Kruse control? It's still theocratic bondage, so oppose Indiana SB 131.

The column's title is "Proposed Indiana Senate bill would force religion on schools."

It's from January of 2019, not 2020, but when it comes to chuckleheaded theocrat Dennis Kruse, every legislative session is the right time to meld church with state.

Another legislative cycle in Indiana, another brazen attempt at forcing Christianity into the public education system. No surprise there.

Indiana Senate Bill 373 was authored by state Sens. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, and Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond. Its provisions aim to bring a little more Christianity into Indiana’s public and charter schools.

The bill would allow school corporations to “require the teaching of various theories concerning the origin of life, including creation science.”

The use of the term “creation science” signifies something important. The bill does not simply aim to make students aware that different religions tell various stories about the creation of life. It aims to teach about creationism as if it is science.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation has issued an alert, because now it's a different year, with another legislative cycle ... and the very same repetitive shenanigans from Kruse, who I would refer to as a Tinpot Ayatollah if I thought he was capable of understanding either word.

Where does Hoosierland get these these bad actors, anyway?

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URGENT: Please resist “In God We Trust” in schools bill!

The Indiana Legislature is fast-tracking a bill that would require public schools in the state to display “In God We Trust” in every classroom and library. We need your help to ensure that young, impressionable students aren’t subject to religious proselytization.

SB 131 is part of the nationwide legislative push, Project Blitz. Project Blitz seeks to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious bills, imposing the theocratic version of a powerful few on We The People. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we cherish most about our democracy, and now must tirelessly defend.

While politicians claim that these laws are intended to showcase the national motto or inspire patriotism, it is clear that their true purpose is to peddle religiosity to a captive audience. These laws are about advancing the Big Lie that the United States was “founded on God” or Christianity, dismantling the wall of separation between religion and government. The motto “In God We Trust” is inaccurate, exclusionary and aimed at brainwashing American schoolchildren into believing that our nation is a theocracy.

Please use our automated system to contact members of the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development and ask that they stop this bill in its tracks.

TAKE ACTION

Support the National Day of Reason resolution "to govern by the power of reason, not superstition."

It's good to know that Rep. Jared Huffman has reintroduced a National Day of Reason resolution in Congress. I trust that Trey Hollingsworth will competently represent me and vote in favor.

Rep. Jared Huffman @RepHuffman

I’m thrilled to be a co-founder of the new Congressional Freethought Caucus, which will help spark an open dialogue about science and reason-based policy solutions, and the importance of defending the secular character of our government.

In 2010, the FFRF actually won a court case about the National Day of Prayer. It was appealed by President Obama and overturned.

Thanks, Obama.

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Support the National Day of Reason resolution

Please join the Freedom From Religion Foundation in supporting the National Day of Reason resolution, which aims to reaffirm the separation of church and state and ensure that reason guides public policy and law.

This resolution has been reintroduced in Congress by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., to serve as an enlightened alternative to the National Day of Prayer, during which government officials typically exhort ask their constituents to join them in prayer. This resolution also designates May 3 as the National Day of Reason, which aims to promote “public policy that is based on reason and logic instead of politics and ideology.”

Ask your U.S. representative to support this judicious resolution to govern by the power of reason, not superstition.

Act Now!

Background

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has taken the lead in challenging the annual National Day of Prayer, enacted in Congress in 1952 at the behest of Rev. Billy Graham, who said he wanted to see members of Congress on their knees praying to “the Lord Jesus Christ” and “almighty God.” U.S. Sen. Absalom Robertson, father of Rev. Pat Robertson, introduced the bill in the Senate. What was a roving date became the first Thursday in May, when the act was amended under President Reagan in 1988 at the request of a coalition of evangelical Christians, who then started the National Day of Prayer Taskforce, working hand in glove with public officials. The law requires the president to issue a National Day of Prayer proclamation, as a date “on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.”

FFRF noted in its legal challenge that the law was based on bad history, with sponsors falsely claiming the Founders prayed during the Constitutional Convention. In a historic 2010 ruling, U.S. District Judge Barbara C. Crabb sided with FFRF, observing, “The same law that prohibits the government from declaring a National Day of Prayer also prohibits it from declaring a National Day of Blasphemy.” She said the government could no more enact a statute in support of prayer “than the government may encourage citizens to fast during the month of Ramadan, attend a synagogue, purify themselves in a sweat lodge or practice range magic. In fact, it is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual’s decision whether and when to pray. . . . In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience.”

(Postscript: FFRF’s case was appealed by President Obama, where the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unfortunately ruled that FFRF and its plaintiffs had not been injured, and therefore did not have standing to sue. So while the lawsuit was overturned, it was overturned on standing, not the merits.)

Clearly, the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. Fight back, by supporting a National Day of Reason.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational charity, is the nation's largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics), and has been working since 1978 to keep religion and government separate.

Church-state separation: Reverend's got a brand new church spire, but New Jersey's supreme court begs to differ.

We turn back the gnarled pages to 2013.

75k for church restoration to be weighed by New Albany council, by Daniel Suddeath (All Tom May All of the Time, Even Then)

The final vote on a $75,000 appropriation to help restore the historic Second Baptist Church building is slated to be taken by the New Albany City Council Thursday.

It passed.

Councilman John Gonder is the sponsor of the $75,000 appropriation, and said due to the church’s role in the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, the building should be maintained and treasured as a part of New Albany’s legacy.

He added more money will have to roll-in to support the rehabilitation of the structure, as the first phase of the project including replication of the original steeple and repair of architectural woodwork is estimated to cost $217,500.

“What we’re putting in is a significant amount, but it’s not enough to get the job done,” he said. “It’s a matter of getting out and talking to the citizens and getting them involved in seeing the value of this.”

The Horseshoe Foundation awarded a $25,000 grant to the project.

Councilman Scott Blair opposed the measure on initial ballots because he said he wanted more guarantees that the city’s money would be matched by other entities.

