
The post Kincannon proposes changes to save Chilhowee Park deal with Emerald Youth appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Out Today: “Star Trek: The Last Starship #1”
Out today: “Star Trek: The Last Starship #1“, by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing.
The Federation has fallen. Hope is fading. One last starship remains to fight for the future…unless a resurrected James T. Kirk dooms it first.
Fresh off the run Screen Rant calls one of “the greatest eras in the history of Star Trek comics,” writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly along with rising star and artist Adrián Bonilla (Alkaios, Let Her Be Evil), now bring you a new mission the likes of which comics have never seen before.
For seven centuries, the United Federation of Planets brought together the entire Galaxy with peace, stability, enlightenment, and the promise of mutual protection. And then, in one terrible moment, it all crumbled in an event known as THE BURN, a Galaxy-wide disastrous event in which dilithium has gone inert, causing the detonation of every active warp core. The only ship remaining is a hack-and-slash Enterprise-Omega and its ragtag crew. Facing a true Wild West in space, the crew will need to make use of what few resources they have to uphold Starfleet’s mission of unity across the universe…and Captain Kirk will have to face a future without the Federation he loved so dearly…
Buy From Things From Another World
Buy on Amazon.com
Buy On Books-A-Million.com
New study reveals massive problems with private school vouchers
Governors should absorb the lessons of a damning new national study of voucher programs before deciding whether to opt in to a federal voucher scheme diverting taxpayer funds to private, mostly religious schools.
The study, “The Effects of Universal School Vouchers on Private School Tuition and Enrollment: A National Analysis,” by Tulane University economists Douglas N. Harris and Gabriel Olivier, documents that rapidly expanding voucher programs around the country have mostly benefited wealthy families already sending their kids to private schools. The report assesses 11 states that have adopted so-called “universal” voucher programs, meaning they are available even to the wealthiest families in those states. The authors conclude that public funds are primarily “going to families who already send their children to private schools and who generally have above-average incomes.”
Further, in response to voucher expansion, private schools predictably have raised their tuition rates by 5-10 percent, and that number is likely to rise sharply in subsequent years for various reasons outlined in the study. The end result is that private schools get more money, leaving less funding for public schools. In short, vouchers divert public funds away from public schools and into the coffers of private religious schools. Arguments that vouchers are good for American students are — and have always been — false.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has been raising the red flag on this reality for years. The rhetoric of “school choice” has always rung hollow, as private schools are able to choose their students far more freely than most students are able to choose their schools. Students with special needs, or who live in rural areas, or are from families with limited income often have no ability to use voucher funds even if they wanted to. Plus, nonreligious and minority-religion families are unlikely to send their kids to Christian schools, which make up the vast majority of voucher recipients. The new study suggests that “interest in private schools may be driven by religion rather than other factors like academics.”
“This study proves that vouchers hurt our public schools, and force taxpayers to subsidize religious education, for no good reason,” comments FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “States that have expanded their voucher programs are already seeing the harm, and now the federal government is inviting other states to partake in this educational catastrophe.”
The federal voucher program provides tax credits for donations of up to $1,700 a year to “scholarship-granting organizations” funding vouchers, with no cap on the number of taxpayers who can claim the credit. There is no other such program in which the federal government will bankroll an entire donation. Estimates are that the program could cost as much as $51 billion per year, with unaccountable religious schools almost entirely the beneficiary. There is no benefit to states opting in, because the scheme utilizes federal funding to reimburse donations that used to go to public schools.
