Statement: FFRF denounces civil rights office’s new mission against ‘anti-Christian’ bias

Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a state/church watchdog that is also the largest association of North American freethinkers, have released the following statement:

“The Freedom From Religion Foundation denounces the dismaying recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that its civil rights office has been restructured to go after so-called ‘anti-Christian bias.’ It seems clear that the intent is to intimidate critics of Christian nationalism and the growing unification of conservative Christianity with our secular government.

“The department contradicts its alleged goal to ‘advance the protection of conscience rights’ by then saying it will ‘eradicate’ anti-Christian bias. Americans are free to believe or disbelieve in any religion, to advocate for or criticize any religious doctrines. Even if there were such a thing as ‘anti-Christian bias,’ Americans would be free to hold it. The law should go after actions, not beliefs.

“FFRF is also troubled to see that instead of upholding civil rights, particularly of racial minorities, the office has been tasked with addressing race-based discrimination ‘in a color-blind manner.’ We also find it disturbing that HHS charges its civil rights office with restoring  ‘biological truth,’ obviously a threat to transgender Americans, a threat mainly posed by religion. 

“True freedom of conscience hinges on a government that does not take sides over religious debates, that does not confer its blessings on religion over nonreligion, or on a particular religion over other religions, and that does not possess an ‘anti-freethinker’ bias. Most Americans support the separation between religion and government. FFRF represents more than 41,000 freethinking members, mainly atheists and agnostics, seeking to uphold the First Amendment. We also represent the views of nearly one-third of U.S. adults today who are religiously unaffiliated. FFRF will continue our peaceful, lawful work in defense of state/church separation, free speech and true religious freedom by exercising our First Amendment rights.”

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Delaware paper runs FFRF op-ed detailing anti-abortion and religion link

A leading community newspaper in Delaware has published a Freedom From Religion Foundation op-ed on religion’s centrality in the anti-abortion perspective.

FFRF Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne opens his piece in the Cape Gazette (which covers the Cape region of Delaware) by detailing the benefits of Senate Bill 5, a bill that aims to protect the access of state residents to reproductive health care. 

“It would enshrine reproductive freedom in the Delaware Constitution, as many progressive states have done, and ensure that decisions about pregnancy remain where they belong: between patients and their doctors,” he writes. “In a post-Roe landscape where abortion rights have become fragile and uneven, state lawmakers need to provide new, more permanent protections for the right to bodily autonomy.”

Unfortunately, not everyone in Delaware is willing to support this common-sense measure due to faith trumping reason:

At a recent hearing on SB 5, an opponent warned lawmakers that any right to abortion must yield to “the law of Christ, which our constitution stands pale next to.” Another cited Scripture as governing authority, invoking Psalm 139 and Romans 13 to argue that the government should enforce their interpretation of divine will. And one opponent accused supporters of wanting to “enshrine abortion on the altar of worship and sacrifice to the devil,” even adding for good measure, “May God have mercy on your souls.”

This is not policymaking; this is sermonizing.

It is worth pausing on the specific texts being invoked. Romans 13 has a long and troubling history in American political life. Defenders of slavery used it to demand obedience to unjust laws. It was later invoked to justify segregation, was invoked in President Donald J. Trump’s first term to justify family separation, and was even cited earlier this year by House Speaker Mike Johnson to defend border policies against papal criticism. Appeals to that passage have consistently been used not to advance freedom, but to resist it.

Psalm 139, likewise, is not the benign, feel-good verse it is often presented as in political settings. The same psalm that speaks of being “fearfully and wonderfully made” also calls on believers to hold a “perfect hatred” for those who oppose God. It is telling that so many opponents turn to Psalm 139 to justify their “life begins at conception” dogma, since the Bible does not actually address abortion at all.

The good news is that lawmakers do not need to resolve these scriptural disputes, because they should never legislate based on their personal religious beliefs in the first place. To uphold their oath of office, lawmakers must respect the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom for everyone. That means if they can’t give a secular justification for something, they should not be legislating it.

