New episode of ‘Secular Spotlight’ dissects official D.C. religious event

The latest episode of the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s web series, “Secular Spotlight,” examines the recent officially organized Christian nationalist shindig held in Washington, D.C.

FFRF’s Liz Cavell and Chris Line are joined by YouTuber Tim Whitaker to examine “Rededicate 250,” a massive religious and political rally that brought together a few weeks ago Trump administration officials, evangelical leaders and Christian nationalist activists on the National Mall. They break down the event’s messaging, challenge claims that America was founded as a Christian nation, and discuss what the growing influence of Christian nationalism could mean for church-state separation and secular democracy.

“This is like the Christian nationalist victory lap, this is like them saying, ‘Look what we’ve done, we’ve captured the government,’” Whitaker explains. “They weren’t even pretending to call this a nongovernment-funded thing. We know taxpayer money was used. Freedom 250 received a lot of money and we don’t know how much, but a good chunk of it went to this … essentially evangelical revival style event full of Trump officials.”

You can catch this episode of “Secular Spotlight” on FFRF’s YouTube channel, as well as by watching on your smart TV after downloading FFRF’s free app, Freethought TV, which also highlights FFRF’s other video programming. Our recent episodes include three FFRF staff members discussing their work to counter a religious organization that is devouring public school students’ education hours, and a deep dive into the rapidly expanding world of AI-generated religious content with special guest “The Antibot” Taylor Leigh. 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 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

The post New episode of ‘Secular Spotlight’ dissects official D.C. religious event appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

FFRF objects to $15 million Fla. taxpayer giveaway for Catholic school security

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is decrying a provision in Florida’s newly approved state budget that would hand $15 million in taxpayer funds directly to Catholic schools.

The funding, included in the state’s $114.5 billion budget, would benefit 68 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Miami in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties. Catholic officials have said the money will be used for projects such as fencing, bulletproof glass, surveillance systems and additional law enforcement officers.

“This is a blatant example of taxpayers being forced to subsidize religious institutions” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The government has no business singling out one denomination for special treatment and handing it millions of dollars in public funds, particularly with our public schools, which serve all evenhandedly, being grossly underfunded.”

The appropriation was the product of a coordinated lobbying effort by the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops and other Catholic advocates. Jim Rigg, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Miami, said he was “overjoyed” by the funding and “hopes that the security grants are just the beginning of prolonged state support for Catholic school students.”

That statement should alarm every Floridian concerned about the separation of church and state, FFRF warns.

“This isn’t a one-time request for emergency assistance,” says Gaylor. “Catholic officials are openly celebrating this appropriation as the beginning of a long-term taxpayer funding stream for Catholic schools.”

The funding is especially troubling because Catholic schools are already major beneficiaries of Florida’s massive school-voucher program, which would receive roughly $4.5 billion under the proposed state budget. Now, on top of taxpayer-funded tuition subsidies, lawmakers are directing millions more in public money specifically to Catholic institutions.

Catholic leaders have argued that their schools deserve state funding because they face security concerns and because Jewish schools have received state security grants in recent years. But FFRF notes that the solution to one unconstitutional subsidy is not another.

“Every child deserves to be safe at school,” Gaylor says. “But if the state wishes to provide security assistance, it must do so through neutral programs that treat all schools equally, not by carving out special appropriations for politically connected religious organizations.”

The appropriation also raises serious concerns about government entanglement with religion. Catholic leaders have made it clear that the funds could be used to hire additional security personnel for church-operated schools, thereby reducing costs currently covered by tuition, donations and church resources.

According to Catholic officials, some schools spend as much as $150,000 annually for on-site law enforcement officers. Public funds would now relieve religious institutions of expenses they have traditionally borne themselves.

“The Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest religious institutions in the world,” Gaylor notes. “Taxpayers should not be expected to underwrite operating costs for church-run schools while public schools continue struggling to meet basic educational needs.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation urges Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto the appropriation and reject yet another attempt to funnel public money into religious education.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with about 41,000 members and several chapters nationwide, including more than 2,000 members and a chapter in Florida. 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.

The post FFRF objects to $15 million Fla. taxpayer giveaway for Catholic school security appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

June 12-14, 2026 – Revival of Reason 26 (Atlanta)

Black Nonbelievers is proud to present

Revival of Reason 2026 – 15 Years of BN!!!

Register Now!