FFRF and its advocacy arm, the FFRF Action Fund, will be mounting an educational campaign to persuade governors not to opt into the new federal voucher scheme, the first time the federal government has approved a national voucher program. Governors who care about providing a strong, secular education for all students, and who believe that taxpayers should not be forced to pay for religious instruction, should take note of this new study and confidently opt out of the new federal voucher scheme. Americans must demand an end to this growing blight on our nation’s education system, and insist that public schools receive adequate funding from both the federal and state governments.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post New study reveals massive problems with private school vouchers appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Texas Families File New Lawsuit to Stop Public School Districts From Displaying Ten Commandments
ACLU
By Staff
The post Texas Families File New Lawsuit to Stop Public School Districts From Displaying Ten Commandments appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
UUs Help Successfully Challenge State Laws Requiring Posting of Ten Commandments in Public Schools
UU World
By Elaine McArdle
The post UUs Help Successfully Challenge State Laws Requiring Posting of Ten Commandments in Public Schools appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
North Texas families sue to block Ten Commandments law, take down displays
The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
By Milla Surjadi
The post North Texas families sue to block Ten Commandments law, take down displays appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
New lawsuit seeks to stop Ten Commandments display in Texas schools
San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio, TX)
By Elizabeth Zavala
The post New lawsuit seeks to stop Ten Commandments display in Texas schools appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
ACLU, religious freedom groups sue to block Texas’ Ten Commandments requirement in 14 more school districts
KVUE ABC (Austin, TX)
By Jaden Edison
The post ACLU, religious freedom groups sue to block Texas’ Ten Commandments requirement in 14 more school districts appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Parents concerned with religious teachings at Ashland City Schools
Ashland Source (Ashland County, OH)
By Taylor Henniger
The post Parents concerned with religious teachings at Ashland City Schools appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Texas families file new lawsuit to stop public school districts from displaying Ten Commandments
Click 2 Houston (Houston, TX)
By Staff
The post Texas families file new lawsuit to stop public school districts from displaying Ten Commandments appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Conroe ISD Named in Latest Fight Against Ten Commandments Display
Houston Press (Houston, TX)
By April Towery
The post Conroe ISD Named in Latest Fight Against Ten Commandments Display appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Tarrant County schools sued over Texas Ten Commandments law
Fort Worth Report (Fort Worth, TX)
By Jacob Sanchez
The post Tarrant County schools sued over Texas Ten Commandments law appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
ACLU, groups sue to block Texas’ Ten Commandments requirement in 14 more school districts
CBS Austin (Austin, TX)
By Jaden Edison, Eleanor Klibanoff and Alejandro Serrano
The post ACLU, groups sue to block Texas’ Ten Commandments requirement in 14 more school districts appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
DTI Treklit Investigation for the week of September 23, 2025
Here’s a look at the books printed this week in the past.
Preview of “Star Trek: The Last Starship #1”
Here’s a preview of Star Trek: The Last Starship #1 by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing which is due to be released this Wednesday on September 24, 2025 at your local comic shop and digital retailers:
Fresh off the run Screen Rant calls one of “the greatest eras in the history of Star Trek comics,” writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly along with rising star and artist Adrián Bonilla (Alkaios, Let Her Be Evil), now bring you a new mission the likes of which comics have never seen before.
For seven centuries, the United Federation of Planets brought together the entire Galaxy with peace, stability, enlightenment, and the promise of mutual protection. And then, in one terrible moment, it all crumbled in an event known as THE BURN, a Galaxy-wide disastrous event in which dilithium has gone inert, causing the detonation of every active warp core. The only ship remaining is a hack-and-slash Enterprise-Omega and its ragtag crew. Facing a true Wild West in space, the crew will need to make use of what few resources they have to uphold Starfleet’s mission of unity across the universe…and Captain Kirk will have to face a future without the Federation he loved so dearly…
FFRF helps Texas families file new suit to stop districts from displaying 10 Commandments
Photo by Laura Rivera on Unsplash
A group of 15 nonreligious and multifaith Texas families filed a new lawsuit with the assistance of the Freedom From Religion Foundation in federal court today to stop their public school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms pursuant to Texas law Senate Bill 10.
The new complaint comes in response to school districts that have or are about to display Ten Commandments posters,despite a federal court’s recent ruling that SB 10 is a clear violation of students’ and families’ religious freedom and the separation of church and state. The plaintiffs in Cribbs Ringer v. Comal Independent School District also plan to file a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, asking the court to require the defendant school districts to remove any Ten Commandments displays currently posted and to refrain from hanging new displays pending the resolution of the litigation. The school districts named as defendants in today’s lawsuit include: Comal ISD, Georgetown ISD, Conroe ISD, Flour Bluff ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Arlington ISD, McKinney ISD, Frisco ISD, Northwest ISD, Azle ISD, Rockwall ISD, Lovejoy ISD, Mansfield ISD and McAllen ISD.
The complaint, filed in a San Antonio federal court, points to the court’s recent decision in Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, which held that SB 10’s provisions requiring the display of a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom are “plainly unconstitutional” under the First Amendment. The plaintiffs in both cases are represented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel.
“SB 10 is a calculated step to erode the separation of church and state and the right for my family to exercise our nonreligious beliefs,” says plaintiff Nichole Manning (she/her). “I am compelled to advocate for my children, for these basic freedoms upon which this country was founded.”
“As a devout Christian and a Lutheran pastor, the spiritual formation of my children is a privilege I take more seriously than anything else in my life,” says plaintiff Rev. Kristin Klade (she/her). “The mandated Ten Commandments displays in my children’s public school impede my ability to ‘train up my child in the way he should go’ (Proverbs 22:6). I address questions about God and faith with great care, and I emphatically reject the notion that the state would do this for me.”
“Forcing religion, any religion, on others violates my Jewish faith,” says plaintiff Lenee Bien-Willner (she/her). “It troubles me greatly to have Christian displays imposed on my children. Not only is the text not aligned with Judaism, but the commandments should be taught in the context of a person’s faith tradition. State-sponsored religion, however, does not belong in the public classroom.”