The piece ends by emphasizing how government should aim to serve all people instead of bowing down to the religious beliefs of one specific group: “As this important constitutional amendment moves forward, it offers more than just protections for reproductive freedom. It offers a model for how legislators should approach difficult issues, not by quoting Scripture or appealing to divine authority, but by relying on evidence, respecting individual rights and recognizing that in a diverse society, the law belongs to all of us.”

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 over 41,000 members across the country, including more than 100 members in Delaware. Its 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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FFRF announces 2026 essay competitions

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has announced its four 2026 essay competitions for freethinking students.

Each of these four contests has 10 top prizes: First place — $3,500; second place — $3,000; third place — $2,500; fourth place — $2,000; fifth place — $1,500; sixth place — $1,000; seventh place — $750; eighth place — $500; ninth place — $400; and 10th place — $300. FFRF also offers optional honorable mentions of $200.

The contests cater to students in different age/class ranges. Students may only enter one FFRF contest annually and may not re-enter a contest if they have previously won an award in that particular contest.

All essays are due no later than June 1. For more details on the contest requirements and to apply, go to: ffrf.org/studentessay.

William J. Schulz Memorial Essay Contest for College-bound High School Seniors

High school seniors graduating this spring/summer and attending college in the fall are asked to write on the topic of “My favorite freethought/humanist hero/ine.” (Gap year students who took time off after graduating high school before applying to attend college in the fall of 2026 should enter this contest.)

“The world would be astonished if it knew how great a proportion of its brightest ornaments — of those most distinguished even in popular estimation for wisdom and virtue — are complete skeptics in religion.” — John Stuart Mill

Studies show that nonbelievers are still near the bottom rung of the ladder when it comes to social acceptance. Many Americans don’t realize how many activists or achievers they admire are not religious. To help educate them, write a personal essay about your favorite freethinker or humanist and what they did or are doing to improve or enrich our lives. It might be a nonreligious scientist, an artist or writer, a reformer — or an everyday person in your life who has made the world better and inspired you. Please briefly explain their influence or accomplishments and briefly document their nonreligious views. Tell us what they have meant to you as a humanist and nonbeliever. For quotes or citations, please document using links or footnotes.

Word limit: 350–500. Deadline: June 1.

Kenneth L. Proulx Memorial Essay Contest for Ongoing College Students

Currently enrolled college students (up to age 24; does not include college-bound high school seniors) may write on: “Why President Trump is wrong that ‘you just can’t have a great country if you don’t have religion.’”

Write a first-person essay that makes the case about why Trump is wrong to claim that “you just can’t have a great country if you don’t have religion.” Choose one or more such quotes by Trump (citing them in your essay) and show why his claims are fallacious. You may wish to marshall evidence or history that contradicts Trump’s claims, or address how his words threaten state/church separation and religious freedom. Save room to include something about your own reaction as a nonbeliever to such pronouncements by the president. Include links or footnotes for quotes or major citations.

The $1,000 prize in the ongoing college competition has been generously endowed by actor and FFRF Lifetime Member Mr. Madison Arnold. Madison, who is now 90, has given a $30,000 endowment as a living bequest, what he calls a “pre-quest.”
Word limit: 450–650. Deadline: June 1.

David Hudak Memorial Essay Contest for Students Who Are First-in-their-Family to Attend College
Students who will be first in their family to attend either a two- or four-year college or university and who are ages 17–21 (which includes college-bound high school seniors to currently enrolled college students), may write on the topic of: “Why white supremacy goes hand in hand with Christian nationalism.”

Write an essay about the inherent white racism in Christian nationalism. You may wish to write about it from a historic or a political perspective, but please be sure to include why it is a threat to our secular democracy and to you as an individual, or to your own community or other ethnic or racial minorities in the United States. Include something about your own experiences with or reactions to white Christian nationalism.

Word limit: 350–500. Deadline: June 1.

Cornelius Vander Broek Essay Contest for ‘Graduate/Older’ Students

Graduate students (through age 30) and “older” undergrads (ages 25–30) are asked to write about “Why the 250-year-old United States of America is not a Christian nation.”

Research and write an essay documenting why the U.S. government is not based on God or Christianity. Refute the claim by President Trump and others that the 250-year-old Declaration of Independence proves that our government is based on God. Include and refute a few other timely examples of legislators, public officials or other individuals promoting the Christian nation myth. Save space to include your own thoughts on why you find “Christian nation” propaganda and disinformation dangerous to our democracy and also how you feel about this as a nonbeliever. Include links or footnotes for quotes or major citations.