The $75,000 public grant should serve as a foundation for the project with an assurance that enough funds can be raised to see the rehabilitation finished as planned, Blair said.

Councilman Greg Phipps was the other member of the body to vote against the appropriation on initial ballots. Phipps said he has “strong feelings of separation of church and state” and that the project mixed a religious institution with public funding.

While annoying owing to the casual manner in which local elected officials stared at the ceiling and skirted the issue of church-state separation, the spire supporters' argument from history and historic preservation had at least some merit.

It's just that as a one-off exception, this decision to spend taxpayer funds on church building repairs did not establish a useful precedent for other non-religious instances. No pattern emerged, and it was back to the same old political back-scratching.

It's also worth noting that while opposed to the measure on principled, impeccable grounds, with which I concurred, Phipps expended not a dollop of political capital in opposition, and soon returned to doing as he was told, when he was told, by mayor and party.

And still they mock him behind his back. To the Gahans and Dickeys of the planet, Phipps is just a useful idiot. It's sad, but there we are.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, we've been given a glance at what church-state separation should look like.

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NJ Supreme Court Says Taxpayer Money Cannot Be Used to Fund Church Renovations, by Hemant Mehta (Patheos)

In a unanimous decision just announced by the New Jersey Supreme Court, taxpayer dollars cannot be used to help repair or maintain churches. It’s a major victory for church/state separation advocates and one that will save taxpayers in the state millions of dollars that would otherwise have gone to promoting religious dogma.

The case involved more than $5.5 million in “historic preservation grants” that were given to a dozen churches in Morris County between 2012 and 2015. They were presumed legal because they didn’t directly promote faith.

But giving churches money for general maintenance is promoting faith since it frees up funding that goes right back into worship.

That’s why plaintiff David Steketee and the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit in 2015 saying the grants were illegal.

Unfortunately, a judge ruled against them in January of 2017. If the decision wasn’t appealed, there was a good chance other churches would’ve taken advantage of the loophole, taking whatever money was in their budgets for maintenance, repair, and other structural issues and putting them into programming, knowing that they could just replete their accounts courtesy of state taxpayers.

FFRF appealed the decision and it eventually landed in front of the state’s supreme court. Today, thankfully, all seven of the justices overturned the earlier decision.

Here, the County awarded $4.6 million to twelve churches to repair active houses of worship — from roofs to bell towers, from stained glass windows to ventilation systems. The use of public funds to pay for those repairs violated the plain language of the Religious Aid Clause.

The judges noted that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trinity Lutheran — which allowed taxpayer funding for ostensibly secular projects like a playground even if it was on church property — didn’t apply here because this was clearly not a secular project.

… the public funds awarded in this case actually went toward “religious uses.” It is clear from the stipulated facts in the record that the Churches all “have active congregations that regularly worship, or participate in other religious activities,” and all hold “regular worship services in one or more of the structures that they have used, or will use,” taxpayer-funded grants to repair.
… a number of the applications expressly stated that churches sought funding for repairs to continue to conduct worship services.

…

This case does not involve the expenditure of taxpayer money for non-religious uses, such as the playground resurfacing in Trinity Lutheran.

The judges said it would be virtually impossible to figure out how much of the grant money was used for religious or non-religious purposes at this point, so they are allowing the old grants to remain in place. The ruling isn’t retroactive. The churches can have the money already given to them, but the good news is that they won’t be able to receive the grants in the future.

FFRF is obviously thrilled with the victory but also relieved that these justices understood their argument.

“It’s shocking that it took a trip to the New Jersey Supreme Court to enforce such a plain constitutional command,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “New Jersey taxpayers can breathe a sigh of relief that their constitutional religious liberty rights have been protected.”

“This is not just a win for secular citizens, but for every New Jersey taxpayer,” explains FFRF constitutional attorney Andrew L. Seidel. “Governments in New Jersey cannot force Muslims to bankroll temples and yeshivas, compel Jews to subsidize Christian churches and Catholic schools, force Christians to fund mosques and madrassas or nonbelievers to support any religion. It’s a win for all.”

The Religious Right won’t see it that way. They’ll inevitably twist this ruling into some tale of Christian persecution. But when all the justices speak in unison like this, anyone looking for the facts will find them easily. They just have to read the ruling instead of the spin.

Daddy, what did you do in the War on Christmas?

From the staff attorney for the Freedom From Religion Foundation comes this explanation of the phony war, but I've got to tell you that I've been having big-time fun fun with the above illustration. Thanks, B.

War on Christmas: dispatch from the front lines, by Andrew Seidel (Patheos)

I’m a soldier on the front lines of that perpetual seasonal battle: the non-existent “War on Christmas.” Bill O’Reilly has called our organization, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, “the most aggressive” group fighting this war. Thanks for the street cred, Bill.

The modern WoC dates to John Gibson’s 2005 book: The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought. Gibson was a Fox News host and drafted soon-to-be War on Christmas grand poobah and fellow Fox-Newser Bill O’Reilly into the war.

O’Reilly enjoys wielding his influence so he went after businesses for being inclusive, rather than Christian. Gibson didn’t focus on businesses saying “Happy Holidays.” He focused on something that never happens. Ever. Officials banning nonreligious symbols, like Santa. Here’s Gibson’s summary:

You might think that the war on Christmas is being fought on the grounds that overtly religious symbols in public-such as nativity scenes and crosses-violate the separation of church and state that many judges have read into the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

But again, you‘d be underestimating the war on Christmas. It’s worse than you think. Liberals’ attacks now focus on symbols regarded by most Americans-and even by the Supreme Court of the United States (in its Lynch v. Donnelly ruling) to be secular symbols of the federal holiday that is Christmas. Wannabe constitutional lawyers in local government offices all over the country are declaring unconstitutional normal and traditional Christmas representations such as Christmas trees, Santa Claus, treetop scars, wreaths, the singing of and listening co Christmas carols or Christmas instrumental music, attending a performance of Dickens‘s A Christmas Carol the publication of the word “Christmas” itself, and even the colors red and green!

