‘So help me God’: S.C. atheist calls oath requirement unconstitutional

United Press International
By Pamela Manson

The post ‘So help me God’: S.C. atheist calls oath requirement unconstitutional appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Darren Patterson Christian Academy v. Roy (2025)

On September 15, 2025, FFRF signed onto an amicus brief with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Darren Patterson Christian Academy v. Roy. This was a challenge to Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program’s equal opportunity requirement prohibiting gender identity discrimination. DPCA sought to participate in the state-funded program while being allowed to discriminate against children and their families based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The brief outlines three main arguments. First, the Universal Preschool Program’s equal-opportunity requirement. This prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, is a religion-neutral law that does not violate the Free Exercise Clause. Second, the Universal Preschool Program’s equal-opportunity requirement does not trigger strict scrutiny, a rigorous legal standard, as the requirement is generally applicable and neutral. And third, even if the court decides strict scrutiny applies, the requirement would still survive because it serves compelling governmental interests in preventing discrimination, and the requirement is narrowly tailored to prevent gender-identity discrimination.

This brief was drafted by Americans United For the Separation for Church and State and the ACLU.

Brief

ACLU of Colorado’s Case Page for Darren Patterson Christian Academy v. Roy

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Utah County high school administrator accused of sharing ‘overtly’ religious messaging in video to students

The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, UT)
By Carmen Nesbitt

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US Labor secretary plans partisan prayer service for employees

Baptist News Global
By Jeff Brumley

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Utah high school blasted for sermon-like video blaming “sin of laziness” for mental health struggles

Friendly Atheist
By Hemant Mehta

The post Utah high school blasted for sermon-like video blaming “sin of laziness” for mental health struggles appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Latest Religious Liberty Commission hearing distorts military religious liberty, calls out FFRF

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is strongly criticizing Wednesday’s Religious Liberty Commission hearing in Dallas for presenting a distorted, partisan and theologically driven picture of “religious liberty” in the U.S. military.

FFRF itself came under fire during the hearing, when Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas repeated misleading claims about a 2020 IRS inquiry prompted by his highly partisan electioneering from the pulpit. FFRF’s original complaint accurately documented statements endorsing then-Vice President Mike Pence as a future president — statements Jeffress made during a worship service in direct violation of federal tax law.

Rather than addressing well-documented concerns about coercion and discrimination faced by service members under Christian nationalist Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, commissioners again amplified Christian nationalist grievances, political misinformation and manufactured persecution narratives.

“Service members are living with real religious coercion — not the imaginary persecution described today,” says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “The commission chose to ignore their reality and instead to advance an ideological political narrative.”

The meeting opened with a shout-out to billionaire Harlan Crow, who personally requested to host the event at his Dallas property. Crow is widely known for his close relationship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, including years of undisclosed luxury gifts and financial benefits. Then came a prayer led by former HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Christian nationalist activist and pseudo-historian Dave Barton next provided his usual revisionist history, claiming the military actively promoted Christianity throughout history until Presidents Obama and Biden put a stop to it.

Commissioners and panelists repeatedly invoked the false trope that “there are no atheists in foxholes” — a claim FFRF has long refuted and one that erases the many nonreligious service members who have served and sacrificed for their country. One speaker even relayed a story about how “the loudmouth atheists, when the bullets were flying, believed in God,” an insulting fabrication belied by actual veterans’ testimony. Nearly a third of active military have no religious affiliation. Nineteen percent of FFRF’s 42,000 members are veterans or active military.

Capt. Sukhbir Singh Toor, USMC, Ret., a member of the Sikh faith, briefly highlighted a genuine religious liberty issue — discriminatory beard and grooming restrictions — one of the few legitimate concerns raised at the hearing. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has pushed to eliminate so-called “beardos” from the armed forces, drawing criticism from service members who say the policy tramples religious freedoms and disproportionately targets Black men, Muslims and Sikhs.

Despite token inclusion of a few non-Christian panelists, the language and tone of the hearing made clear that commissioners view Christianity as the default faith of the U.S. military and of the country itself. This isn’t surprising given the makeup of the commission, including religious hardliners such as Kelly Shackelford of First Liberty, Allyson Ho and TV personality Phil McGraw.

In his tirade against FFRF’s justified complaint about his electioneering, Jeffress insisted the government has “absolutely no right to regulate what is said in a church,” railing against the Johnson Amendment and portraying ordinary enforcement of nonprofit law as anti-Christian persecution. His appearance had no meaningful connection to military issues, but reinforced the commission’s wider Christian nationalist narrative.

The Commission’s selective outrage stands in stark contrast to the unprecedented sectarian campaign currently underway inside the Department of War under Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth has repeatedly declared the United States a “Christian nation,” asserted that “the Christian faith” is “the faith of this country,” and framed military decisions as divinely guided.

His department has produced promotional videos overlaying bible verses onto footage of missiles, fighter jets and soldiers; organized Christian prayers for troops and inserted sectarian language into official communications.

Most strikingly, Hegseth has established monthly Christian prayer services at the Pentagon during duty hours, featuring handpicked evangelical preachers.

Despite this extensive record of coercive religious pressure, commissioners never mentioned Hegseth’s actions. Instead, the commission spent the hearing portraying the military as hostile to Christianity — fixating on issues like religious objections to mandatory vaccination requirements and putting bible verses on military-themed dog tags.

“Let’s be absolutely clear: This commission is not about religious liberty — it’s about the government actively promoting religion and Christian nationalist politics,” Barker adds.

