Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission elevates religion over rights 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is expressing concern after another meeting of the Trump administration’s “Religious Liberty Commission” yesterday that was deeply troubling.

The hearing, once again inappropriately held at the private Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., focused on alleged threats to “religious liberty” in medicine, foster care and social services. In reality, it featured explicit Christian nationalist rhetoric and showcased testimony almost exclusively from partisan individuals and organizations seeking exemptions from laws that protect patients, LGBTQ+ individuals and basic public health standards.

“True religious freedom means the right to believe or disbelieve — not the right to impose personal religious views on patients, clients and vulnerable populations,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “This commission is blatantly theocratic and therefore un-American, overtly seeking to redefine ‘religious liberty’ as a license to discriminate. It is advancing a dangerous agenda that threatens the rights of millions of Americans.”

The proceedings opened with a Christian prayer delivered by Rev. Franklin Graham “in the name of your son, my lord and savior … Jesus Christ,” a stark indication of the commission’s ongoing disregard for the constitutional separation between church and state and freedom of conscience.

Among those testifying was Colorado counselor Kaley Chiles, who is challenging that state’s ban on conversion therapy for minors — a law designed to protect LGBTQ+ youth from harmful and discredited practices. FFRF has filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Chiles’ claims, noting she lacks legal standing and is attempting to manufacture a hypothetical injury to advance a religious agenda. “Our courts must stop being complicit in these efforts and must, instead, bar the door to parties who sue to further only their policy preferences, not legal rights,” FFRF’s brief argues.

The commission also platformed speakers opposing vaccine mandates, gender-affirming care and reproductive rights, while portraying compliance with neutral, generally applicable laws as religious persecution. Notably absent were voices representing patients, medical ethics experts supporting evidence-based care, or individuals harmed by religious refusals in health care settings.

Commissioners themselves reinforced the body’s ideological nature. Commissioner Eric Metaxas described himself as a “proud Christian Zionist” and histrionically claimed that the commission is fighting “evil” and a “death cult.” He defamed secularists by comparing them to Nazis who “push people of faith out,” labeling them “dark forces at war with what God has done in this nation,” and lamenting that “even people of faith have become too secularized.”

Such extreme rhetoric makes clear the commission is not engaged in serious constitutional analysis, but is instead advancing a Christian nationalist worldview that scapegoats nonreligious Americans and dissenters.

“This sort of discourse should alarm anyone who values U.S. pluralism and constitutional principles,” Gaylor says. “Equating secular Americans with Nazis and labeling disagreement as ‘evil’ is not how a government body tasked with protecting religious freedom should operate.”

The hearing included direct attacks on secular Americans. One speaker claimed that without belief in God, human dignity collapses, arguing that “if you are a philosophical materialist … the child in the womb has no dignity.”

Commission Chair Dan Patrick, Texas lieutenant governor, escalated the tone, describing opposing viewpoints as “evil” and warning that “America better wake up … evil is among us.” He also alleged a “leftist movement … to destroy God and be God.”

“This is not measured policy discussion, it is ideological fearmongering, and it is threatening,” Gaylor adds. “It frames political disagreement as a religious battle.”

The meeting comes amid growing controversy surrounding the commission itself. Sameerah Munshi, an adviser to the commission, recently resigned in protest over both the administration’s foreign policy decisions and the removal of Commissioner Carrie Prejean Boller. Boller was ousted last month after questioning the definition of antisemitism and raising concerns about Israel’s actions in Gaza, prompting complaints from Patrick. Munshi’s resignation highlights internal discord and raises serious questions about the commission’s tolerance for dissent, even within its own ranks.

FFRF is additionally raising concerns about the broader context in which the commission operates, as the administration increasingly frames domestic and foreign policy in overtly religious terms, further eroding the constitutional line between religion and government. Rather than protecting religious freedom for all, the commission is advancing a narrow agenda that elevates certain religious beliefs above the rights of others, particularly in health care, where such policies can have life-altering consequences.

“The government should not be in the business of granting religious exemptions that harm others,” adds Gaylor. “Patients deserve to be on the receiving end of medical care based on science and ethics, not on the personal theology of providers.”

FFRF warns that the commission appears poised to recommend sweeping policy changes that would further entangle religion and government, including expanded “conscience protections” that could override civil rights laws and efforts to redefine what qualifies as a religious organization.