This doesn’t really happen. But that didn’t matter, Gibson and O’Reilly were Fox News acolytes. So they sacrificed facts on the altar of ratings. It’s the Fox News way.

Every year since, O’Reilly has feasted on the mythical war. Some of his most embarrassing moments stem from the fight. Two of O’Reilly’s greatest gaffes, “Tide goes in, tide goes out . . . You can’t explain that” and “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a philosophy” are from War on Christmas segments.

Perhaps fed up with putting his foot in his mouth, last week O’Reilly declared victory in his fabricated war. But he spent the segment praising businesses that recognize only his particular set of myths, and attacking those that do not. How dare businesses seek to be inclusive and welcoming at a time of year when people buy gifts?! What are they trying to do: sell stuff?

Let's end with a number ... but not one of those repetitious Christmas potboilers.

FFRF: "Now it's time for atheists and agnostics to come out of our closet."

I chose "secularist" because the mood struck; "infidel" was close, but as you can see, there's a non-delusional shading for every occasion.

It's one of my go-to orgs, based in one of our favorite towns.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational charity, is the nation's largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics), and has been working since 1978 to keep religion and government separate.

Remember the time when FFRF called Deaf Gahan on the carpet?

Pesky church-state issues: The Freedom from Religion Foundation investigates the Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast.

Maybe this year's event can be a weenie roast atop the smoldering remnant of a demolished public housing unit.

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Deaf Gahan annexes the New Albany Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast, eyes massive redevelopment deal.

Meanwhile ... a chance to express yourself.

Join FFRF's Out of the Closet Virtual Billboard Campaign

Declare and share your nonbelief! Although the nonreligious — including one in four U.S. citizens — is a significant segment of the world population, many Americans have never knowingly met a nonbeliever. You can help dispel myths, educate and promote reason by adding your voice, face and message to FFRF's friendly neighborhood freethinker campaign. This is your chance to proclaim you're a freethinker and why. It's working for the gay rights movement. Now it's time for atheists and agnostics to come out of our closet. Many faces make Enlightenment work.

It's fun, it's easy and takes less than a minute to complete! Once your cyerboard is approved by FFRF, you may post and tweet it or use it as your Facebook or Twitter image. We even size it for use as your Facebook or Twitter image or banner.

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Deaf Gahan annexes the New Albany Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast, eyes massive redevelopment deal.

The Green Mouse has learned that with the 49th annual mayor's prayer breakfast just around the corner in early November, Jeff Gahan has informed local religious leaders of his intention to annex and improve the event. 

Gahan's prospective invocation absorption process was outlined in an e-mail from the mayor's official personal Hotmail account, which the Green Mouse obtained from a disgruntled HWC Engineering employee.

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Good morning, fellow New Albanian pastors, rabbis and religious authorities*,

As you are aware, the New Albany Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast has a long and noble history of steadfastly ignoring the separation of church and state, and after much time spent praying with Mrs. Nixon in the chapel we built underneath the Down Low Mayoral Command Bunker, I've decided to make the Prayer Breakfast into an official arm of city government.

My handpicked minister of propaganda Mike Hall -- Duggins is way more spiritual, but I need him elsewhere -- will run our new Department of Homeland Supplication. 

We have a nifty new logo (don't worry; there'll be the usual selection of t-shirts, hoodies and Bible covers) reflecting the proper prioritization of worship.

I'll be rebranding the community prayer breakfast and making it into a big ticket, foodie-oriented day of fervent celebration, with chef-driven biscuits and gravy and a gospel concert series: 

Mayor Jeff M. Gahan Presents New Albany's Community Prayer Breakfast and Designer Cream of Wheat Walk

Develop New Albany can help with that last part. 

But there's a surprise, because we're going to construct a brand new venue for my prayer breakfast, honoring my main man, the former mayor and A Really Great Democrat who's never missed one: 

The Warren V. Nash Community Meditation Pavilion and Conference Center 

Michell Timperman Ritz has come up with a wonderful design, and I know you're just as excited as me to be able to finally get the prayer breakfast self-supporting. 

When I asked the interim Redevelopment Commission director to pick a spot for the Nash Center, it was like one of those miracles Coffey's always babbling about, because Shane said it will fit perfectly on the east side of our newly upgraded, refurbished and paved Bono Road, between the hospital and Graybrook Lane, right there where all those poor people used to live. 

I'm so happy they moved. It's almost like God is on our side, but just to be sure, we'll make the Nash Conference Center into its own TIF district. 

By the way, not even I can move enough mountains to pull this off in 2017, so we'll do one more prayer breakfast in the NAHS cafeteria until the construction is completed for the 50th anniversary in 2018. 

If you don't mind, keep all this to yourself. We wouldn't want those assholes at the Freedom from Religion Foundation to find out and spoil the oatmeal. 

Signed, 

* I've omitted imams for obvious security reasons. 

Freedom from religion: "Hurricanes Harvey and Irma expose the futility of prayer."

As the local chain newspaper steadily ups its quotient of religious advocacy, I'm left with little choice except to escalate my own infidel's counterweight.

Dan Barker is Co-President of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), which is a national nonprofit dedicated to keeping state and church separate and educating the public about non-theism.

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma expose the futility of prayer, by Dan Barker (Patheos)

“Pray for America’s protection from danger.”—Texas Governor Greg Abbott

“The hands that help are better far than lips that pray.”—Robert G. Ingersoll

This year’s hurricane season proves beyond all doubt that nothing fails like prayer.

On Sunday, when the full force of Hurricane Irma was battering its way across the peninsula, Florida Governor Rick Scott desperately cried out, “Pray, pray for everybody in Florida.”

Did he forget? We’ve been there, done that. History shows us that nothing fails like prayer ...

"FFRF sues Trump over church politicking" ... but please, have a happy Derby.

More power to the powerful, including in this instance the theocrats ... but hey, I hope you weren't unduly troubled on Star Wars Day. Your priorities, and all.