Word limit: 550–750. Deadline: June 1.

Additional prompts on the topics and contest rule requirements can be found at: ffrf.org/studentessay.

All eligible entrants will receive a digital year-long student membership in FFRF and non-winners also will be offered a book or other thank-you.

FFRF is appreciative of its members who make the effort to contact local high schools, colleges and universities to help publicize its competitions. You can email them this link: ffrf.org/studentessay.

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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July 2026 [Date TBD] – Sam Grover to Speak at Ozarks Chapter Event on Arkansas Lawsuits and Christian Nationalism (Bentonville, Ark.)

The Ozarks Chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation will host FFRF Staff Attorney Sam Grover for a public presentation in Bentonville, Arkansas. The event location and date are currently to be determined. Please check this page for updates.

Grover will give a 60-minute presentation discussing two ongoing Arkansas lawsuits involving church/state separation, as well as the broader rise of Christian Nationalism and its implications for constitutional rights and secular government.

As a staff attorney for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Grover works to uphold the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and regularly addresses issues involving religious entanglement in public institutions and government.

The event is free and open to the public. No RSVP is required. Attendance will be in person only, and no virtual option will be available.

Additional event details, including the final venue location and start time, will be announced by the Ozarks Chapter of FFRF at a later date. Bookmark this page to get that information easily. To read more about the Ozark’s chapter of FFRF, contact Chapter President Chris Sweeny at ozarksffrf@gmail.com.

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FFRF supports AZ students protesting school-sponsored prayer

Students at El Capitan High School in Colorado City, Ariz., are protesting school-sponsored prayer that district officials are still scheduling in the graduation ceremony despite student objections and constitutional dictates.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has told the Colorado City Unified School District to immediately remove prayer from the school’s June 3 graduation ceremony after the school received complaints from graduating seniors who say administrators are attempting to force religion into what should be a celebration of students’ achievements. According to the student complaint received by FFRF, El Capitan High School has long included official invocations and benedictions at graduation ceremonies, with students selected in advance to lead the audience in prayer. This year’s graduation program was set to feature scheduled prayers led by two designated students despite clear Supreme Court precedent ruling such practices unconstitutional.

After student objections, district officials reportedly altered the program so that the prayer would occur before the ceremony officially begins and described participation as “optional.” But the change misses the point.

“El Capitan High School’s custom and practice of including school-sponsored prayers at graduation directly violates students’ First Amendment rights,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence writes. “The school cannot avoid a constitutional violation by assigning students to lead prayers, moving the prayer to the top of the ceremony, or proclaiming that the prayer is no longer mandatory.” 

As the school board itself has noted, the ceremony is under the school’s control. A public school cannot constitutionally implement religious worship as part of a school activity. 

High school graduation is a once-in-a-lifetime event that students spend over a decade working toward. As FFRF’s student-complainant explained, the school forcing prayer on graduating students has caused the students “frustration” instead of allowing them to focus on their achievements. Including prayer at graduation puts many students and families in the unconscionable and unconstitutional position of choosing between exiting or foregoing the ceremony or else violating their conscience. 

Plus, having prayer at graduation ceremonies and other school-sponsored events needlessly marginalizes students and families who are nonreligious or members of minority faiths. As many as 29  percent of Americans are non-Christian, including the almost 30 percent that are nonreligious. (Arizona even has slightly higher than average numbers of religiously unaffiliated adults at 31 percent.) More than half of Generation Z members (those born after 1996) are non-Christian, including 43 percent who are nonreligious.

“Students deserve to celebrate their achievements that came from hard work — not be forced to show obeisance to someone else’s religion,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor says. “We expect this rogue school district to stop violating the constitutional rights of its students by canceling these prayers immediately.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 41,000 members and several chapters across the country, including more than 1,000 members and a chapter in Arizona. Its 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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June 8, 2026 – ‘Great American Freethought Songbook’ George and Ira Gershwin – (Madison, Wis. and live-streamed)

Photo by Chris Line

Celebrate the music, life & views of GEORGE and IRA GERSHWIN.