The state/church watchdog will continue to monitor the commission’s work as it heads into its capstone hearing on April 13, where it plans to address the “past, present and future of religious liberty in America.” The meeting will serve as the final step before the commission delivers its recommendations to President Trump — recommendations, based on the commission’s record so far, likely to entrench further a religious agenda in public policy.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With more than 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

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FFRF returns to Kansas City Star with op-ed detailing Student Secular Bill of Rights

Freedom From Religion Foundation State Policy Manager Ryan Dudley has penned an op-ed featured in the Kansas City Star detailing legislation called the Student Secular Bill of Rights — a bill the FFRF Action Fund played a prominent role in drafting.

“U.S. Supreme Court rulings have protected public school students from religious coercion for more than 60 years,” Dudley writes. “But as the repeal of Roe v. Wade shows, what’s established today could be reversed tomorrow.”

Dudley continues by outlining the key points of the bill — and what’s at stake without clear guidelines in place: 

That’s why Kansas House Bill 2431, the Student Secular Bill of Rights, matters. Introduced by state Reps. Heather Meyer, Melissa Oropeza and Susan Ruiz, the proposal draws on long-established Supreme Court precedent. It codifies rights against any religious coercion or discrimination in public schools into law, so that Kansas students and parents aren’t left at the mercy of our shifting federal courts. A companion measure has also been introduced in the Kansas Senate, SB 424, filed by state Sen. Silas Miller, signaling growing support for establishing clear, statewide protections for freedom of conscience in public schools.

The Supreme Court prohibited devotional religious instruction in public schools in 1948, school-sponsored prayer in 1962 and Bible-reading and the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in 1963. It struck down Ten Commandments displays in classrooms in 1980. It ruled against school-sponsored prayers at graduation in 1992 and at school sporting events in 2000. For generations, these decisions have protected student freedom of conscience by defining what public schools can and cannot do. But we’ve seen how quickly settled law can become unsettled.

That’s why HB 2431 provides clarity and durability. The protections would live in the Kansas statute, not hinging on the next Supreme Court appointment or test case. The bill protects every student’s right to practice their faith at school. It protects students who choose not to practice any religion. And it prohibits schools from sponsoring religious activities, including staff-led prayer, religious displays and religious instruction during class time.

None of this would ban student prayer. It wouldn’t ban religious clubs. It wouldn’t stop kids from wearing crosses or hijabs or yarmulkes. It wouldn’t prevent teachers from teaching about world religions in history or literature.

HB 2431 also respects parental rights by ensuring that religious instruction remains a parental decision not a function of the state. The only way to protect religious freedom for everyone is to keep the government neutral. When the government picks winners among faiths, the rest of us lose. HB 2431 would protect religious families from having the government decide which religion or rituals their children should follow. It would protect Catholic families in a district that might favor a Protestant denomination. It would protect Jewish and Muslim and Hindu families from majoritarian pressure. And it would protect nonreligious families from being singled out for not participating. The bill would also help educators. Right now, teachers are left guessing about what’s permissible. Clear rules mean fewer lawsuits and legal payouts, less confusion and divisiveness, and more time for actual teaching.

Dudley finishes his piece by calling for these rights to be made law, to protect true religious liberty: “Federal precedent isn’t permanent. We know that now. HB 2431 would allow the Kansas Legislature to ensure that the religious freedom of students and parents in the Sunflower State is protected.”

You can read the full op-ed here. 

This column is part of FFRF’s initiative to engage with pertinent national and state issues and spread the messages of freethought and nontheism to a broader audience.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 42,000 members across the country, including hundreds of members in Kansas. Our purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

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Talking Points in Opposition to the Free Speech Fairness Act

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New mayor, same problem: FFRF condemns NYC mayor’s ongoing violations

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is again warning New York City’s mayor that the Constitution prohibits government officials from using the machinery of public office.

FFRF has sent its second letter in a couple of months to Mayor Zohran Mamdani after receiving a complaint from a New York City employee regarding a recent religious event organized through official city channels. The national state/church watchdog previously contacted Mamdani in February after he posted on the official New York City Mayor’s X account about participating in a suhoor meal and praying with Department of Sanitation workers during Ramadan.

