Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signing into law a bill authorizing school districts to permit “volunteer school chaplains” It is energizing at the Freedom From Religion Foundation to be tackling hot-button subjects — even more so when the public receives our perspective on such issues. Wichita columnist includes our viewpoint Wichita Eagle Opinion Editor Dion Lefler prominently featured our point of view in a column about Gideon distribution of bibles in a local public school: “Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the foundation, said the organization will be following up with a letter ..read more

Over the course of 550 years — twice the whole history of the United States — the Inquisition was a major fundraising mechanism for the Catholic Church, thanks to its rule that it could immediately seize all the property of anyone who was accused of heresy. Early in the Inquisition’s history, it was noted that people who feared to be accused would often commit suicide rather than face the torture chamber, thus depriving the Church of their property. So the Church declared that suicide was a mortal sin and the victim would be subjected in hell to eternal torture without any possibility of par ..read more

Photo of Daniel C. Dennett and Dan Barker at the FFRF 2008 convention by Brent Nicastro The death of philosopher Daniel C. Dennett, who died at age 82 on April 19, is a deep loss, not just to the freethinking community, but to the world. Here at the Freedom From Religion Foundation, we feel like we have lost a member of the family. Dan, who was professor emeritus at Tufts University, and had directed its Center for Cognitive Studies, did not believe in the transcendent. But his ideas and work truly transcend. The words of this humble yet world-renowned philosopher rose above differences in rel ..read more

Welcome to the end of another busy week at the Freedom From Religion Foundation, where we continue to try to make America a better place for everyone. (I’m filling in this week for FFRF’s Communications Director Amit Pal, who is in Pittsburgh at the Religion News Association convention.) N.C. board rescinds ‘Christian Heritage’ proclamation No doubt feeling pressured by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Wilkes County Board in North Carolina on Thursday replaced its proclamation declaring “Christian Heritage” all year round with a less objectionable resolution proclaiming April 21–27 ..read more

The seventh of those pesky Ten Commandments so beloved of Christian nationalist legislators seeking to spoonfeed them to schoolchildren is “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Why would adult legislators consider it appropriate or necessary to warn children, including kindergarteners who can’t read yet, not to commit adultery? Why does adultery, rather than rape and incest, rate the top 10 anyway? Adultery may sometimes result in unpleasant consequences, but why is it still a crime in many states in our secular nation? Not only asking this question but doing something about it is New York state ..read more

Photo from @tcani on X One of the most bizarre displays of Christian nationalism in the past month was a “prayer circle” that took place literally on the floor of the Arizona Senate chamber, where a state senator and others loudly “spoke in tongues.” The embarrassing spectacle was led by Arizona state Sen. Anthony Kern on April 8, the day the Arizona Supreme Court approved a 160-year-old abortion ban. Kern was lashing out at “God-haters” who criticized the judgement. Below follows a curated sample, by no means complete, of other recent statements and actions by Christian nationalists that show ..read more

There’s always a lot happening on the secular front, and this week we’ve created some newsworthy ripples. USA Today cited our recent objection to University of South Carolina basketball head coach Dawn Staley’s over-the-top religiosity. “An article published by the Daily Beast exploring the issue quoted Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, saying that Staley ‘appears to have no boundaries when it comes to pushing religion on a captive audience of students dying to please her,’” says a piece in the popular national newspaper. A rapidly growing releas ..read more

Torture was officially sanctioned by the Inquisition in 1257 and remained a Catholic Church mainstay for five and a half centuries. The victims in those centuries were literally countless. The chronicler of Treves reported that in 1586, the entire female population of two villages was wiped out by the inquisitors. Two other villages were destroyed completely and erased from the map. More than 130 persons were burned in a single day at Quedlinburg in 1589. Jurist Henri Boguet said Germany in 1590 was “almost entirely occupied with building fires for witches, and Switzerland has been compelled ..read more

Photo by Marc Buehler Peter Higgs, 94, the Nobelist and physicist who first deduced and proposed the existence of the theoretical field known as the Higgs boson, died Monday at his Edinburgh home. (The Higgs boson gives matter its mass — without which there could be no “creation,” no gravity, galaxies, stars, planets, waterfalls, pansies, panthers or “Hallelujah” choruses.) Cringingly, the obituary headlines are referring to Higgs as the predictor of “the God particle.” But Higgs did not believe in God. Leon Lederman, another nonbelieving physicist and Nobel Prize winner, had jokingly referre ..read more

Public schools continue to be a crucial battleground in the fight to protect the separation between state and church. Religious organizations seeking to further erode the wall of separation know that weaseling their way into public schools is their best bet to indoctrinate children and push the boundaries of what the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause will allow. Release time bible classes are one tool that religious organizations turn to in order to get their foot into the schoolhouse door. Disturbingly, one particular evangelical release time organization, LifeWise Academy, has been gro ..read more