Following the Nathan ruling, counsel in the case sent a letter to all Texas school districts warning them not to implement SB 10 because it would violate the First Amendment.
“We are determined to keep on fighting for the rights of Texas students and their families,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor (she/her), co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “The secular foundation of our country’s public school system is nonnegotiable.”
“A federal court has already made clear that school districts violate the First Amendment when they post the Ten Commandments in classrooms under SB 10,” says Heather L. Weaver (she/her), senior counsel for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “School districts must respect students’ and parents’ constitutional rights, and we will continue to hold school districts accountable when they flout this obligation.”
“Texas families from religious and nonreligious backgrounds are once again coming together to challenge this blatantly unconstitutional law,” says Chloe Kempf (she/her), staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “This lawsuit is a continuation of our work to defend the First Amendment and ensure that government officials stay out of personal family decisions. All students — regardless of their race or religious background — should feel accepted and free to be themselves in Texas public schools.”
“Our Constitution’s guarantee of church-state separation means that families — not politicians — get to decide when and how public-school children engage with religion,” says Rachel Laser (she/her), president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Multiple federal courts, including in Texas, have been clear: Ten Commandments displays in public schools violate students’ and families’ religious freedom. These displays must be removed.”
“This lawsuit, brought on behalf of a new group of Texas families, underscores a critical principle: public schools across the state must uphold — not undermine — the constitutional protections afforded to every student. As multiple courts have reaffirmed, the First Amendment safeguards the rights of individuals to choose whether and how they engage with religion, and that protection extends to every classroom,” says Jon Youngwood (he/him), global co-chair of the Litigation Department at Simpson Thacher.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post FFRF helps Texas families file new suit to stop districts from displaying 10 Commandments appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
This Mom Wants To Warn Parents About A Religious Group Holding Classes During Public School Hours
Scary Mommy
By Katie Garrity
The post This Mom Wants To Warn Parents About A Religious Group Holding Classes During Public School Hours appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks Mandate for Bible in Classrooms
Edge Media Network
By Staff
The post Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks Mandate for Bible in Classrooms appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
My Favorite Parenting Hack Might Sound a Little Conservative to Some
Slate
By Gail Cornwall
The post My Favorite Parenting Hack Might Sound a Little Conservative to Some appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Happy 2025 Birthday to Magdalene Visaggio!
(no image available)
Happy birthday to Magdalene Visaggio!
Check out the Magdalene Visaggio credit page to view more updates and a full list of credits!
Find Magdalene Visaggio’s work on Amazon.com
Happy 2025 Birthday to Jerry Oltion!
(no image available)
Happy birthday to Jerry Oltion!
Jerry Oltion lives in Eugene, Oregon. He is married to fellow Star Trek author Kathy Oltion.
Check out the Jerry Oltion credit page to view more updates and a full list of credits!
Find Jerry Oltion’s work on Amazon.com
Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Zella Montgomery
I have been involved with the Women’s Leadership Project since 2022. I started working with WLP as a youth intern in 2024 and have developed with my peers a suicide prevention education curriculum for teens. I attend Santa Monica College, where I am majoring in ethnic studies and sociology. I plan on transferring to Cal State Long Beach in 2026 to pursue a B.A. and an M.F.A. My post-graduate plans are to work in education as an art instructor at the community college level. Being at Santa Monica College has allowed me to see exactly where I excel and has given me the time and space to shape my goals moving forward in my academic journey.
The post Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Zella Montgomery appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Lizette Nsilu
I am a 20-year-old who is continuing my education at El Camino College. I joined the Women’s Leadership Project during my senior year at King/Drew Magnet High School in 2023. After finishing my prerequisites, I plan to transfer to California State University Dominguez Hills to receive a bachelor’s degree in finance.
The Women’s Leadership Project has played a transformative role in both my academic path and personal development. Through the program, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of the social justice issues impacting Black women and girls in Los Angeles — issues that are too often overlooked in mainstream media. This awareness has empowered me to become an advocate, raising consciousness among those directly affected and decision-makers with the power to drive change. With WLP, I’ve participated in marches, spoken publicly outside council offices, shared the stories of victims of sexual violence, and presented demands aimed at reducing these injustices.
The post Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Lizette Nsilu appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Jasmine Onyeagoro
I am 17 years old and just graduated from King/Drew Medical Magnet High School. I’ll be continuing my education at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where I’ll be majoring in biomedical engineering. From there, I plan to earn my master’s degree, followed by a Ph.D. My goal is to become a biomedical engineer so I cannot only represent Black excellence, but proudly say that I am a Black woman engineer.