Monday, June 8, 2026 ( RSVP by Thursday, June 4 )
Charlie Brooks Auditorium
Freethought Hall, Madison, Wis.

6:15 – 6:45 p.m.   Refreshments served: Wine, non-alcoholic beverages, cookies.

6:45 – 6:50   Please be seated. (Concert is being video-recorded and live-streamed.)

7 – 8   Enjoy the performance with Dan Barker & Darcie Johnston.

RSVP by Thursday, June 4. Invite your family, friends and colleagues!

Watch the performance live by going to FFRF’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. It can also be viewed on Freethought TV, FFRF’s new streaming service for smart televisions and mobile devices. For installation instructions, go to freethoughttv.ffrf.org on your smart tv or cellphone.

Free street parking after 6 p.m. Close to Overture Center parking ramp, West Mifflin.

Mark your calendar for future concert dates:

Monday, July 13 — Lyricist Yip Harburg.

Monday, August 24 — Songwriter Cole Porter.

Monday, September 21 — Composers Richard & Mary Rodgers.

Monday, November 9 — Finale. Medley including Dorothy Fields, Jay Gorney, Burton Lane, Tom Lehrer, Frank Loesser, Thelonious Monk, Stephen Sondheim and Charles Strouse.

The post June 8, 2026 – ‘Great American Freethought Songbook’ George and Ira Gershwin – (Madison, Wis. and live-streamed) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

A board game forum rejected ads for “Possess Me, Satan” over fears of demonic oppression

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An advertisement for a new board game with a Satanic theme was rejected by one of the largest board game forums in the world because it might trigger people “suffering from demonic oppression.”

Possess Me, Satan is a “Mafia”-like deduction game from the company Falling Whale Games where players have to figure out who’s secretly Satan and who got possessed. Perform an exorcism on the wrong person, though, and “they will die.” Fun! Along the way, other players may serve as chaos agents and investigators, making it more difficult to figure out who’s in control and who’s being controlled.

Within just a few hours of launching on the crowdfunding website Gamefound on Tuesday, the $10,000 goal was reached—with 30 days left to spare. But before that happened, the creators attempted to purchase advertising on the popular website BoardGameGeek, where potential supporters could learn more about it.

Falling Whale Games confirmed to me that these were among the ads they submitted for approval:

They didn’t get a response at first, which was unusual given the two groups’ working history, so they followed up over a week later to see if there was any problem.

This time they heard back from the site’s Advertising Manager… who told them he personally rejected the ads because they offended his religious sensibilities.

… To be completely transparent, I’ve been sitting on this one and praying about what to do in this instance. As a follower of Jesus, I routinely help people suffering from demonic oppression, and more occasionally, possession, and it’s absolutely devastating the damage he does to peoples’ lives. It’s sometimes beyond what would even dare be depicted in a horror film. The amazing thing is that I get to see Jesus completely heal folks of even the most severe effects (we’ve walked with one lady who was diagnosed with 32 distinct personalities as a result of horrific occultic abuse, and she eventually was one whole, complete individual, healed by Jesus, with no fragments or need of all her psychological meds), but it doesn’t change the terrible reality behind the theme that this game is depicting.

So, I just can’t in good conscience approve this one; given what l’ve seen firsthand, the thought of displaying this subject matter makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t begrudge you personally, as many people just plain don’t understand the reality of it, but I’d strongly urge you to consider these things. IMO, the responsible thing to do would be to pull the entire project, as there are *way* more people that suffer this than you could possibly imagine, putting on a good face (usually enabled by dissociation), but suffering terribly behind the scenes.

I know this response was more than you bargained for, but I wanted to be 100% honest about where I’m coming from, rather than just ignoring the request.
Even though you may not be on the same page, I appreciate your understanding.

Uhhh… what the hell is that all about?

Let’s set aside the person’s Satanic Panic delusions for a moment. Why is this person’s religious beliefs interfering with a pretty standard business transaction on behalf of an ostensibly secular company? (It may be a private business but it’s still an insane thing for a representative to say.) And have you seen other games?! One of the most popular in recent memory involves exploding kittens, but that’s not an endorsement of animal cruelty.