June 12-14, 2026

Join us in Atlanta for RoR2026, where we will celebrate 15 years of BN and MORE!!!

Featured speakers include:

– Chris Cameron
– Candace Gorham
Detroit Atheist Queen
– Hemant Mehta: The Friendly Atheist
– Cynthia McDonald
– Mandisa Thomas
– And MORE!!!

This is a family friendly event, so please bring your loved ones, and anyone who is interested in learning and needs secular support. Student discounts and sponsorship opportunities are available.

Register Now!

The post June 12-14, 2026 – Revival of Reason 26 (Atlanta) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Pride Month backlash reveals coordinated Christian nationalist campaign 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is castigating a coordinated effort that several conservative states have launched to undermine Pride Month.

Governors in Florida, Indiana, Alabama and Utah, among other states, have, respectively, issued proclamations declaring June to be “Faith and Family Month,” “Nuclear Family Month,” “Strong Families Month” or “Fidelity Month.” While disingenuously framed as celebrations of families and faith, these governmental proclamations clearly are intended as a rebuke to Pride Month and its recognition of LGBTQ+ Americans.

“These proclamations are not about celebrating families,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “They are about using government authority to elevate a particular religious and political vision of family while signaling that LGBTQ-plus families, single-parent families, blended families and nonreligious Americans are somehow less worthy of recognition.”

The most blatant example is Indiana Gov. Mike Braun’s proclamation of June as “Nuclear Family Month,” which defines the family as “one husband, one wife, and any children.” The proclamation calls this “God’s design for the family structure” and “the foundation of society since the creation of the world.” Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith embraced the culture-war motivation behind the proclamation, posting an illustrated version online proclaiming, “Take back the rainbow!”

Tennessee similarly designated June as “Nuclear Family Month,” declaring that the nuclear family is “God’s perfect design for humanity” and warning that it is “under attack.” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox quietly declared June “Fidelity Month,” citing faith, family and patriotism and calling for Americans to “rededicate” themselves to those values. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis designated June “Faith and Family Month,” emphasizing Christianity’s role in American society and encouraging faith-centered celebrations throughout the month. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey proclaimed June “Strong Families Month,” praising households led by “a father and a mother” and suggesting that nontraditional families are responsible for various social problems.

The common thread running through these proclamations is the assumption that the government should endorse a particular religion-suffused view of family life.

“The government has no business declaring that any family structure is ‘God’s preferred arrangement,’” Gaylor says. “Public officials should not use the machinery of the state to promote their private religious beliefs about marriage, sexuality and gender. This not only violates the spirit of state/church separation, but excludes millions of good Americans, whether LGBTQ+ or those among the 29 percent of adult Americans who are nonreligious, from full civic belonging.”

FFRF notes that these proclamations are part of a broader Christian nationalist movement seeking to redefine American identity in explicitly religious terms. Increasingly, extremist political leaders are using government proclamations, legislation and public institutions to advance the notion that America is fundamentally Christian, that traditional gender roles are divinely mandated and that LGBTQ+ equality represents a threat to society.

Pride Month exists because LGBTQ+ Americans spent generations facing criminalization, discrimination, family rejection and government hostility. Yet rather than acknowledging that history, some elected officials are using June to celebrate the very institutions and belief systems that were often used to justify that discrimination.

FFRF emphasizes that families come in many forms. They include married or unmarried couples, single parents, adoptive families, grandparents raising grandchildren, blended families, as well as LGBTQ+ families. A secular government serves all of them equally.

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 about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

The post Pride Month backlash reveals coordinated Christian nationalist campaign  appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

10 Things I Hate About You Atheists!

FFRF castigates second House Judiciary hearing targeting SPLC

Tuesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center is the latest step in a coordinated effort to intimidate organizations challenging Christian nationalism and other forms of extremism.

Testifying before the committee, Southern Poverty Law Center Interim President and CEO Bryan Fair defended the organization’s 55-year record.

“For 55 years, with the support of generous donors who appreciate our work, the SPLC has fought racial terror, white supremacy and other forms of discrimination and hate, to build and defend a multiracial democracy where we can all thrive,” Fair told lawmakers. “That was the goal of the Civil Rights Movement — and it is our mission.”

Fair reminded committee members that the center helped dismantle the United Klans of America through litigation and has spent decades exposing extremist organizations through research, education, policy advocacy and legal action. He also rejected claims that the organization has strayed from its mission.