I’ve been a member of the Women’s Leadership Project for all four years of high school, and during my senior year, I had the honor of serving as president. Being part of WLP has helped me understand the challenges that women of color and members of the LGBTQ-plus community face every day. I participated in a conversation with the City Council about the unfair treatment, violence and lack of attention surrounding missing and murdered Black girls. WLP has shown me that speaking up is one of the most powerful tools we have. There are real issues that affect me and my community, and becoming informed, vocal and confident in moments like these is how we create real change.
The post Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Jasmine Onyeagoro appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Brianna Simone Parnell
I graduated from Gardena High in 2019, but joined the WLP during my junior year. I turned 24 this year and am a student at Santa Monica College, where my major is in interior architecture. Although academically I am pursuing a career in architecture, currently I serve as a youth educator, coach, freelance artist and creative facilitator. My involvement in the Women’s Leadership Project and #Standing4BlackGirls Coalition has had a very positive impact on my life and those around me in my community. Every year, I look forward to attending or facilitating the LGBTQ-plus retreats because I leave with someone new to look up to, very inspired and informed. My experiences with WLP at events like UCLA’s Resource Fair resonate with me because those are the times when I get to connect with other organizations and students. Seeing people interact with merchandise that I’ve created for the program is super satisfying, too.
The post Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Brianna Simone Parnell appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Ashantee Polk
I am 22 years old and a 2020 graduate of King/Drew Magnet High School. I attend Long Beach City College and plan on transferring to Cal State University Long Beach in the fall. My major is psychology, and my career goal is to become a licensed therapist. I currently work with children with developmental disabilities, and when I transfer to a four-year institution, I plan to continue that work.
I’ve been involved in WLP since my junior year at King/Drew. In my senior year of WLP, I became president of the King/Drew chapter, and about three years later, I became the #Standing 4 Black Girls Task Force coordinator. I’ve attended, participated, and even spoken at our #S4BG Murdered and Missing Rallies for the past three years. Most recently, I have stepped into my “acting bag” by helping CEO/Founder Sikivu Hutchinson and WLP Project Director Jesscia Robinson on the set of the Black Women’s showcase, “Outliers,” where I served as a production assistant.
The post Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Ashantee Polk appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Strong Backbone Award: High school student fights ‘In God We Trust’ bill – Berry
Berry was awarded FFRF’s Strong Backbone Award, which is $1,000, funded by an octogenarian member of FFRF (who wants to be anonymous) for her activism against the “In God We Trust” bill in Iowa.
Berry writes: “I am 14 years old, a freshman in high school in Iowa, and my pronouns are they/them. This year, I testified against a bill in Iowa that would require all public school buildings to display ‘In God We Trust’ in a prominent place. I said in my testimony that displaying that phrase on public school buildings is forced religiosity and smacks of Christian nationalism. I don’t trust in God and I have a constitutionally protected right to my own beliefs and to safety in my public school. This bill is offensive to students of diverse faith, and no faith, who are all equally protected in our country.
“I have been testifying at the Iowa Capitol for three years about bills pertaining to LGBTQ-plus and other marginalized and minority communities’ rights. I enjoy being an activist. However, as a 14-year-old, I shouldn’t have to advocate for my and others’ human and civil rights.
“I am also represented by the ACLU and Lambda Legal as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state of Iowa and several school districts against SF 496, a law passed in 2023 that bans books, bans conversation about gender and sexuality (‘don’t say gay/trans’), and forcibly outs transgender, non-binary and gender fluid students to their parents. Being involved in the lawsuit and speaking up as an activist, I am leveraging my privilege as a white teenager with accepting parents and supportive community in order to advocate for everyone, including those who aren’t as fortunate or as safe as I am.
I am thankful to the Freedom From Religion Foundation for the recognition of my activism and the Strong Backbone Award. I’m grateful for all the work that they do to advocate for everyone’s rights.”
The post Strong Backbone Award: High school student fights ‘In God We Trust’ bill – Berry appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF blasts Education Dept.’s history partnership with Christian nationalist orgs
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is deeply troubled about the Department of Education’s just-announced partnership with Christian nationalist groups to turn history curricula into propaganda.
The “America 250 Civics Education Coalition,” named for this country’s approaching 250th anniversary and unveiled yesterday on Constitution Day, is being led by the America First Policy Institute, Turning Point USA, Hillsdale College and dozens of other extremist advocacy groups, many of which are dedicated to advancing the false notion that the United States was founded as a “Christian nation.” Also included are organizations such as Alliance Defending Freedom, First Liberty Institute, the Orwellian and hypocritically named Moms for Liberty and the Heritage Foundation — all of which have long track records of working to erode church/state separation and impose religious beliefs through governmental authority.