Despite that warning, FFRF has now learned that the mayor’s office held a “City Workers Iftar” on March 12 to “celebrate workers who keep New York City running while fasting.” The event notice was emailed to city employees by Interim Commissioner Melissa Hester and it noted that the event included a call to prayer.

A city employee who contacted FFRF observed that it is “completely inappropriate for a government agency to have a religious celebration.” The employee expressed concern that events like this may create the perception that the mayor’s office favors one religion and that employees attending city-sponsored events may be expected to participate in religious activities.

“While you are entitled to observe your faith in your personal capacity, the Constitution prohibits government officials from organizing, promoting or participating in religious exercises in their official roles,” FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line writes to Mamdani. “Hosting a religious observance for city employees of one religion and facilitating a call to prayer through official government communications and personnel crosses the line between private religious expression and government-sponsored religious worship.”

FFRF emphasizes that city employees work under the authority of elected leadership, creating a dynamic where even “voluntary” religious events can carry implicit pressure. “Public employees should not be placed in a position where they may feel compelled to attend a religious event or appear supportive of a particular faith tradition to maintain favor with their employer,” the letter states.

FFRF also notes that this is not the first time the organization has raised such concerns with the New York City mayor’s office.

FFRF repeatedly contacted previous New York City Mayor Eric Adams over his misuse of the office to promote Christianity and religious messaging. Adams openly rejected the constitutional principle of state/church separation, declaring at a 2023 interfaith breakfast, “Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state.”

FFRF again rebuked Adams after he appeared at a church and claimed that “God had spoken to my heart” and told him he would become mayor. The organization warned that the continued use of public office to advance personal religious beliefs is an abuse of public trust and violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

“It is dismaying to see these constitutional concerns arise again under a new mayor,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Regardless of whatever religion the mayor may or may not personally follow, the mayor’s office must remain neutral. The city government cannot organize or promote religious worship.”

More than one-fourth of New Yorkers have no religious affiliation while 57 percent identify as Christian and 15 percent have non-Christian faiths, including 8 percent who are Jewish, 3 percent who are Muslim and 2 percent who are Buddhist. FFRF stresses that defending state/church separation means opposing government promotion of religion across the board, including when religious minorities are involved.

It is unfortunate that Mamdani’s official promotion of Islamic prayer and rituals comes at a time when some politicians are cynically spreading fear about Muslim public officials and promoting baseless claims that Islamic law poses a threat to the United States.

Last week, FFRF called on Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., to resign after he declared on social media that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.” And the past November, FFRF’s legislative arm, the FFRF Action Fund, named Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., its “Theocrat of the Week” for promoting anti-Muslim conspiracy theories about so-called “Shariah law.”

“Religious bigotry from lawmakers and government promotion of religion are two sides of the same constitutional problem,” Gaylor says. “The solution is the same in every case: Government must stay out of the religion business.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 42,000 members nationwide, including more than 2,100 members in New York. FFRF’s purposes are to defend the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

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Court permanently blocks Arkansas public school 10 Commandments law 

A federal district court issued a permanent injunction today prohibiting the school district defendants from implementing an Arkansas law that requires all public schools to permanently display a government-chosen, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments.

In his decision in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks wrote, “Act 573 must be permanently enjoined. Failing to do so would violate the Establishment Clause rights of all Arkansas public-school children and their parents and also violate plaintiffs’ Free Exercise rights.”

Ruling that the law, which sought the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom and library in the state, would lead to unconstitutional religious coercion of the child plaintiffs and interfere with their parents’ rights to direct their children’s religious education, Brooks explained: “Act 573’s purpose is only to display a sacred, religious text in a prominent place in every public-school classroom. And the only reason to display a sacred, religious text in every classroom is to proselytize to children. The state has said the quiet part out loud.”

Brooks added: “Nothing could possibly justify hanging the Ten Commandments — with or without historical context — in a calculus, chemistry, French or woodworking class, to name a few. And the words ‘curriculum,’ ‘school board,’ ‘teacher’ or ‘educate’ don’t appear anywhere in Act 573. Accordingly, there is no need to strain our minds to imagine a constitutional display mandated by Act 573. One doesn’t exist.”