“Some say we’ve lost our way,” Fair testified. “That’s false. We have never lost our north star — a fair and just society for every person.”

At the hearing, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Subcommittee Chair Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and others continued their campaign against the Southern Poverty Law Center, attacking the organization’s longstanding work tracking hate groups and extremist movements.

Multiple lawmakers questioned why the center has designated organizations such as the Alliance Defending Freedom as hate groups. Fair responded that the designations are based on documented statements and activities that vilify, demean or target marginalized communities, not on an organization’s religious beliefs. He emphasized that the center does not label entities based on their faith, but rather on conduct and rhetoric that it concludes promote hostility or discrimination.

Members of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, including Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Reps. Becca Balint, D-Vt., and Hank Johnson, D-Ga., forcefully pushed back against these attacks, defending the importance of independent research and documentation of extremist movements. Raskin defended the Southern Poverty Law Center’s decades-long civil rights work and warned against using government power to punish organizations for their viewpoints.

“The proper response to speech you don’t like is counterspeech, not government prosecution, not government censorship,” Raskin said in his opening remarks.“If you don’t like the fact that someone’s called you a hate group, then you get up and you rebut them. You denounce them.”

Balint warned that the hearing was part of a broader campaign to punish organizations unwilling to show blind loyalty to President Trump. She accused Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche of transforming the Justice Department into a tool for political retribution, targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center and other groups that have resisted the administration’s attacks on democratic institutions and civil rights protections.

Among the witnesses was Alveda King of the America First Policy Institute, a Christian nationalist organization closely aligned with the Trump administration. King argued that Americans with “traditional Christian values” are being unfairly targeted and criticized the center for its opposition to anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion activism. She accused the organization of mischaracterizing her advocacy and repeated claims attacking transgender healthcare and reproductive rights. Her testimony reflected a broader theme of the hearing, in which lawmakers and witnesses sought to portray criticism of Christian nationalist ideology and anti-LGBTQ extremism as discrimination against Christians themselves.

The same House committee had held an earlier hearing against the Southern Poverty Law Center on May 20. And in April, the Justice Department indicted the center over its program to track hate groups, an investigation which an earlier administration had already closed. The center’s lawyers are seeking dismissal, documenting that the DOJ moved to charge without interviewing a single current employee and contends the prosecution is a political vendetta.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has a long history of documenting threats from Christian nationalists, white supremacists and other extremists. In its annual “Year in Hate and Extremism” report, it named white Christian nationalism as the key ideology that inspired the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, drawing directly on the February 2022 report that the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty co-published. The center has continued to document how Christian nationalism stokes hate through false claims of “Christian persecution” and “white genocide,” and how the movement seeks to dominate American political and cultural life.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation stands firmly with the Southern Poverty Law Center. FFRF is among more than 100 civil rights organizations that have signed the Unity Pact, a commitment organized by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights under which an unjust attack on one signatory is treated as an attack on all. A prosecution built on the president’s enemies list and dressed up in a congressional hearing is exactly what the pact has been made to defend against.

Despite the congressional attacks, the center today released its most recent “Year in Hate & Extremism” report, which chronicles trends in hard-right activity, exposes the players driving extremism and equips communities with data and tools to prevent radicalization. This year’s report identifies 1,263 hate and antigovernment groups in operation throughout 2025 and documents how the hard-right movement rapidly consolidated power across influential institutions, including the federal government and the private tech sector. The report examines how extremist movements have targeted immigrants, LGBTQ-plus people, women, students of color and poor people, exploited cryptocurrency to sustain harassment campaigns, and intensified propaganda and recruitment efforts on college campuses.

“Attempts to punish organizations for exposing extremism are an attack on free inquiry, civil rights advocacy and democratic accountability,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The Southern Poverty Law Center has spent decades documenting the dangers posed by white supremacy, Christian nationalism and other extremist movements. It should be commended for that work, not dragged before Congress because powerful politicians dislike its conclusions.”

FFRF urges lawmakers to abandon these politically motivated attacks and focus instead on addressing the real threats posed by extremist movements that seek to undermine constitutional rights and secular democracy.

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 about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

The post FFRF castigates second House Judiciary hearing targeting SPLC appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

FFRF challenges Indiana sheriff’s jailhouse baptism event

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is demanding that the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, based in Bloomington, immediately stop sponsoring Christian devotional events at the correctional facility, including pressuring inmates to undergo baptisms. 