“These are not neutral academic partners,” warns FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “These are most of the national organizations leading ongoing Christian nationalist attacks on public education, reproductive freedom, LGBTQ rights — and the very concept of a secular democracy. The Department of Education should not be handing them a megaphone to bowdlerize and rewrite our nation’s history in their own Christian nationalist image.”
Turning Point USA’s education arm openly declares that its mission is to advance “God-centered” curricula while Hillsdale College is at the center of efforts to push ideologically driven charter school programs into communities nationwide. Many of the coalition’s other partners are committed to substituting mythological “Christian nation” claims for evidence-based civics instruction.
The mission statement of Hillsdale College, a small ultraconservative Christian college in Michigan, includes a promise to furnish a “theological education” and maintain “‘by precept and example’ the immemorial teachings and practices of the Christian faith.” It was founded by individuals “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings [and] . . . the perpetuity of these blessings.” The college has been in the spotlight in recent years for playing a part in rewriting Florida’s public school civics curriculum with a historically inaccurate, Christian nationalist narrative. Seventh graders, for example, have been required to “recognize the influence of the Ten Commandments on establishing the rule of law in America,” which, actually, is none at all, since there is no reference to the Ten Commandments or a deity in our foundational document, i.e., the Constitution.
FFRF warns that the coalition’s materials will promote religious indoctrination and historically inaccurate narratives that elevate Christianity while erasing the secular foundation of the Constitution and our nation.
“The Founders explicitly created a godless and secular Constitution,” adds Gaylor. “Any government partnership that suggests otherwise is indoctrination, not education.”
In light of this troubling announcement, FFRF will be filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain more details about the Department of Education’s role in this initiative, including what funding or resources may be involved and whether religiously motivated groups will be shaping official curricula or programming.
“Students deserve an accurate social studies education grounded in facts — not propaganda designed to enforce religious conformity,” says FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. “The Department of Education is legally barred from controlling school curriculum, yet this coalition puts the government in league with Christian nationalist groups to distort history. It’s a direct threat to genuine social studies education and to the separation of church and state.”
Other partners in this coalition include the American Center for Law & Justice (founded by evangelist Pat Robertson), the Center for Renewing America, the Liberty Council and PragerU, which is not a university but an entity producing video propaganda.
FFRF urges the Department of Education to withdraw from this unconstitutional partnership and recommit itself to supporting genuine, evidence-based civics education that reflects the true diversity of the United States — a country belonging equally to people of all religions and of no religion.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post FFRF blasts Education Dept.’s history partnership with Christian nationalist orgs appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Thomas Jendrock Student Activist Award: Bible-infused lessons ignore law, hurt students – Rajasi Agarwal
Rajasi Agarwal has earned FFRF’s $1,000 Thomas Jendrock Student Activist Award for writing an op-ed that appeared in the Austin American-Statesman.
Rajasi writes: “I am a freshman at Westlake High School in Texas , where I am a reporter on the school newspaper, a member of the politics club, a delegate of Model United Nations and a violinist in an orchestra ensemble. In my free time, I love to read books. My favorite book series are Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, but my current interest is in dystopian novels. I particularly enjoy books by authors George Orwell and Suzanne Collins. Some of my other interests include keeping up with the news, playing the violin and writing opinion pieces. To me, the most interesting thing is human behavior. Why do cultures have the beliefs they do? Why do politicians do certain things? What are the dynamics within our own government? These questions are what drive me to read and write about politics.”
The following is Rajasi’s op-ed that ran in the Austin American-Statesman on March 24.
By Rajasi Agarwal
Starting this fall, a bible-influenced curriculum approved by the state Board of Education last November will be allowed in Texas public elementary schools. The lessons could reach as many as 7,000 schools and 2 million K-5 students.
As a second-generation Hindu teenager in Texas public schools, I find this curriculum worrying. Minority students can feel socially ostracized. Adding lessons that emphasize one religious tradition will increase social alienation for those who don’t identify with that faith.
The post Thomas Jendrock Student Activist Award: Bible-infused lessons ignore law, hurt students – Rajasi Agarwal appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Percy Shelley Student Activist: ‘My anger is not misplaced; it is necessary’ – Kyria Santa
Below is Kyria’s talk to the “Revival of Reason” conference sponsored by Black Nonbelievers in March in Atlanta, which FFRF helped co-sponsor. FFRF is naming Kyria its first “Percy Shelley Student Activist,” a $2,000 scholarship fund set up by generous FFRF member Michael Meek, who was inspired by the poet. Shelley was kicked out of Oxford for circulating a pamphlet about the necessity of atheism.
By Kyria M. Santa
I want to thank Black Nonbelievers and Mandisa Thomas for this platform. It’s powerful to be in a space where I don’t have to explain myself, where my existence isn’t up for debate, and where I can be unapologetic.