This is a game. It’s fictional. It’s fun. It’s not promoting Satan any more than The Satanic Temple. The rejection was based on a complete misunderstanding of everything.

Falling Whale Games responded with some predictable shock (and, I might add, remarkable calm):

Thank you for getting back to us.

It’s very disappointing to hear you are denying us service based on religion. Is this the decision of Board Game Geek as a company or of just you personally?

Is there an advertising policy rule we are breaking?

There is currently ads on Board Game Geek for a game called “All True Believers” which is themed to the occult so it seems strange that our game is being singled out.

We are definitely not going to pull the project due to individual people not liking the theme. It is simply not for those people.

The response this time was even more infuriating because the Advertising Manager compared their theme to one featuring a “sexual predator” in that it’s not “friendly” and it would be “extremely triggering.”

Keep in mind it’s not over religion, but reality. It’s the same reason I would say a game would be in very poor taste if it featured being a sexual predator, or something that would directly trigger someone that’s been harmed by the subject matter. It’s about keeping BGG welcoming to everyone, and since I’m privy to this subject matter, I know firsthand that this is not friendly content, and incredibly triggering, put in front of some of the population that visits BGG.

Similar to site moderation, there are of course judgement calls to be made when it comes to displaying ads on the site. If it were just my personal preference, “All True Believers” wouldn’t be approved either, but I have to factor in if something being displayed is going to be overtly triggering. In that game, it’s a bit less obvious from the title, whereas you went for the shock value. Of course, that’s a business decision on your part, but it also means it’s not responsible of me to put it in front of a diverse community of gamers.

On Reddit, where Falling Whale Games posted screenshots from this exchange, an administrator of the BoardGameGeek forum chimed in to say the representative shouldn’t have said those things… but didn’t admit the decision was wrong or that it would be reversed.

Our Advertising Manager should not have presented his personal beliefs as representing the company. We are making sure he understands that this was an inappropriate and unprofessional response.

Yes, it was inappropriate. Yes, it was unprofessional. But what are you doing about it?! I don’t even care if the person is fired; I just want to know that this will never happen again.

When someone asked similar questions, the same admin insisted the issue was the religious nature of the reply and not the rejection of the ads.

The ads in question would not have been approved regardless. This info comes from a different member of the team who reviewed the ads in question after we became aware of this situation.

As far as I can tell this was a one-off incident. If any other advertisers feel like they may have been affected then I encourage them to email [us] so we can review those cases.

Why wouldn’t the ads have been approved? No one seemed to know. But that response from the admin was soon deleted.

On BoardGameGeek’s own forums, however, OctavianX added that the issue was that they try to avoid ads that are “edgy or provocative.” But you can see the ads for yourself near the top of this post. They’re hardly provocative. The same could be said about the name of the game. It’s pretty damn straightforward, and the game mechanics themselves are family-friendly. You have to wonder if an ad for a game celebrating LGBTQ people would also be rejected just because of the subject matter.

It wasn’t hard for people to find the Advertising Manager’s social media pages—I’m purposely not sharing them here—where his past posts promoted the idea that gay people could turn straight and that homosexuality is caused by “childhood trauma” and “generational curses.” He’s also said transgender people can’t be helped because “you can’t counsel a demon,” but they can be fixed by finding Jesus. Somehow.

This was no longer just about some rejected ads. This was rapidly becoming a bigger question of whether board game enthusiasts even wanted to support a website specifically meant for them. Several commenters online said they were canceling their paid memberships to BoardGameGeek.

Beyond that, though, everyone with a vested interest in this community just wanted to know what the site’s policies were.

Was it secretly a pro-Christian gaming forum?

What were the rules about advertising?

Would customers have a way of appealing bad decisions?

And how was management going to handle this incident?

Late last night, they got an answer to that last question. The company announced that the Advertising Manager had been fired:

Due to a situation in which BGG’s Advertising Manager responded inappropriately in a business email to a designer, I have decided to let him go. His response does not reflect or represent our company or the way we conduct business.

That’s the right move. But as of this writing, we still haven’t heard if those original ads would be accepted. Falling Whale Games told me they “haven’t decided yet if we want to use their services again.” If BoardGameGeek reaches out to them, perhaps they’ll reconsider, but given the success of their crowdfunding, they appear to be doing just fine without the support of the forum itself.