FFRF received a report that the sheriff’s office and Monroe County Correctional Center organized a religious event encouraging inmates to display adherence to Christianity and be baptized. A May 31 post from the official Monroe County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page contained multiple photos, including a banner featuring the message “Where You at Redeemed?” along with a cross, detailing the event as such:
Forty-nine individuals publicly declared their faith in Christ through baptism. Christian hip-hop artists Redeemed and J. Truth shared their testimonies and performed music that inspired and encouraged those in attendance.

The evening was marked by healing, forgiveness, accountability, and redemption. 

According to the Facebook post, not only were the baptisms administered with the participation of Monroe County Correctional Center staff, but they were also organized and supervised by multiple law enforcement leaders. Some of the officials are pictured in the Facebook post in their official uniforms.

Multiple residents contacted FFRF about constitutional concerns regarding the baptisms. Community members expressed concern with the sheriff’s office’s promotion of the event on its official social media. As one individual contacting FFRF pointed out, the inmates likely would not have felt free to refuse to participate in the baptisms or the event because it was clear that the sheriff’s office, the center and leadership wanted inmates to attend and be baptized. Another individual contacting FFRF expressed concern about nonreligious inmates who did not participate being treated worse than inmates who did. 

“By organizing, hosting, and promoting inmate baptisms and celebrating inmates’ conversions to Christianity on its official social media, the sheriff’s office is unconstitutionally favoring religion over nonreligion, and Christianity over all other faiths,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence has written to Sheriff Ruben Marté.

A correctional facility is an inherently coercive environment — and inmates and detainees are literally a captive audience, as FFRF points out. When the sheriff’s office entangles itself with religion and makes it clear that it’s encouraging inmates to convert to Christianity, inmates will no doubt feel pressured to convert and participate in religious activities to be seen as cooperative and well-behaved. Inmates and detainees who are aware of the sheriff’s office’s promotion of Christianity will not genuinely feel free to refuse to participate in its religious activities. This is constitutionally impermissible. 

FFRF emphasizes that law enforcement must be even-handed and avoid any appearance of bias toward some citizens and hostility toward others. Sheriff’s Office employees are not permitted to use the machinery of government or taxpayer money to promote their personal religion to inmates or the wider community. And such activity needlessly marginalizes the 31 percent of Indiana residents who are religiously unaffiliated.

“It is egregious and unacceptable that a sheriff would arrange Christian baptisms for inmates, using the sheriff’s department time and staff to push a specific belief system on a literal captive audience,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor says. “A county jail is not a church and a sheriff is not a pastor. U.S. citizens are entitled to their right to be free of religious coercion, and that right cannot be revoked for the incarcerated.”

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 over 41,000 members, including more than 500 members in Indiana, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

The post FFRF challenges Indiana sheriff’s jailhouse baptism event appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

10 Things I Hate About You Atheists!

A billion-dollar company is remaking a Washington town in Christianity’s image

This newsletter is free and goes out to over 24,000 subscribers, but it’s only able to sustain itself due to the support I receive from a small percentage of regular readers. Would you please consider becoming one of those supporters? You can subscribe via Patreon or the Subscribe button below! You can also make one-time donations through Venmo or PayPal.

Subscribe now

The small town of Battle Ground, Washington—just north of Portland, Oregon—is rapidly becoming a place run by Christians, for Christians, and the speed of its transformation is downright frightening.

And if you’re thinking that sounds a lot like Moscow, Idaho, where Christian Nationalist theocrat Doug Wilson has built himself a mini-empire centered around his Christ Church, that’s because he’s directly linked to the people now doing the same thing in Battle Ground.

Back in March, Camden Spiller, the owner of the electrical equipment company Maddox Industrial Transformer, explained in a local newspaper the three main reasons why he and his brother were investing so heavily in the town:

The first is that this is our home. And we hope to help make Battle Ground an even better place to live, work and raise a family.

…

Secondly, investing in our hometown helps us retain great employees and leaders here at home, because strong local businesses and amenities make it easier for people to build their lives and careers in Battle Ground.

The third, and most personal, reason we choose to invest in Battle Ground is rooted in our faith. One of the most influential Bible verses in my life comes from the book of Jeremiah: “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you.”

Whether or not you share our faith, our community is strengthened when we each, in our own ways, seek the peace and prosperity of the place we share.

For us, that place is Battle Ground.