FFRF sues Trump over church politicking

The Freedom From Religion Foundation it will legally challenge President Trump over his “religious liberty” executive order today. The order and Trump’s repeated statements clearly communicate to churches that they can now endorse political candidates from the pulpit.

FFRF’s lawsuit is planned to be filed by the end of the day, May 4, in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin. FFRF and co-plaintiffs FFRF Executive Directors Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor assert that Trump has used this order to usher in a new era of church politicking to the exclusion of secular organizations.

Trump signed the executive order with great fanfare during a National Day of Prayer ceremony in the Rose Garden before a largely clerical audience. Trump said:

"This executive order directs the IRS not to unfairly target churches and religious organizations for political speech. No one should be censoring sermons or targeting pastors. [Standing ovation.] . . . In America we do not fear people speaking freely from the pulpit, we embrace it.”

Trump also told churches that, with his new order, they would not lose their tax exemption for violating the rule and could say whatever they wanted: “This financial threat against the faith community is over. . . . You’re now in a position where you can say what you want to say.”

Among its several abuses, Trump’s order and statements signal to the Internal Revenue Service that it should not enforce the electioneering restrictions of the tax code against churches and religious organizations, while permitting these restrictions to be enforced against secular nonprofits. FFRF asserts the president has no constitutional authority to selectively veto a legitimate statute that Congress passed and a president signed into law more than 50 years ago.

This part of the law is known as the Johnson Amendment. Under the amendment, all organizations that are recognized as exempt from federal income tax under §501(c)(3) of the Tax Code are subject to the prohibition against political campaign intervention.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, contends that Trump is violating its equal protection rights and favoring church groups over secular groups, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Trump has directed the IRS to do something for which they both lack any enumerated or implied power: to selectively enforce a legitimate statute based solely on religion.

Even if the precise language of the executive order does not accomplish Trump’s promise to “totally destroy the Johnson Amendment,” the impression his administration is actively trying to foster among evangelical Christians is that the IRS will no longer enforce the Johnson Amendment against them.

The state/church separation watchdog sued the IRS in 2014 for its failure to enforce the electioneering restrictions and settled the suit after the IRS agreed to begin implementing these restrictions.

FFRF has public opinion on its side. According to an evangelical polling group, Lifeway Research, whose slogan is “Biblical Solutions for Life,” nearly 80 percent of Americans say it’s inappropriate for pastors to endorse a candidate in church, and 75 percent do not believe it is appropriate for churches to publicly endorse candidates.

As advertised by Trump, the executive order effectively provides preferential treatment to churches and will result in obligations on secular nonprofits, including the plaintiffs, that are not imposed on churches. This could amount to more than $100 million annually in tax-free contributions for politicking pastors.

“Trump is communicating to churches that his administration will not enforce the Johnson Amendment,” says Gaylor. “The IRS needs clear direction that it must enforce the law equally.”

FFRF’s legal complaint enumerates Trump’s many public avowals to repeal the Johnson Amendment restrictions against churches. For instance, Trump promised a closed-door group of hundreds of Christian conservatives in June 2016 that overturning the Johnson Amendment “will be my greatest contribution to Christianity, and other religions. ” At the National Prayer Breakfast in February, Trump vowed to “get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment.”

FFRF is asking the court to declare that Trump has violated the Establishment Clause and the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and acted in excess of presidential authority under Article II of the Constitution.

Gaylor notes that the pandering ceremony in the Rose Garden by the White House shows the ongoing harm of the National Day of Prayer, enacted by Congress at the behest of Rev. Billy Graham in 1952. FFRF won a resounding court ruling declaring the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional in 2010, in which the district judge noted: “The same law that prohibits the government from declaring a National Day of Prayer also prohibits it from declaring a National Day of Blasphemy.” The challenge was stalled when a court of appeals ruled against FFRF’s standing (or right to sue), not the merits, in 2011.

“As Judge Barbara Crabb noted in that ruling, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience,” Gaylor observes.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a nonprofit membership organization that advocates for the separation of church and state and educates on matters relating to nontheism. It has more than 28,000 members, residing in every state of the United States, including more than 1,400 in Wisconsin, as well as members in the District of Columbia.

FFRF is being represented by attorney Richard L. Bolton and FFRF Staff Attorneys Andrew L. Seidel and Sam Grover.

Thursday, May 4 is the National Day of Reason -- a counterweight to the unconstitutional National Day of Prayer.

If on'e sole professional obligation is to publish verbatim press releases, some background information is lost.

Me? I'm praying that the newspaper improves. Nothing else seems to work.

This reader comment wins the Internet: Should have prayed for better weather.

The article is credited to "NEWS AND TRIBUNE," suggesting that it has been contributed from an outside source. Shouldn't this be identified clearly as a press release or submission?

Most importantly, the Freedom from Religion Foundation explains how evangelical Christians hijacked the constitution.

Brief History of the Unconstitutional National Day of Prayer

... The Senate report over the National Day of Prayer reveals that the National Day of Prayer law is based on bad history: The revisionist myth that the founders of our secular Constitution prayed during the Constitutional Convention. Prayer was indeed suggested, but the proposal, floated by Benjamin Franklin, was not adopted. Instead, the convention adjourned for the day. Our founders went on to adopt a godless and entirely secular Constitution, whose only references to religion in government are exclusionary.

Next, the alternative. Perhaps next year I'll think to submit a press release to the newspaper.

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National Day of Reason - May 4, 2017

A consortium of leaders from within the community of reason endorsed the idea of a National Day of Reason. This observance is held in parallel with the National Day of Prayer, on the first Thursday in May each year. The goal of this effort is to celebrate reason—a concept all Americans can support—and to raise public awareness about the persistent threat to religious liberty posed by government intrusion into the private sphere of worship.

The National Day of Reason website is co-sponsored by the American Humanist Association and the Washington Area Secular Humanists.

The Day of Reason also exists to inspire the secular community to be visible and active on this day to set the right example for how to effect positive change. Local organizations might use “Day of Reason” to label their events, or they might choose labels such as Day of Action, Day of Service, or Rational Day of Care. The important message is to provide a positive, useful, constitutional alternative to the exclusionary National Day of Prayer.