However this plays out, it’s a reminder of what happens when people with religious delusions are placed in positions where their beliefs aren’t supposed to be front and center. They’re often incapable of making rational decisions. In this case, the person perceived an enjoyable party game about Satan as equivalent to genuine human trauma and decided to put up a barrier between the designers and his company’s members.

We don’t know how many other game designers had similar experiences because of this one person’s bigotry. But BoardGameGeek’s initial response only made the whole thing worse. Instead of immediately admitting the rejection itself was absurd, they tried to narrow the controversy to the tone of the email. As if everything would have been fine if the person just didn’t bring his religion into it. But the underlying problem still remains unresolved!

By firing that employee, they’ve stopped the bleeding, but the scar remains. A board game forum shouldn’t become a battlefield for culture-war paranoia. Hell, it’s always frustrating when your subculture gets invaded by people who don’t respect the creativity within it.

The only healthy response—and the one BoardGameGeek ought to take—is to reject that mentality outright and make clear that these shared spaces will not be controlled by the most easily offended fundamentalist in the room.

(Thanks to Annabel for the tip)

Former “ex-gay” leader Alan Chambers charged with soliciting a minor

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The former leader of Exodus International, a Christian ministry that once argued they could “pray away the gay,” has been charged with trying to solicit a minor.

As if we needed another reminder that good judgment was never his strong suit.

Alan Chambers made headlines in 2012 when, as president of the largest and most well-known “ex-gay” group, he admitted that homosexual couldn’t actually be cured, that “conversion therapy” didn’t work, and that he personally believed gay people (who didn’t repent) could still go to Heaven. Chambers himself was gay, but he had always insisted he turned straight, got married to a woman, and adopted two children together. All this despite harboring same-sex attractions because of course he still did.

By 2013, Exodus International shut down entirely.

That same year, Chambers issued a formal apology about his role in promoting that harmful misinformation that ruined countless lives:

… And then there is the trauma that I have caused. There were several years that I conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions. I was afraid to share them as readily and easily as I do today. They brought me tremendous shame and I hid them in the hopes they would go away. Looking back, it seems so odd that I thought I could do something to make them stop. Today, however, I accept these feelings as parts of my life that will likely always be there. The days of feeling shame over being human in that way are long over, and I feel free simply accepting myself as my wife and family does. As my friends do. As God does.

Never in a million years would I intentionally hurt another person. Yet, here I sit having hurt so many by failing to acknowledge the pain some affiliated with Exodus International caused, and by failing to share the whole truth about my own story. My good intentions matter very little and fail to diminish the pain and hurt others have experienced on my watch. The good that we have done at Exodus is overshadowed by all of this.

Friends and critics alike have said it’s not enough to simply change our message or website. I agree. I cannot simply move on and pretend that I have always been the friend that I long to be today. I understand why I am distrusted and why Exodus is hated.

Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents. I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly “on my side” who called you names like sodomite—or worse. I am sorry that I, knowing some of you so well, failed to share publicly that the gay and lesbian people I know were every bit as capable of being amazing parents as the straight people that I know. I am sorry that when I celebrated a person coming to Christ and surrendering their sexuality to Him that I callously celebrated the end of relationships that broke your heart. I am sorry that I have communicated that you and your families are less than me and mine.

Was that sincere? I suppose. But even if there’s been growing acceptance (even among conservatives) that people don’t choose to be gay or lesbian, we’re still living in a country where right-wing zealots and evangelical Christians believe kids are groomed to become transgender, as if that too is a choice. Chambers’ apology may have been heartfelt but he was right to realize he wasn’t about to be forgiven for what he unleashed upon the world.

I probably hadn’t heard Chambers’ name mentioned in over a decade until this week, when he was arrested for allegedly trying to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy. He had actually been talking to an undercover officer the whole time.

Orange County court records show that the charges against him include “solicitation of a minor via computer,” “transmission of material harmful to minors,” and “unlawful use of a two-way communication device.”