That was… ominous. Maddox is expected to make about $1 billion in revenue by 2027. That sort of money in a town of about 20,000 people could give Spiller and his family unfathomable power to impose Christianity upon everyone there. Even if they can’t legally force it, they can make clear that only Christians like them are welcome in the community.

And that’s what’s been happening.

In April, reporter Erik Neumann of Oregon Public Broadcasting wrote a lengthy article connecting many of these dots. He noted that Maddox (the company) had invested in “at least 30 properties” in the community. While some see that as a step forward—it’s revitalizing parts of the town!—it’s also a way to make sure the company has control over the town’s success. That also means, however, that other company owners are now unable to truly push back if anything Maddox does is bad for the town:

OPB contacted a dozen residents, public officials and business owners in buildings owned by Spiller or near Spiller acquisitions. Some, like the city manager, felt positive about the changes. Others were mixed.

Several declined to discuss the recent purchases. Two said they needed to remain neutral on the subject. Three said they didn’t want to speak publicly about the changes that were connected to Spiller and Maddox.

“I don’t want any part of it,” one business owner said when asked for an interview about Maddox’s recent property acquisitions. “They’re a $1 billion company. They push on me and I disappear.”

Just to give you an example of what that looks like in practice, the company opened up Al & Ernie’s Bakery, a place that’s “founded on Christian values” and which quietly pushes faith on you from the moment you place an order:

Customers waiting for orders there receive buzzers that cite a Bible passage: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

It’s also closed on Sundays, naturally. So is the local taphouse.

That may seem innocuous, but that’s what they’re doing with a bakery. Now imagine what could happen if Spiller and his allies were to take over local government. Would the officials be able to say no to projects Spiller wanted to develop even if they were bad for the community? Would they use their power to pass religious proclamations?

Guess what? These concerns are already playing out:

In January, Eric Overholser, a production operations manager at Maddox, was elected mayor after serving as a city councilor since 2023. Deputy Mayor Aimee Vaile is married to a Maddox employee. Another Maddox employee was recently elected to the local school board.

One of the buildings that Spiller is creating will soon be home to a pastor named C.R. Wiley, a leader in the ultra-conservative Presbyterian Church in America, who has religious and professional ties to… you guessed it. Doug Wilson.

The church pastor for whom Spiller is building a new chapel has spoken about the importance of “governing unbelievers.” That pastor, C.R. Wiley, has ties to a prominent self-described Christian nationalist in Moscow, Idaho, who wants his faith to shape how that town is run and who has endorsed turning the Ten Commandments into civic law.

In 2023, OPB notes, Wiley co-hosted a podcast called The Battle Ground Project in which he and his colleague talked about what they hoped the town would become, and they weren’t subtle about their intentions.

[Co-host and Maddox development manager Max] Booth and Wiley described the show as “an experiment in Christian localism,” a term that refers to promoting Christian values in a person’s local sphere of influence, whether that’s politics, work or recreation. They discussed business and politics in Battle Ground on the show and posted episodes online.

Shortly after OPB began investigating this story, the episodes were removed from podcast feeds.

That can’t be good news…

The podcast wasn’t the only place Wiley discussed the future of Battle Ground. That same year, he delivered a lecture called “Building culture in hostile territory” at a religious conference. He said the church (arguably with the help of Spiller) was creating all the spaces you’d want to go and hang out with friends outside of your home and work. So a local bakery would “double as a Bible study location after hours.” Same with a local cigar shop.

“We want owned space,” Wiley said. “We want to be the people who have a very strong say, significant say, in how things are done and how the business is conducted.”

…

“What we, as Presbyterians and people who belong to the reformed tradition, bring to the larger church, are the resources of a public theology that helps us to govern unbelievers,” Wiley said during the talk.

There used to be a bar in the area—Main Street Bar—but when the owner wanted to sell, Maddox took it over and made sure it wasn’t a bar anymore:

A Main Street Bar Facebook post stated that the building — originally a movie theater before it became a bar of many names — “has a bright future but no longer a bar.”

“We’re going to keep the barbershop as it is, and then reconcept the bar,” Booth said. “It likely won’t be a bar again, but it will be something public-facing, serving the community.”

They’re not hiding their intentions even if they’re trying to hide the podcast.

This is now spilling over into the city council, where recent draft proclamations have condemned “Antifa-associated” violence and supported ICE. They’ve also promoted invocation prayers (which would inevitably be Christian-dominated)… while the council has rejected proclamations honoring Pride month and the Transgender Day of Visibility.