To facilitate the commemoration of the National Day of Reason by individuals and organizations throughout the U.S., the American Humanist Association and the Washington Area Secular Humanists joined together in 2003 to launch this National Day of Reason web site.

This web site is designed to serve as the focal point for an effort to recognize the National Day of Reason, and as a platform to offer a criticism of the federally-sponsored National Day of Prayer. We hope that it will be a resource to the community of reason, the press, and the general public.

Why Do We Oppose the National Day of Prayer?

• The National Day of Prayer violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution because it asks federal and local government entities to set aside tax dollar supported time and space to engage in religious ceremonies. This results in unconstitutional governmental support of religion over no religion.
• Lead by fundamentalist Christian Shirley Dobson, the National Day of Prayer Task Force promoted thousands of events specifically in accordance with its Judeo-Christian beliefs and focused on a small segment of the Protestant Christianity. Since they hold their events on the government sponsored National Day of Prayer, government officials of all levels participate in these events as if they were government endorsed.
• The Supreme Court has made it clear (and most Americans agree) that state sponsored prayer in school is inappropriately exclusionary. Why is a nationally sponsored day of prayer any more inclusive? This national effort geared toward a small slice of the religious spectrum is clearly outside the boundaries of proper governmental reach.
• The National Day of Prayer makes those who don’t pray feel like second-class citizens. Why set aside a national day that needlessly excludes?
• Religious Americans who wish to pray don’t need to be reminded by government to do so, so there’s no reason to limit prayer to a single day for those who chose to practice their chosen faith in that way. Government has no business saying when or what Americans should do when and if they engage in religious practice.
• Government also violates the First Amendment with the National Day of Prayer by acting to promote a certain manifestation of religion. It emphasizes only one form of religious practice, and therefore discriminates against the many others, including alms giving, social justice, fasting, peace activism and meditation.
• Many traditional religious groups encourage adherents not to make their prayer public, so this state sponsored public display of prayer is a direct affront to such teachings and disrespects countless religious Americans. Many Americans faithfully follow the words from the Sermon on the Mount, “When you pray don’t do it loudly in the synagogue or on street corners so that everyone can see you and think you are really good and holy.”
• Whenever government involves itself in religious practice as is done with the National Day of Prayer it taints that religious practice by reducing the co-opted religion’s effectiveness to protest government action, and also (in an infeasible effort to broaden the practice’s appeal) government inappropriately dilutes the messages of faithful adherents.
• Freedom of expression and worship, including the opportunity to pray or not pray as we wish, are already present without government endorsement. There is no need to set-aside a public day for prayer.

The Confidentials support the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and encourage you to check into it.

Now more than ever, we must do what we can to support bastions of free thought.

I plan on doing this by means of heightened financial support for principled journalism (The Nation, CounterPunch) and advocacy (ACLU, Planned Parenthood), and of course the Freedom from Religion Foundation falls into this grouping.

There'll be others, but for now, given that New Albany's perennially inappropriate Mayor's Prayer Breakfast is tomorrow, let's begin with the FFRF. Below is the organization's e-mail newsletter, which speaks for itself.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational charity, is the nation's largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics), and has been working since 1978 to keep religion and government separate.

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Continuing to fight for our country

Not surprisingly, the elections were our focus this week here at the Freedom From Religion Foundation. But we didn't let that monopolize our attention.

We did a lot of work around voting issues in the run-up to the balloting, and we continued that until the eve of the elections. On Monday, we warned everyone about electioneering by churches around the country in violation of their nonprofit status. We educated the public and the media about what is and isn't permissible as a tax-exempt organization and highlighted some recent egregious infringements.

Then, on Tuesday the elections happened, and we grappled with the results.

"The Freedom From Religion Foundation is not a partisan office or group. But we are realists," our Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor said. "Those who care about the separation between religion and government, as well as religion's continuing grip on social policy in the United States, must be cognizant that Nov. 8 was a game-changer — and not a positive one for our essential work to buttress the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment."

(It must be pointed out that we did get some victories on state-church battles that we were intensely involved in: A Colorado death-with-dignity measure passed, and an Oklahoma referendum to put a Ten Commandments plaque back in the statehouse was defeated.)

FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel had poetic insights to offer on the consequences of the elections:

"Dark and difficult times may lie ahead, but know this:

We are going to fight like hell.
We are going to fight like hell to defend the wall of separation.
We are going to fight like hell to protect the First Amendment.
FFRF is going to fight like hell, for you."

Andrew wrote a pointed blog on Ben Carson possibly becoming our next Secretary of Education. "One name reveals why the Freedom From Religion Foundation will be essential in a Trump-governed United States: Dr. Ben Carson," Andrew wrote. He went on to describe the shocking views that Carson holds. "FFRF is going to keep our schools secular. We are going to defend the Wall of Separation. We hope you'll join us," he concluded.

A Georgia victory!

Andrew also provided us with some solace this week. A Georgia school district scrapped plans for a proposed bible class partnership with a local Christian group after Andrew complained on FFRF's behalf. There were some shocking happenings in the district, including the intense harassment of a non-Christian student, and FFRF hopefully mitigated some of that, too. (Keep a look out for other victories next week.)

Commemorating Veterans Day

We had a comforting Veterans Day commemoration Friday at our office in downtown Madison, attended by a number of veterans and other members. It started at the "Atheists in Foxholes" monument at our Rose Zerwick Memorial Garden and Courtyard with short speeches by Dan and Annie Laurie and a special photo-op for veterans at the monument. It then moved to our capacious auditorium for refreshments. To honor veterans, we also took out an ad in a special edition of USA Today. "You've been fighting for our secular Constitution and our freedom — let us fight for you," it said and featured a photo of World War II veteran and FFRF Board Member Joe Cunningham in front of the "Atheists in Foxholes" monument.