“Act 573 is a direct infringement of our religious-freedom rights, and we’re pleased that the court ruled in our favor,” said Samantha Stinson, who is a plaintiff in the case along with her husband, Jonathan Stinson. “The version of the Ten Commandments mandated by Act 573 conflicts with our family’s Jewish tenets and practice, and our belief that our children should receive their religious instruction at home and within our faith community, not from government officials.”

“We are delighted that reason and our secular Constitution have prevailed, and that children will be spared this unconstitutional proselytizing,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “Our public schools exist to educate, not to evangelize a captive audience.”

“Today’s ruling is a resounding affirmation that public schools are not Sunday schools. The Constitution protects every student’s right to learn free from government-imposed religious doctrine,” said John C. Williams, legal director for ACLU of Arkansas. “Arkansas lawmakers cannot sidestep the First Amendment by mandating that a particular version of the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom. As the court recognized, this law served no educational purpose and instead placed the authority of the state behind a specific religious message. We’re grateful that the court has permanently blocked this unconstitutional law and protected the religious freedom of Arkansas students and families of all faiths and none.”

“Today’s decision ensures that our clients’ classrooms will remain spaces where all students, regardless of their faith, feel welcomed and can learn without worrying that they do not live up to the state’s preferred religious beliefs,” said Heather L. Weaver, senior counsel for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.

“Today’s decision honors the Constitution’s promise of church-state separation and religious freedom,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “It will ensure that Arkansas families — not politicians or public-school officials — get to decide how and when their children engage with religion.”

“Today’s thoughtful decision reinforces a bedrock principle of our constitutional system: The government may not compel adherence to any religious doctrine,” said Jon Youngwood, co‑chair of Simpson Thacher’s Litigation Department. “This ruling is a critical affirmation of the First Amendment rights of students and families to decide for themselves whether — and in what ways — they engage with religion.”

The injunction, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, permanently prohibits the school-district defendants, including Bentonville School District No. 6, Conway School District, Fayetteville School District No. 1, Lakeside School District No. 9, Siloam Springs School Dist. No. 21 and Springdale School District No. 50, from “complying with Act 573.” Last year, the court issued a preliminary injunction temporarily barring the school district defendants from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms and libraries.

Represented by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the ACLU, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel, the plaintiffs in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1 are a group of 10 multifaith and nonreligious Arkansas families with children in public schools.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 42,000 members and several chapters nationwide. FFRF’s purposes are to defend the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

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May 4, 2026 – Patrick Elliott to Speak at Minnesota Day of Reason at State Capitol (St. Paul, MN)

Legal Director Patrick Elliott of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), will be the featured presenter at the Minnesota Atheists’ Day of Reason event at the Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda on Monday, May 4th from 1:00-2:30 p.m.

The annual Day of Reason gathering will bring together secular advocates, community members and legislators under the theme “Rally for Secular Government.” Speakers will address the importance of maintaining the constitutional separation of state and church and promoting evidence based public policy.

Elliott will discuss FFRF’s ongoing legal efforts to uphold secular government and protect the First Amendment rights of all Americans. Additional speakers, including legislators and secular advocates, will participate in the program.

The event will take place from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. at the Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda in St. Paul, located at 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard., St Paul, MN 55155. The event is free and open to the public.

FFRF works nationwide to defend the constitutional principle of the separation between state and church and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

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The bright side of the 5th Circuit’s disturbing Ten Commandments decision

The Hill
By Rachel Laser

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FFRF op-ed published in Maryland newspaper with illustrious history

Freedom From Religion Foundation Regional Government Affairs Manager Mickey Dollens has had an op-ed published in one of Maryland’s most venerable newspapers.

“Theocratically inclined Maryland lawmakers are offering a false solution to a real problem.” Dollens begins his column in the Easton Star Democrat, founded in 1799.

The piece goes on to explain:

Like most states, Maryland faces a serious shortage of school mental-health professionals. The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 students per counselor, yet Maryland’s average is closer to 327. The gap is even wider for school psychologists, with roughly 1,000 students per psychologist — nearly double the recommended maximum.

Rather than investing in licensed, trained mental-health professionals, House Bill 24 attempts to address the shortage by inserting unlicensed volunteer chaplain aides into public schools to provide “support services” to students.

