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‘Secular Spotlight’ looks at Hindu nationalism in latest episode

The latest episode of the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Secular Spotlight” YouTube show dives into the Hindu nationalist movement. 

FFRF Communications Director Amitabh Pal speaks with Faria Rehman of Hindus for Human Rights about the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its recent rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. They discuss the RSS’ influence in the United States, its threat to India’s secular democracy due to its control of the government there currently, and the efforts to counter the RSS by building solidarity around pluralism, religious freedom and human rights.

“The RSS is the furthest-spread fascist organization in the world, and they were, essentially in the most brusque way of speaking it, here to peddle propaganda,” Rehman says. “Essentially, what they’re trying to do is damage control, because they have so much funding, and they realize that Indian Americans are experiencing a lot of upward mobility. And so if they can get Indian Americans on their side, they can get them to say, ‘Hey, this is a way for us to connect to our culture. This is a way for us to feel like we’re connected to our ancestry.’”

You can catch this episode of “Secular Spotlight” on FFRF’s YouTube channel, or on your smart TV after downloading FFRF’s free app, Freethought TV, which also highlights FFRF’s other video programming. Previous episodes include online personality Elizabeth Booker Houston discussing her approach to using humor to make complex legal and political issues accessible to millions, and Secular Student Alliance Executive Director Kevin Bolling discussing the positive impact nonreligious students can have on their schools. Make sure you’re subscribed to FFRF’s YouTube channel for all the latest updates!

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 40,000 members across the country, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

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‘We Dissent’ new episode delves into Christian nationalism in schools

The hosts of “We Dissent” welcome a special guest from the Southern Poverty Law Center to scrutinize the role that Christian nationalism is playing in our public education system.

On Episode 57, FFRF Deputy Legal Director Liz Cavell, Americans United for Separation of Church and State Legal Director Rebecca Markert and National Women’s Law Center Director of Nominations & Democracy Alison Gill closely examine with Senior Research Analyst Maya Henson of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project the impact of Christian supremacy and anti-student inclusion movements on public education. Then, they discuss the many strategies used by Christian nationalists to influence public schools — from curriculum control and book bans to release-time religious programs and the weaponization of “parental rights.”

“We Dissent,” which first aired in May 2022, is a legal affairs show offering legal wisdom from the secular viewpoint of women lawyers. The show is a collaboration of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United and the National Women’s Law Center. Find previous episodes here, which examine developments affecting the separation of church and state, particularly in the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts. Past episodes include discussions about court reform, religion behind bars and abortion and also feature a range of expert guests.
      
Episodes are available at the “We Dissent” website, on YouTube, Spotify or wherever your podcasts are found. Be sure to stay up to date with the “We Dissent” podcast on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bluesky.

Tune in regularly to “We Dissent” for compelling legal discussion and insights!

The post ‘We Dissent’ new episode delves into Christian nationalism in schools appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

FFRF insists Tenn. school district must end coach-led prayer, proselytizing

Photo by Paolo Aldrighetti on Unsplash

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the Robertson County Schools system in Tennessee put an immediate stop to coach-led prayer and religious proselytizing in its football program. 

A concerned parent has reported to FFRF that football coaches at White House Heritage High School and Middle School regularly lead players in prayer, including recitations of the Lord’s Prayer, at practices and before and after games. Some students reportedly fear that they could be penalized for refusing to participate and therefore feel compelled to recite the prayer against their conscience.

The parent also reports that the high school football coach has brought Christian speakers to official team events on a weekly basis and that coaches regularly encourage players to attend Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings.

FFRF is urging the district to investigate this situation and ensure that coaches immediately stop proselytizing and leading football players in prayer and promoting participation in Christian religious activities.

“Student-athletes have the First Amendment right to be free from religious indoctrination when participating in their public school’s athletics program,” FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Charlotte R. Gude writes to the school’s legal counsel.

Here, the football coaches seem to have crossed the constitutional line by leading students in the Lord’s Prayer while acting in their official capacities as school employees, bringing in outside adults to proselytize players, and promoting attendance at a Christian club. Student-athletes are especially susceptible to coercion, and the relationship between student-athletes and their coaches is inherently coercive. Students know that their coaches control their positions on the team, including who plays in each game. 

When coaches lead students in prayer and direct or encourage them to pray or engage in other religious activities, student-athletes will no doubt feel that participating in that prayer is essential to pleasing their coach and being viewed as a team player. Students are unlikely to speak up against coach-led prayer and proselytizing even if they do not feel comfortable. It is unrealistic and unconstitutional to make student-athletes choose between allowing their constitutional rights to be violated to maintain good standing with their coach and peers or openly dissenting at the risk of retaliation. By allowing coaches to lead students in prayer and foist their personal religious beliefs onto student-athletes, the district needlessly marginalizes students among the 24 percent of Tennessee residents who are religiously unaffiliated, including the 43 percent of Generation Z who are nonreligious.

To protect students’ First Amendment rights, Robertson County Schools must investigate the situation and ensure that football coaches refrain from leading students in prayer and promoting religion.

“Public school coaches have enormous authority over their players, and they cannot use that authority to pressure students to pray or attend religious athletic clubs,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “There should be no ‘pray to play’ practices or other overstepping of the professional boundary between coaches and vulnerable public school students. Robertson County Schools must ensure that participation in athletics does not come with a religious test.”

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 40,000 members and several chapters across the country, including nearly 500 members and a chapter in Tennessee, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

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