Madison radio station pulls our show

Alas, on Friday, we received a bit of insulting news: Our local station is cancelling our "Freethought Radio" show because the station is radically changing its format from talk radio to all-Christmas music! Don't worry. Our show is very much alive. We're still on in a number of other cities. And you can always listen to our podcast. This week's show talks about the elections as it relates to the direction of the Supreme Court, plays a defiant version of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" by Sharon Jones, reports recent FFRF legal victories, and includes an interview with a former nun who is now a none (as in no religion) and has a new book about the experience. We're looking for a replacement station in Madison, treating the cancellation as an opportunity rather than a disruption.

Whether it was our elections work, our special commemorations, our radio show or our legal victories, we were able to accomplish a lot, and all of it because of your support.

Cordially,

Amit Pal
Director of Communications
Freedom From Religion Foundation

Another mayor's prayer breakfast, another reminder to join the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

The Break Wind minaret. 

It's that time again.

New Albany basketball coach to speak at annual prayer breakfast; Jim Shannon to highlight Saturday event, by Chris Morris (News and Tribune)

Since the hullabaloo in 2014, the Genius of the Flood Plain has kept the prayer breakfast where he prefers his governance: On the Down Low.

November 15, 2015

Dude: City Hall sure soft-pedaled that mayor's prayer breakfast this year, didn't it?

The important part to remember is this:

"Government officials can worship, pray, and participate in religious events in their personal capacities. But they are not permitted to provide credibility or prestige to their religion by lending a government office and government title to religious events."

Consider becoming a member of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. We are, and each year the prayer breakfast time reminds us to renew. 

Tuesday Heresy Quartet 3 of 4: A rally to celebrate the voting power of secular Americans.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational charity, is the nation's largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics), and has been working since 1978 to keep religion and government separate.

Speaking only for myself, a trip to DC for the Reason Rally probably won't happen. However, if you're interested in a small celebration right here in New Albany to coincide with the Reason Rally, let me know. I'll even invite the mayor.

Reason Rally 2016 Showcases Power of Nonreligious Voters (Freedom From Religion Foundation)

Tens of thousands of people will gather at the Lincoln Memorial June 4, 2016, to show the world that reason, science, and freedom of belief are vital to Americans. Reason Rally 2016 is a celebration of fact-driven public policy, the value of critical thinking, and the voting power of secular Americans. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is co-sponsoring this event (view additional sponsors below).

"The goal of Reason Rally 2016 is to show the presence and power of the nonreligious voting bloc, and to put reason back at the forefront of our public and political discourse," said Lyz Liddell, executive director of Reason Rally 2016. "We want to excite and empower attendees about that message so they take it back home and apply it at the local and state levels" ...

 ... Also lending their support to Reason Rally 2016 as Minor Sponsors are:

American Ethical Union
Atheist Alliance of America
Black Nonbelievers, Inc
Camp Quest
Ex-Muslims of North America
Foundation Beyond Belief
Freethought Society
Hispanic American Freethinkers
Humanist Society
Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers
Recovering from Religion
Secular Student Alliance
Society for Humanistic Judaism
Sunday Assembly
Washington Area Secular Humanists

Reason's Greetings! We've re-upped in the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

"If you have had it up to here with faith-based initiatives, creationism and clerical prying into our private lives, FFRF is the organization for you. This scrappy group brings lawsuits against church-state entanglements and puts up witty billboards and bus signs promoting, well, freedom from religion. Reason's Greetings!"
-- Katha Pollitt

Consider joining the Freedom from Religion Foundation. We recently renewed our membership, and support the valuable counterpoint FFRF provides.

Join FFRF or Renew Your Membership

Membership supports FFRF's hard-working 13-person office, our educational and legal work, and includes: Ten issues a year of 24-page Freethought Today newspaper fully reporting on FFRF actions and news, as well as "Private Line" (a twice-yearly insider report on the Foundation). It also gives you a vote during elections at the annual convention (household memberships get 2 votes), and discounted prices for FFRF books and CDs. All dues and donations are deductible for income-tax purposes.

Perhaps next year the time will be right to begin the new tradition of a shadow event: The Non-Mayor's Humanist Community Breakfast.

Anyone in?

Dude: City Hall sure soft-pedaled that mayor's prayer breakfast this year, didn't it?

Dude: City Hall sure soft-pedaled that mayor's prayer breakfast this year, didn't it?

FFRF debuts first-ever ‘atheist marquee’

In 2014, the Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast was a big story, primarily because someone tipped off the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and our quaintly indefensible local ritual went national.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2014: Pesky church-state issues: The Freedom from Religion Foundation investigates the Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast.

I'd dearly love to take credit for being the snitch, but alas, it wasn't me. However, the furor alerted me to the existence of the FFRF, which the Baylor household promptly joined, and renewed just last week.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2014: "Government officials can worship, pray, and participate in religious events in their personal capacities. But they are not permitted to provide credibility or prestige to their religion by lending a government office and government title to religious events."

In retrospect, City Hall's reaction to the FFRF's scrutiny (even the News and Tribune got in on the fun, for once) was a precursor to the scene just before the League of Women Voters "debate" in 2015, with the mayor trotting out Linda Moeller to explain that the prayer breakfast doesn't actually occur on the taxpayers' dime because people like her are able to separate time on the clock from time off it, and never mind the location at a public high school because we factor in the gas and electricity, or something like that.

As Jeff wrote:

The space used for planning meetings is publicly funded. Having a meeting at 7 a.m. doesn't change that. The same is true of the event space. The City's marketing is easy enough to see as well. Normally, a group would have to pay or otherwise provide those things via private means. In this case, the citizens of New Albany are paying for them.

In the aftermath of last year's down home camp meeting, the mayor was sufficiently flummoxed to omit the very mention of the reason for rising so early.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2014: The Mayor's Minute, missing words: "I had a wonderful time at the 46th annual mayor's breakfast last Saturday."

No community, no prayer -- just pancakes and delightful company. In 2015, the prayer breakfast was yesterday. The city spent less time (an money?) proselytizing the event, but what I wrote last year remains true.