I titled this talk “Why I’m Angry,” not from a place of rage, but from a refusal to suppress the righteous anger I feel about the oppression, ignorance and hypocrisy I witness daily. A significant part of this anger comes from my identity as an atheist.
Atheism shapes my worldview and my activism within the Black and Puerto Rican communities, where religion is pervasive. Christianity dominates Black spaces, while Catholicism, mixed with indigenous beliefs, dominates in Puerto Rican culture. This religious framework is ingrained in our history and family structures. But what happens when you say, “I don’t believe in God”? You’re treated like a traitor, as if you’ve abandoned your roots for questioning the unquestionable.
The post Percy Shelley Student Activist: ‘My anger is not misplaced; it is necessary’ – Kyria Santa appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Strong Backbone Award: Student calls out proselytizing teacher – Maddie
Maddie, a high school senior, has earned FFRF’s $1,000 Strong Backbone Activist award for her calling out of one of her teachers for overtly promoting his religious and political beliefs.
Maddie writes: “A teacher of mine was continuously using his authority to promote his personal political and religious beliefs in an academic setting. There was an incident where he discriminated against me in the classroom because of my atheism. I felt disrespected and humiliated. My mom reached out to FFRF and, within days, we had a resolution that will hopefully result in no other students experiencing what I did. I am so grateful to FFRF.”
The following is FFRF’s press release from that interaction.
FFRF commends district for protecting atheist students
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is applauding the Tulare Joint Union High School District’s quick response to its complaint that a high school teacher was promoting religion in class and bullying nonreligious students.
FFRF recently reported that a teacher at Mission Oak High School in Tulare, Calif., had been using his position to promote his personal religious views to a captive audience of students. FFRF’s complainant reported that the teacher had placed several inappropriate religious and political displays, including on a fridge in his classroom, reading “Pray without ceasing,” “Unborn Lives Matter” and “Let’s Go Brandon,” a euphemism for “F… Joe Biden.” Additionally, the teacher reportedly instigated a discussion with students about “666” being the “devil’s number,” which led to a student revealing their atheism. The teacher responded that an atheist is “a fool,” and students in the class reportedly made signs in the air of crosses or of praying.
The post Strong Backbone Award: Student calls out proselytizing teacher – Maddie appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Mariajose Leones
I am 18 years old and graduated from King/Drew Magnet High School this year. I will be attending the University of California, Davis this fall. I intend to declare my major as psychology and plan to become a social worker. I especially want to help those in marginalized communities and those who are not privileged. I formerly served as the vice president of WLP for the 2025 school year. In my time with WLP, I was given many opportunities, including when I got to speak to Los Angeles City Council members about our group’s #Standing4BlackGirls demands. Another notable event was when I attended a #Standing4BlackGirls rally. When our group marched, I felt empowered. This was the first time I ever truly attended a rally, and this experience allowed me to understand the importance of taking action and demanding action from our local government. Being a member of the Women’s Leadership Project helped me grow as a person, and especially as an activist and advocate. Before, I would have been too shy to speak in front of a powerful group from my local government, but I found power and my voice with WLP.
The post Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Mariajose Leones appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Kaysea Duarte
I’m an 18-year-old graduate of King Drew Medical Magnet High School. On Aug. 19, I will begin my service in the United States Navy, where I plan to earn my bachelor’s degree in biomedicine. My goal is to attend graduate school and become a physician assistant specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. Throughout high school, I was deeply involved in the Women’s Leadership Project, starting as a freshman presenting to other freshmen an experience that was extremely out of my comfort zone, but helped me grow into the mentor and advocate that I now am. WLP taught me the importance of addressing the common struggle of being misunderstood and allowed me to be part of building a bridge toward better understanding within my community. I presented to students, teachers, staff, and even my counselor, which helped me realize that the issues people face are not just about age, race, gender or sexual orientation, but are rooted in systemic inequality. Through my time in WLP, I’ve gained the confidence to speak up and stay true to myself, no matter the circumstance.
The post Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Kaysea Duarte appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Freethought Radio – September 18, 2025
We celebrate a court victory in Arkansas where a federal court issued a second preliminary injunction blocking a state law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. We criticize a “faith-based disaster recovery event” at the National Mall in which Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner proclaimed that “faith is back in our government.” We speak with Rep. Mark Pocan about the whitewashing of history in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder and the ever-growing importance of the separation between church and state.
The post Freethought Radio – September 18, 2025 appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
‘We Dissent’ celebrates Scopes Trial centennial
“We Dissent” discusses a historic trial — and its lasting impact on science education and the law.