WFTV news got ahold of the affidavit which offers more details:

According to the affidavit, the detective identified himself [on Snapchat] as a 14-year-old boy living in Orlando.

The user identified himself as a 50-year-old man named “John David,” and told the undercover detective he lived in Orlando and later moved the conversation to text messages and Telegram, investigators said.

…

According to the affidavit, the user repeatedly discussed meeting and engaging in sexual activity with the person he believed was a teenager.

Investigators said the user also repeatedly expressed concern about the age difference and the possibility of getting in trouble.

…

When asked whether he communicated with any children, investigators said Chambers told them he communicated with one person he identified as a codename, who was 14 years old and whom he met on Snapchat.

According to the affidavit, Chambers told investigators they discussed meeting but would not specify why.

The facts aren’t looking great for him. Which is disturbing not just because of what he appears to have done but because, by all accounts, he had finally moved on from his past. In 2016, he delivered sermons at Washington National Cathedral and marched in Pride parades. More recently, he was an executive for a fashion company and still in the public eye. Even in recent profiles, he didn’t hide his past:

He says there that his post-Exodus life “has changed me—helped me become a better father, a better husband and a better leader.” (Which, I know, still doesn’t make up for the harm he caused.)

So what led him to pursue a child and not just use something like Grindr? Who knows. He didn’t speak for LGBTQ people before and he sure as hell doesn’t now. But you can bet conservative will attempt to use this as proof that gay people are groomers. Chambers was a useful tool for the right in the past and some things never change.

In that sense, it’s disturbing that this is how he’s resurfacing. He’s no longer someone who’s made peace with the damage he caused and has ideas for how to make amends for it. Instead, he’s someone accused of trying to exploit a child. He went from enemy, to pariah, to accused predator. There’s no redemption in that arc. After spending years fueling moral panics about LGBTQ people, he’s now accused of behavior far worse than the lies he used to spread.

But that’s also where conservatives should tread carefully. Chambers represents no one but himself. There are predators in churches and politics, as we know all too well, and there’s nothing the right can say about Chambers when they’re turning a blind eye to the Epstein files and their own megachurches.

What we should be talking about is the culture of repression and secrecy and fear that still exists among many people with same-sex attraction. That culture creates an environment for all kinds of poor decisions. In some ways, Alan Chambers is both an architect and casualty of that culture.

May 18, 2026 – Elizabeth Cavell to Speak on State/Church Separation Litigation (Skokie, Ill.)

RSVP here.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation Metropolitan Chicago Chapter (FFRFMCC) is pleased to host a special speaking engagement featuring Elizabeth Cavell, deputy legal director of the Freedom From Religion Foundation on Monday, May 18, 2026, at the Skokie Public Library in Skokie, Illinois.

Cavell will present an overview of recent court cases involving state/church separation and provide attendees with an update on the current work of FFRF’s legal department based in Madison, Wisconsin. Her presentation will highlight ongoing constitutional challenges and the organization’s efforts to defend the rights of nonbelievers.

The event will take place from 6:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Skokie Public Library, located at 5215 Oakton St., Skokie, IL 60077. The presentation will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A session. Light refreshments will be served.

The event is open to the public, and all are welcome to attend. Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP in advance through the chapter’s event registration page by clicking here.

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Trump-backed Christian nationalist rally falls flat on National Mall

The Freedom From Religion Foundation reports that Sunday’s Christian nationalist prayer rally on the National Mall failed to inspire the massive turnout or enthusiasm its organizers promised.

Despite promotion from President Trump’s allies and appearances from top administration officials, only thousands attended the government-sponsored prayer fest in Washington, D.C. — far below the 80,000-plus turnout anticipated by delusional Pastor Robert Jeffress.

Even Trump appeared to treat the rally, formally known as “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving,” as an afterthought, sending only a video message. Rather than bothering to record a dedicated address for the prayer rally, Trump provided a rerun, a video he (inappropriately) recorded last month for a bible-reading marathon last month. In the recycled Oval Office video, Trump recited a passage from 2 Chronicles favored by Christian nationalists. Trump’s only fresh acknowledgment of the event came in a Truth Social post Sunday morning saying: “I HOPE EVERYBODY AT REDEDICATE 250 IS HAVING A GOOD TIME … I’M BACK FROM CHINA!!!”