They’re being shady about it too:

Earlier this month [in May], the mayor approved another proclamation marking May 7 as a national day of prayer, and the council is considering adding a religious invocation to the start of its bimonthly meetings.

During Monday night’s meeting, one dissenting councilor warned that the seven-member body could be wading into murky legal territory as it considers instituting a prayer invocation at the start of city meetings.

“Just for the record, four of you do not want to let the public know our legal implications of adding prayer to this meeting,” said Councilor Troy McCoy after members voted not to publicly share past legal advice from city attorneys after the issue came up last year.

For what it’s worth, a local resident told me she submitted a Day of Reason proclamation for the city council to pass and they approved it. They’ll make the announcement in mid-July. But that doesn’t negate all the pro-Christian things this same council is pushing.

One concern is that residents will be oblivious to what’s happening until it’s too late, while the people who are tapped in to local politics—and able to make decisions—are already part of the Christian base. That’s why local activists have been raising to sound the alarms so that more people speak out against this Christian takeover fueled by religious extremism and a bottomless pit of money.

In case it’s not clear why this is all so concerning, just remember what Doug Wilson stands for and then realize his people are the ones taking over this town.

Wilson has openly admitted his theocratic fantasies about Moscow, Idaho: “I’d like to see the town be a Christian town. I’d like to see the state be a Christian state. I’d like to see the nation be a Christian nation. I’d like to see the world be a Christian world.”

He described women as nothing more than “the kind of people that people come out of.” He said they should be submissive to their husbands and—importantly—in his ideal world, women wouldn’t be allowed to vote. One of Wilson’s fellow pastors said on camera that he supported repealing the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

Wilson believes abortion and homosexuality should be criminalized. He has said sodomy is “worse than slavery,” that abortion is “as great an evil as slavery,” and that slavery was a net positive because it “produced in the South a genuine affection between the races.”

Wilson protects abusers over the abused.

Wilson doesn’t believe Muslims, Hindus, or even “liberal” Christians should be allowed to hold office. (It’s safe to say that extends to atheists, too.)

That’s the mindset now creeping into Battle Ground. And it’s easy to miss because it’s not like they’re waving a Christian flag as they do it. They’re advancing Christian Nationalism through real estate purchases, business investments, school board races, city council seats, and community institutions. The strategy is to become so deeply embedded in everyday life that opposition feels futile.

People defending the Spillers will inevitably point to the new businesses, renovated buildings, and economic growth in support of what they’re doing. But prosperity by itself doesn’t undo the breakdown of pluralism. A town can have thriving businesses while becoming hostile to anyone who doesn’t fit a preferred religious mold. What’s the point of economic development if it doesn’t serve the entire community?

That’s why residents can’t afford to shrug this off. The people driving these changes are openly discussing the need to “govern unbelievers.” They are following a model pioneered by Wilson, a man whose vision for society includes subordinating women, criminalizing LGBTQ people, excluding religious minorities from public life, and blurring the line between church and state until it effectively disappears.

If residents believe their community should belong equally to Christians, non-Christians, and everyone in between, then they should speak up now, run for office soon, and push back aggressively while there’s still a town left to protect.

(Portions of this article were published earlier)

Statement on Department of Defense’s Reduced List of Recognized Religions

WASHINGTON – The following is a statement from American Humanist Association Executive Director Fish Stark in response to news that the Department of Defense has dramatically reduced its number of recognized religious faiths and belief systems from 211 to 31, eliminating specific designation categories for humanists, atheists and Unitarian Universalists, among others.

“This is a blatant erasure of atheist and humanist Americans serving in the military. Secretary Hegseth can say whatever he wants about the motivations for this decision, but its implications are undeniable: it will be harder for individual service members to access religious accommodations, and for chaplains, it will be more difficult to properly serve those in their care.

“Data collection isn’t a morally neutral undertaking – this accounting will inform future resource allocation at the Pentagon and make it harder for service members to defend their rights, and it is for these reasons that we’re opposed to this senseless decision.

“We call on the Pentagon to immediately restore the more inclusive list of 211 faith and belief codes, and for Congress to hold the Department of Defense accountable for its attempt to curtail the religious freedom of our service members.”

The post Statement on Department of Defense’s Reduced List of Recognized Religions appeared first on American Humanist Association.