On Episode 46, FFRF Deputy Legal Director Liz Cavell and Americans United Legal Director Rebecca Markert commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Trial. They talk about the infamous “monkey” trial and the history of teaching evolution in public schools. In an “everything old is new again” episode, they examine the impact of the trial throughout the last century and delve into the latest attempts by Christian nationalists to incorporate religious teachings into science curricula.
“We Dissent,” which first aired in May 2022, is a legal affairs show for atheists, agnostics and humanists, offering legal wisdom from the secular viewpoint of women lawyers. The show is a collaboration of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United.
Find previous episodes here, which examine developments affecting the separation of church and state, particularly in the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts. Past episodes have included discussions about court reform, religion behind bars and abortion, and feature a range of expert guests.
Episodes are available at the “We Dissent” website, YouTube channel, Spotify or wherever your podcasts are found. Be sure to stay up to date with the “We Dissent” podcast on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bluesky.
Tune in regularly at “We Dissent” for compelling legal discussion and insights!
The post ‘We Dissent’ celebrates Scopes Trial centennial appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF successfully defends Ga. students’ right to be free from religious recitation
Photo by Chelaxy Designs on Unsplash
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has ensured that a teacher in Georgia’s Jenkins County School System will not be able to force first-grade students to recite a prayer right before lunch.
A concerned parent informed the state/church watchdog that a first-grade teacher at Jenkins County Elementary School (in Millen, Ga.) was leading her students in prayer every day before they went to the cafeteria for lunch. FFRF learned that the teacher directed students to recite this explicitly religious prayer:
God is great. God is good. We will thank Him for our food. ABCEDFG. Thank you, God, for feeding me.
The parent who contacted FFRF explained that the situation “floored” them and their spouse as the teacher’s actions felt “so blatant.” “Whether Christian, another religion, or not religious, parents deserve to be in the driver’s seat of their child’s spiritual education. Math isn’t personal. Religion is,” the parent stated.
FFRF asked the district to investigate the situation and take immediate action to ensure that the teacher stopped leading her students in prayer.
“The Jenkins County School System has an obligation under the law to make certain that its teachers are not violating students’ rights by proselytizing or leading children in prayer,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district.
The teacher crossed the constitutional line by directing first-grade students to pray before every lunch, FFRF pointed out. Her actions signaled clear government favoritism toward religion over nonreligion, and Christianity above all other faiths. Students in first grade, as young as 6 years old, are extraordinarily impressionable and vulnerable to teacher influence.
Thankfully, the district was willing to listen to reason.
A letter from the school’s legal counsel confirms that the district took corrective action.
“The superintendent and elementary school administration met with [the teacher] to discuss and explain the First Amendment as it relates to the Free Exercise Clause and how requiring children to pray prior to lunch could be a violation,” Cory O. Kirby has responded. “[The teacher] has agreed to refrain from requiring any such student recitation.”
FFRF is always pleased to remedy First Amendment violations.
“It is an abuse of authority for any teacher to subject a captive audience of children in our public schools to religious worship, but the extreme youth of these students makes this situation especially egregious,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor states. “Our nation’s separation between religion and government was designed to protect students from this exact sort of coercive proselytizing. Religious instruction belongs with parents, not our public schools.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 42,000 members nationwide, including more than 600 members in the state of Georgia. 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.
The post FFRF successfully defends Ga. students’ right to be free from religious recitation appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
September 25, 2025 – Why Courts Matter: Webinar on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, Featuring FFRF’s Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne (Virtual)
The Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania will host a free webinar, Why Courts Matter, on Thursday, September 25, at 6:00 p.m. (EST). The event will explore the critical role of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, with a special focus on environmental issues and the upcoming retention vote on Tuesday, November 4, when Pennsylvanians will decide whether to retain several justices on the state’s highest court.
Featured speakers include Ryan Jayne, Senior Policy Counsel at the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), who will discuss the court’s role in protecting civil rights and upholding science-based laws.
For more details and to register, click here.
The post September 25, 2025 – Why Courts Matter: Webinar on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, Featuring FFRF’s Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne (Virtual) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
DTI Comic Book Investigation for the week of September 18, 2025
Here are all the comics printed this week in years past.
Davis v. Guerrero (2025)
On September 11, 2025, FFRF filed an amicus brief with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Davis v. Guerrero, challenging the state of Texas’ unconstitutional use of a defendant’s religious beliefs at sentencing. Texas prosecutors introduced evidence at sentencing that the defendant read satanic literature and was briefly a member in the Church of Satan. The jury then sentenced Davis to death. Texas implicitly argued that since some satanists committed violence in the name of Satan, Davis was a future danger. Since Davis is entitled to a sentencing hearing that is free of religious bias, FFRF contends that Davis’ death sentence should be vacated.