The real core answer here is that we do it the way we do it because no one's ever thought about what it would mean to do it differently -- this as well as so many other examples of peculiar institutions existing in a vacuum outside the realm of modernity.

The more things (don't) change ...

Coffey ain't gonna like "Atheists in Foxholes."

Photo credit: Freedom from Religion Foundation.

It takes all kinds of people to fill a foxhole. The question we might occasionally ask: Why are they in the foxhole in the first place?

'Atheists in Foxholes' Are Honored With Monument in Wisconsin: The old saying gets a rebuttal carved in granite, by Sam Blum (Inverse)

A new monument in Madison, Wisconsin contradicts an old jingoistic slogan that proclaims no secular person could, or would, give their lives on the battlefield in the name of the United States.

The old aphorism “There are no atheists in foxholes,” has served to spark the ire of the Freedom From Religion Foundation time and time again, so foundation members say they decided to erect a monument in front of its Madison, Wisconsin, office that offers a rebuttal.

Pence, Grooms, other old bigoted white guys sadly united in both spite and cluelessness.

As so many have noted, this isn't Mike Pence's first dance as it exalts plainly purposeful discrimination, and as As the Indy Star's Matthew Tully succinctly observes, Pence is "out of his league as governor."

When you have to "clarify" a horribly damaging piece of legislation that you raced to sign, when you dodge a question on national TV about whether discrimination is legal in your state, when you deal your state a crushing economic blow, when you seem incapable of understanding the role you have played in creating this mess — well, that makes clear that you are not in the right job.

I'd place our state senator, the bizarrely oblivious Ron Grooms, in the same category. He isn't governor, so he gets a pass? He shouldn't. First tolls, now RFRA; is Grooms intent on sealing the border with the bulk of the metro Louisville market?

Back to Tully on Pence:

As a politician he is above all an ideologue, one whose actions and distractions have made clear that he doesn't truly understand what it takes to take on the state's massive challenges. He thrived while representing a gerrymandered congressional district, one where he could safely walk an ideological line and live largely in a partisan bubble. He has failed to understand that a governor's job is to represent a much more diverse state.

Old white guys living in bubbles. Spare me. Here is Frank Rich with more national ramifications of the Hoosier Stain.

Indiana, Arkansas, and the GOP’s Disastrous Anti-Gay Bigotry, by Frank Rich (New York)

... Other defenders of these laws, like The Wall Street Journal editorial page, are predictably pleading victimization: The real victims of bigotry, according to this argument, are Christians, who are being punished for unfashionable beliefs. The Bible has a long history of being cited in America to justify second-class citizenship for women and blacks, among others, in their struggles for equal rights over the past century. It didn’t fly then, and it won’t fly now. A GOP presidential field that supports transparent discrimination is not only on the wrong side of history but the wrong side of the present-day American electorate. There will be consequences far beyond the economic punishment that is already being inflicted on Indiana.

What they're saying: On RFRA, 8 council and 1 mayoral candidate with viewpoints.

April 1: Mayor Jeff Gahan released a statement opposing RFRA.

April 3 correction: Make it 9 ... Shirley Baird expressed opposition to the bill.

April 5: Noah McCourt clarifies his RFRA stance.

As the weeks go past in route to May's primary election, I'm providing periodic candidate statements of substance, mostly unretouched, as lifted from social media and news reports. Familiar gems such as "yard signs win elections, not people" and "donate to my campaign first, and maybe I'll have something of merit to say much, much later" will be omitted. That's because it is my aim to determine whether our declared candidates have anything to say at all, and I'll quote all candidates, from any and all parties, whether or not they're in a contested race. Just promising change and new ideas without divulging them won't cut the mustard, aspirants.

---

As of this writing, I'm the only mayoral candidate to make a statement for attribution. File me firmly "against." I've asked Jeff Gahan, David White and Kevin Zurschmiede, but received no reply.

Council candidates openly opposing the RFRA include incumbent 3rd district councilman Greg Phipps (he has posted frequently on the topic at his personal Fb page, though not his campaign page) and at-large councilman John Gonder, also at his personal site:

Quoted from the Indianapolis Star/ Associated Press, via Huffington Post ..."Pence disputes the law allows state-sanctioned anti-gay discrimination, as some Indiana businesses, convention organizers and others have argued. He says he didn't anticipate "the hostility that's been directed at our state." That is, HE SAYS HE DIDN'T ANTICIPATE "THE HOSTILITY THAT'S BEEN DIRECTED AT OUR STATE." My advice to the governor...next time you feel the urge to demagogue, take two aspirins, lie down and remember you're not in Mississippi.

At-large candidate Hannegan Roseberry's thoughts on RFRA (solidly against) already have appeared at NAC.

Democratic at-large candidates Brad Bell and Adam Keeler, and 5th district hopeful Dustin Collins have registered anti-RFRA viewpoints at Fb, which follow.

Brad Bell:

Why did Gov. Pence choose to sign this behind closed doors? Why is he costing our state millions of dollars in tax revenue? Conventions are pulling away, technology corporations have stopped sending reps to Indiana and the NCAA has even spoken out against it. How much more can our state afford to lose because of the "religious freedom" bill?

I'm so glad that New Albany is an open and welcoming community to ALL lifestyles, and in no way want to deny people their right to worship their own religion, but there must be a way to get to that goal without discriminating against others.

My other question is this. How is this not a DIRECT violation of church and state?

Adam Keeler:

Please contact Governor Mike Pence's office at 317-232-4567 and let them know your feelings regarding Senate Bill 568, the Religious Freedom restoration act bill. Discrimination is not okay and we should not support any actions that will promote it!

Dustin Collins:

The RFRA bill signed into law by the Governor has already started the domino effect. With Salesforce, Disciples of Christ, the NCAA, and countless others already threatening to pull activities resulting in 100's of millions in lost economic impact in Indiana and permanent damage caused to New Albany's non-discrimination ordinance as well as others around the state we have set ourselves up for failure with regards to recruiting and retaining the next generation of talent.

