The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling for the immediate removal of an “Appeal to Heaven” flag reportedly displayed outside the office of a U.S. Department of Education official.

FFRF has sent a letter objecting to the display in front of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Murray Bessette’s office. It warns that the flag is a divisive religious symbol closely associated with Christian nationalist movements and political extremism. The “Appeal to Heaven” flag — widely flown by Jan. 6 Capitol rioters and embraced by Christian nationalist movements — does not represent all Americans. It symbolizes a radical theocratic agenda that seeks to replace constitutional governance with biblical rule.

The flag’s namesake organization is explicit in its mission: “To honor the Lord by networking elected officials who are believers in Jesus Christ, who regularly attend and display a commitment to an evangelical, Gospel-centered church and who will commit to live and govern based on biblical, constitutional and federalist principles.”

FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line writes to Bessette: “Federal offices are not personal spaces for the promotion of religious or ideological symbols, particularly when those symbols have been embraced by movements hostile to pluralism and democratic norms.” Line adds, “Public employees and members of the public should not be subjected to imagery that many reasonably view as exclusionary, intimidating or hostile.”

FFRF emphasizes that the Department of Education has a special obligation to remain neutral on matters of religion. The agency oversees billions of dollars in federal education funding and serves students, families and educators of every faith and of no faith at all.

“Against that backdrop, your decision to prominently display a symbol now closely associated with religious extremism and political violence sends an alarming message,” Line writes. “At minimum, it risks conveying government preference for a particular religious ideology, in violation of the Establishment Clause. More broadly, it undermines confidence that the department is committed to neutrality, inclusion, and following constitutional requirements.”

FFRF also warns that such displays can reasonably be viewed by employees and members of the public as exclusionary, intimidating or hostile, particularly given the flag’s association with political violence and religious extremism.

“Public servants should not subject their colleagues or the public to religious messaging from the government,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The Constitution requires government neutrality toward religion. That principle is especially critical in a federal agency charged with serving a diverse nation.”

FFRF is urging Bessette to remove the flag immediately and to reaffirm the department’s obligation to serve all Americans equally — without religious preference or favoritism.

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 42,000 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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