FFRF outlines three main arguments in its brief. First, Texas was hostile to a minority religion and violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause by using Davis’ religious beliefs as a factor in sentencing him to death. Second, inviting a jury to determine core tenets of a religion excessively entangles the government with that religion, violating the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. In doing this, the penalty hearing was transformed into an unconstitutional heresy trial. And third, the state’s evidence cited in the case is true of nearly any religion, and was introduced for shock value.
This brief was drafted by FFRF Legal Fellow Hirsh M. Joshi with assistance from Staff Attorney Samantha Lawrence.
The post Davis v. Guerrero (2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Constitution Day marred by administration’s whitewashing of slavery history
Today, Constitution Day, is the anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution in 1789. It is also ironically the Trump administration’s day to start removing “inappropriate” content that runs afoul of a March 27 executive order titled: “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”
Truth seems to be the first casualty here. The Trump II administration, with this date in mind, has been doubling down on its directives to remove or cover up displays by the National Park Service that “inappropriately disparage Americans.”
Among recent demands, the administration ordered the removal of an iconic 1863 photograph from Fort Pulaski National Monument in Georgia (pictured above), showing the horribly scarred back of a survivor of American slavery that became a symbol of abolition and is known as “The Scourged Back.”
How does this photo “inappropriately disparage Americans”? Is the Trump administration worried about the delicate sensibilities of dead enslavers? Does the administration think slavery should not be disparaged? Apparently so.
The executive order is also directed at the capital’s fabled Smithsonian museums, which attract about 17 million tourists from around the world. The order prohibits “expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy.”
The order has a broad geographical scope. The New York Times reports that Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia is planning to alter an exhibit that features nine individuals enslaved by George Washington. The executive order singled it out along with the Biden administration’s so-called “corrosive ideology” supposedly teaching visitors that “America is purportedly racist.” In addition, the Trump administration is ordering the excision of the following sentences from a booklet for children given out at the historic home in Virginia of Confederate commander Robert E. Lee: “In 1829, Robert E. Lee promised to serve the Army and protect the United States. In 1861, he broke his promise and fought for slavery.”
The Trump administration’s campaign is part of a white Christian nationalist agenda to whitewash U.S. history. Let’s take a quick look at that history. The bloody Civil War was fought, in part, because of the bible and the church. Although some denominations and religionists spoke out against slavery, most were late in the game (except Quakers and Unitarians, who were vilified for their abolitionist views). It was the freethinkers and the unorthodox who led the fight in the United States until abolition became more widely accepted. Abolitionist and Unitarian Theodore Parker was oft-quoted remarking that if the whole of American churchdom had “dropped through the continent and disappeared altogether, the anti-slavery cause would have been further on.”
Pro-slaverers like Rev. James Henley Thornwell of South Carolina, in his “The Rights and Duties of Masters,” denounced abolitionists as atheists: “The parties in this conflict are not merely abolitionists and slaveholders — they are atheists, socialists, communists, red republicans, jacobins, on the one side, and the friends of order and regulated freedom on the other. In one word, the world is the battleground — Christianity and Atheism the combatants; and the progress of humanity the stake.”
Barbaric rules for slavery appear in Mosaic law, including Exodus 21. In the New Testament, Jesus leaves the laws of slavery untouched. Paul, in I Timothy, tells slaves to honor their owners, and Ephesians 6:5 warns them to be obedient “with fear and trembling.” Titus 2:9 says servants must obey and please their owners in “all things.” I Peter 2:18 exhorts, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear.”
These verses were invoked from countless pulpits to sanctify slavery. The Southern Baptist Convention was created in 1845 expressly to uphold the institution of slavery.
It is a supreme insult that the Trump administration chose Constitution Day as the day to start purging factual references and displays about slavery (along with Native Americans, some women and transgender individuals).
On Constitution Day we should be celebrating the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution that, respectively, abolished slavery, declared all persons born or naturalized in the United States citizens and cemented due process of law and equal protection of the laws, and stated that right to vote could not be denied or abridged on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.
On Constitution Day, the Freedom From Religion Foundation deplores the degradation of truth and constitutional rights and honors our secular Constitution and its commitment to equal justice under the law.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post Constitution Day marred by administration’s whitewashing of slavery history appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Lake Local Schools tells coaches they can’t lead prayers
News 5 Cleveland (Cleveland, OH)
By Maya Lockett
The post Lake Local Schools tells coaches they can’t lead prayers appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Prayer issues draws residents, comments at Lake Local school board meeting
The Canton Repository (Canton, OH)
By Patricia Faulhaber
The post Prayer issues draws residents, comments at Lake Local school board meeting appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Ohio school district bars coaches from leading prayer, sparking debate
WKBN First News 27 (Youngstown, OH)
By Suzanne Stratford
The post Ohio school district bars coaches from leading prayer, sparking debate appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