As a candidate for City Council, I recognize that the only way we will compete with other cities in a world wide economic marketplace is by being inclusive and tolerant of those of all backgrounds. The next generation is ready to step up and I will fight every day to ensure their prosperity is New Albany's prosperity, through inclusion, forward-thinking initiatives, and an eye always set on something greater.

On the Republican side, at-large candidate Al Knable opposes RFRA.

As a candidate for public office, I feel it's my responsibility to go on record with my opinion of the recently passed and signed "RFRA", aka SB/HB 101.

The matter has rightfully generated much discussion and I could go on at length but allow me to be succinct:

It's bad legislation and I'm against it.

I know that many have argued that "it doesn't really change anything", "other states have similar laws" or that it's "limited in scope". To me these points are not persuasive.

Our Government owes its citizens equal protection under the law. All of its citizens.

Any act that erodes this primary function in reality or even by perception should be extinguished as soon as recognized.

I hope this can be remedied before too much damage is done to some of our friends and neighbors as well as to our State's reputation and economy.

While the 6th district Republican candidate Noah McCourt does not directly address RFRA, his support of Ron Grooms in the context of "principles and values" and the posting date strongly suggests his support for the bill. If this is not the case, please let me know and I'll make a correction.

I'd like to say thank you to senator Ron Grooms for taking time to meet with me today and for his willingness to stand up for the principles and values of Floyd county residents. I hope to do the same for the city of New Albany. Thank you senator

"Government officials can worship, pray, and participate in religious events in their personal capacities. But they are not permitted to provide credibility or prestige to their religion by lending a government office and government title to religious events."

This morning, many City residents braved the cold to attend the 46th Annual Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast. In addition to Mayor Gahan and his family, the event was also attended by two former New Albany Mayors, Bob Real and Warren Nash. 

Make that 302 members in Indiana.

In complete candor, I'd completely forgotten about the very existence of the Freedom from Religion Foundation until learning of the FFRF's involvement with asking questions about the Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast.

Pesky church-state issues: The Freedom from Religion Foundation investigates the Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast.

It's an oversight easily corrected. Consider joining the Freedom from Religion Foundation. We just did.

Join FFRF or Renew Your Membership

Membership supports FFRF's hard-working 13-person office, our educational and legal work, and includes: Ten issues a year of 24-page Freethought Today newspaper fully reporting on FFRF actions and news, as well as "Private Line" (a twice-yearly insider report on the Foundation). It also gives you a vote during elections at the annual convention (household memberships get 2 votes), and discounted prices for FFRF books and CDs. All dues and donations are deductible for income-tax purposes.

"If you have had it up to here with faith-based initiatives, creationism and clerical prying into our private lives, FFRF is the organization for you. This scrappy group brings lawsuits against church-state entanglements and puts up witty billboards and bus signs promoting, well, freedom from religion. Reason's Greetings!" — Katha Pollitt

In the past, I've tended to ignore the Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it just gets tiresome contemplating New Albany's persistent inability to think. However, the more I've thought about the church-state principles involved, there is a corresponding realization that the city's rote denial of direct support is a non-starting yawner.

As usual, Jeff summarizes the issue:

The space used for planning meetings is publicly funded. Having a meeting at 7 pm doesn't change that. The same is true of the event space. The City's marketing is easy enough to see as well. Normally, a group would have to pay or otherwise provide those things via private means. In this case, the citizens of New Albany are paying for them.

Naturally, the city of New Albany ignored the FFRF's request. You can almost hear the snickering: Church-state separation issues? Here in our humble Truck Through City? They're not going to make us read books or anything, are they?

As I wrote yesterday:

The real core answer here is that we do it the way we do it because no one's ever thought about what it would mean to do it differently -- this as well as so many other examples of peculiar institutions existing in a vacuum outside the realm of modernity.

Where do I sign up for the lawsuit? Following is the news release by the FFRF referenced in the newspaper article.

---

FFRF urges mayor to cancel city-sponsored prayer breakfast

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national state/church watchdog with 21,500 members, including more than 300 in Indiana, is pressing Mayor Jeff Gahan of New Albany, Ind., to end the city's extensive involvement in a long-running prayer breakfast.

New Albany's 46th annual Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast is scheduled for this Sat., Nov. 15. The event is promoted on the city's website as a time to "come together to celebrate the diversity within God's family." The city also put an ad for the prayer breakfast on citizens' municipal utility bills, emphasizing the words "prayer" and "faith." City Hall's phone number is listed on both the city website and the utility insert as the number to call for more information about the prayer breakfast.

Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert sent Gahan a letter on Nov. 7 urging him to dissociate his office and the city from the prayer breakfast. "Your participation in this event, and the city's apparent coordination of the event, pose serious constitutional separation of state and church concerns," she wrote. "Since any reasonable city resident would logically interpret the city's actions in this case as government endorsement of religion, the city must refrain from expending any further taxpayer dollars, using publicly funded employees, and drawing on any other publicly funded resources to promote the religious prayer breakfast."

FFRF also sent the mayor an open records request for financial records and correspondence related to the event.

Markert directed Gahan to an injunction FFRF won against the mayor of Denver in 1993 over his promotion and endorsement of a "Day of Prayer." The court enjoined the mayor and other city officials "acting in an official capacity from promoting, endorsing, or supporting the Day of Prayer."

FFRF objects to officials lending their government titles to prayer events, as is the case with the Mayor's Community Prayer Breakfast. "Government officials can worship, pray, and participate in religious events in their personal capacities. But they are not permitted to provide credibility or prestige to their religion by lending a government office and government title to religious events. Their office and title belong to 'We the people,' not the office's temporary occupant," wrote Markert.

"FFRF receives so many complaints about governmental prayer, because religious sponsorship by our government turns believers into insiders, and nonbelievers — or those from minority beliefs — into outsiders. The New Albany prayer breakfast entanglement is a particularly egregious example of an inappropriate union between government and religion," said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.

FFRF, based in Madison, Wis., is North America's largest association of freethinkers.