The bill lacks even the most basic safeguards. It does not prohibit proselytizing, require parental consent or list any professional standards for chaplains working in schools. It tramples the religious liberty of students and disregards the very same parental rights that some of the bill’s supporters claim to value so much.

Don’t fall for the rhetoric claiming that public school chaplains won’t proselytize. Of course they will — and that is precisely the point of this bill. HB 24 does nothing to prevent a volunteer chaplain from using a school-sanctioned role to advance religious beliefs during the school day. Imagine a county superintendent who attends a Baptist church recruiting that church’s pastor to serve as a school chaplain — encouraging students to meet with him during the school day and allowing the pastor to proselytize during those meetings. Such a school would obviously be favoring religion over nonreligion, and favoring the county superintendent’s own specific denomination over all others. …

A major driving force behind this legislation is the National School Chaplain Association. Its parent organization has openly stated that it places Christian chaplains in public schools with the goal of converting non-Christian students — “reaching the largest unreached people group inside of the public schools around the world” to ensure that “the saving grace of Jesus becomes well known.” The same organization has said it intends to exploit the “massive lack of school counselors throughout public schools” to insert chaplains to “share God’s word” and “disciple” students.

“If lawmakers genuinely care about student well-being, the answer is not to blur the line between state and church,” the op-ed further states. “It is to invest in what actually works: hiring more licensed counselors and psychologists trained to support students of all backgrounds without pushing religious doctrine.”

You can read the full piece here.

This column is part of FFRF’s initiative to engage with pertinent national and state issues and spread the messages of secularism and freethought to a broader audience.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 42,000 members nationwide, including close to 1,000 members in Maryland. 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.

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Creationism expelled from Colorado school after FFRF complaint

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has successfully halted the teaching of creationism in the science curriculum at a Colorado public charter school.

FFRF wrote to the CEO of James Irwin Charter Schools after a concerned parent reported that James Irwin Charter Middle School in Colorado Springs was planning to include “intelligent design” and “creationist theory” alongside evolution in its eighth-grade science curriculum.

According to an email sent to parents by the school’s science lead, the evolution unit proposed to “teach Intelligent Design and evolution” and “present a creationist theory and an evolutionist theory regarding natural selection, adaptation and evolution.”

The parent who contacted FFRF expressed concern about the school presenting religious doctrine as science.

“I feel like the public charter school is not trustworthy and I am now questioning the quality of my [child’s] education,” the parent communicated to the state/church watchdog. “I feel angry that religion is being forced on children and presented as science.”

FFRF Staff Attorney Samantha Lawrence wrote to the district explaining that teaching creationism or intelligent design in public school science classes violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

“Promoting creationism, intelligent design or any of its offshoots in public schools is unlawful because creationism is based solely on religion, not scientific fact,” her letter stated. FFRF noted that the Supreme Court and federal courts have consistently rejected attempts to introduce religious doctrine into public school science classes, including the landmark ruling in Edwards v. Aguillard (1987) and the federal decision in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (2005), which struck down policies promoting creationism and intelligent design.

FFRF’s intervention had the desired result. Following its letter, the school system investigated the matter and scrapped the pseudoscience portion of the curriculum.

“Please know that this practice has ceased,” CEO Rob Daugherty wrote in a response to FFRF. “Intelligent design will not be taught in the middle school or in any other James Irwin Charter School as part of a science curriculum.”

The district confirmed that the instruction had occurred sporadically over a period of years but was not part of the official curriculum and had not been known to current administrators until the issue was raised. The school system said it has taken several corrective steps, including halting the instruction, verifying that intelligent design is not taught elsewhere, reviewing lesson plans and instructional materials, and providing additional guidance and training to staff regarding religion in the classroom. The district also plans to adopt formal board action to codify these measures in its curriculum policies.

FFRF is pleased that the district moved quickly to correct the constitutional violation.

“Creationism and intelligent design are religious beliefs, not science,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Public schools have a constitutional obligation to teach evidence-based science — not promote religious doctrine.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 42,000 members and several chapters nationwide, including more than 1,400 members and two chapters in Colorado. FFRF’s purposes are to defend the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

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Freethought Radio – March 12, 2026

We talk about the Iran war with Mother Jones national correspondent Kiera Butler, author of the article: “Trump’s Holy Warriors Finally Got the Apocalypse They’ve Prayed For.”

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