Throughout the rally, public officials repeatedly fused religious doctrine with national identity and repeated the Christian nationalist Big Lies that the United States was founded “under God” and as a Christian nation.

Quite to the contrary.

“We live under a godless Constitution whose only references to religion are exclusionary,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor, who was in the nation’s capital yesterday to protest the government-sponsored prayer revival. “America was founded on Enlightenment principles, not biblical authority. No amount of prayer rallies or revisionist history can erase that.”

The revival was staged beneath towering faux stained-glass altar displays featuring a large white cross emblazoned over rotating revolutionary images, such as a depiction from the John Trumbull Declaration of Independence 1818 painting showing the Declaration’s signing. The false claim that the United States was founded as a Christian nation was repeatedly invoked throughout the day by elected officials, cabinet members and religious leaders.

Vice President JD Vance, also in a video, wrongly declared that America has “always been, and still are, a nation of prayer,” claiming “our faith was the ground upon which America stands.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a video statement likewise claimed Christianity defined the nation from the beginning. “With the dark storm clouds of war looming on the horizon, they did what Christians have always done across place and time for 2,000 years,” Rubio said of the Founders. “They turned their eyes to heaven and placed their faith in the hands of God.”

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told attendees in video remarks that America’s Founders “knelt” and sought God’s guidance before independence. “Now today, exactly 250 years later, we gather here on the National Mall to do the same,” Gabbard said, “to give thanks, to ask for forgiveness, and to humbly ask once more for God’s mercy and guidance.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who appeared in person, urged Americans to pray “on bended knee” to Jesus Christ, invoking George Washington at Valley Forge as an example — a piece of Christian nationalist disinformation. After the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to Museum of the Bible, which owns the 1975 painting by Arnold Friberg of Washington kneeling in the snow, the museum display was changed to say it depicts what “many believe Washington” did, as the New York Times recently reported.

In his remarks, Hegseth added, “Let us ask our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as Washington did on that momentous day, ‘So help us God.’”

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who also appeared in person, repeatedly insisted that Christianity and prayer were foundational to the nation. He began his remarks asking, “How many love Jesus,” to huge cheers. “There is no way to grasp the last 250 years of America without looking to the power of prayer,” Scott said. “Our rights don’t come from government, they come from God.”

Pastor Jeffress openly embraced the label “Christian nationalist.” “If being a Christian nationalist means loving Jesus Christ and loving America, count me in,” Jeffress told the crowd.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who appeared in person, led an extended prayer declaring that the United States was founded on “biblical and foundational principle[s]” and formally “rededicate[d] the United States of America as ‘One Nation, Under God.’” Johnson, who as speaker is third in line to the presidency, also condemned what he called attacks on America’s “moral and spiritual identity,” while asserting that Americans’ rights “do not derive from the government, they come from you, our Creator and Heavenly Father.”

FFRF warned ahead of the event that the rally would promote pseudohistory and Christian nationalism, an ideology asserting that a preferred version of Christianity should be privileged in American government and public life.

Counterprotests on the day of the rally highlighted growing opposition to theocracy and religious favoritism in government. The Freedom From Religion Foundation and Faithful America displayed a giant inflatable golden calf with Trump’s face on the National Mall, mocking the idolatrous merging of religion and Trump-style politics. FFRF leased two digital billboard trucks to carry the message, “Democracy Not Theocracy” around the Mall. The Interfaith Alliance projected protest messages onto the National Gallery of Art, reading: “Democracy not theocracy” and “The separation of church and state is good for both.”

FFRF filed a Freedom of Information Act request two months ago, and appealed the denial. It is now awaiting promised records related to the planning, coordination and use of government resources connected to the event, including communications involving federal agencies and public officials who participated in the rally.

The underwhelming turnout undercuts claims that Christian nationalism represents a broad national movement, as documented by a Pew study released days before the rally showing that Americans reject efforts to merge church and state.

“The growing resistance to flagrant violations of the separation of state and church, like this ‘Rededicate 250’ boondoggle, demonstrates that Americans in this semiquincentennial year still revere secular government and religious freedom for all — not government-sponsored Christianity,” Gaylor adds.

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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