FFRF will continue supporting service members subjected to religious coercion and will work to expose how the term “religious liberty” is used as a tool of Christian nationalist power.

Service members and veterans experiencing coercion or violations of conscience are encouraged to confidentially contact FFRF for assistance.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of 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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‘None of the government’s business’ what pastors preach on Sundays, Robert Jeffress tells DOJ religious liberty panel

The Christian Post
By Ian M. Giatti

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American Atheists calls on courts to restore America’s Peacemaker, treat nonprofits fairly

Cranford, NJ – Today, American Atheists joined more than 100 organizations in calling for the immediate restoration of the Community Relations Service (CRS), which Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice unlawfully dissolved earlier this year.  Created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and colloquially known as “America’s Peacemaker,” the CRS has for 60 years helped communities prevent violence and resolve conflicts involving race, religion, national origin, disability, gender, and sexual orientation. Its conciliators have responded to some of the nation’s most grievous hate-motivated tragedies, including the mass shootings at a Sikh gurdwara in 2012, the Pulse nightclub in 2016, and the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018. “The CRS is one of our federal government’s quiet success stories and an indispensable guardian of peace and defender of civil rights,” said Geoffrey T. Blackwell, Legal Director for American Atheists. “The Trump Administration’s elimination of it speaks volumes about their priorities, but it was also clearly illegal. The executive branch is not above the law or the legislative branch. We contend the court must order the immediate reinstatement of the CRS.” In late November, American Atheists also filed an amicus brief in The Buckeye Institute, et al. v. IRS. In this case, the national civil rights organization joined a coalition of other nonprofit groups challenging the IRS’s requirement that only 501(c)(3) charities — and not other types of nonprofits — must disclose the identities of their major donors even as the agency has acknowledged this sensitive information is unnecessary to enforce tax laws.  “Singling out 501(c)(3) organizations while exempting political and other nonprofits violates our First Amendment rights to free speech and association,” said Nick Fish, President of American Atheists. “All nonprofits should be treated equally under the law.” Read the amicus briefs here and here. American Atheists will provide updates as these two cases proceed and will continue to safeguard the freedoms that are essential to a peaceful society and healthy democracy.

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Texas families file new class action lawsuit to stop public school districts throughout Texas from displaying the Ten Commandments

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A group of 18 multifaith and nonreligious Texas families filed a class action lawsuit today to stop all Texas public school districts that are not already involved in active litigation or subject to an injunction from displaying the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Even though two federal judges in Texas have ruled that Senate Bill 10 is unconstitutional, school districts across the state continue to display the Ten Commandments. With more than 1,000 school districts in Texas, a class action lawsuit is the most effective way to protect the religious freedom of all Texas public school children and their families. 

Ashby v. Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District is the first class action lawsuit and the third lawsuit, challenging Senate Bill 10 filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel. In all three cases, the organizations represent Texas families who don’t want their children to be forced to observe and venerate a state-mandated version of the Ten Commandments each school day, in violation of their religious freedom. 

The new Ashby v. Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD case is necessary because —  even with two federal court injunctions preventing more than two dozen Texas school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments — public school districts continue to violate the constitutional rights of students and their families. The class action lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would stop any public school district not already involved in litigation from displaying the Ten Commandments. 

The plaintiff families, which represent a range of faiths and nonreligious backgrounds, attend 16 school districts not named in the previous two cases. The school districts  named as defendants include: Argyle, Birdville, Carroll, Clear Creek, Deer Park, Fort Sam Houston, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Katy, Liberty Hill, Magnolia, Medina Valley, Pearland, Prosper, Richardson, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City, and Wylie ISDs. These districts span the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio metropolitan areas.

Quotes from the plaintiffs

“As a Jewish, Christian, and Chinese American family, we teach our children to draw strength from many traditions — not to see one as supreme,” said plaintiff Mari Gottlieb (she/her), whose children attend schools in Carroll ISD. “Forcing the Ten Commandments on my kids is indoctrination, undermines my right to guide their beliefs, and perpetuates the feelings of exclusion that our ancestors knew all too well.”

“As Unitarian Universalists, our faith is led by equity, compassion, and acceptance of all people,” said plaintiff Caitlyn Besser (she/her), whose children attend school in Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD. “The Ten Commandments posters required by S.B. 10 impose a specific religious doctrine on my children, which directly violates our family’s faith.”

“The posters convey to my children, who are already told they are ‘not real Christians’ because they are Mormon, that they are outsiders in their school community,” said plaintiff Briana Pascual-Clement (she/her), whose children attend schools in Prosper ISD. “I never want my kids or anyone else’s kids to be attacked for what they do or do not believe.”

“I send my child to public school because I do not want the government to push religious beliefs and doctrine on my child,” said plaintiff Kasey Malone (she/her), whose child attends school in Katy ISD. “Yet the government is doing just that by elevating Christianity over my child’s nonreligious beliefs.”

Quotes from the legal team

“Politicians are abusing their power to advance a religious extremist agenda and impose one narrow set of religious beliefs on Texas school children. Not on our watch,” said Rachel Laser (she/her), president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Our Constitution’s guarantee of church-state separation means that families – not politicians – get to decide if, when and how their children engage with religion.” 

“The courts are clear that forcing displays of the Ten Commandments on Texas students is unconstitutional,” said Chloe Kempf (she/her), attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “Yet Texas school districts won’t stop. Enough is enough. With this class action lawsuit, Texans are coming together to say: Students and families — not the government — should decide how or whether they practice their faith.”

“Politicians in Texas should know by now that public schools aren’t Sunday schools,” said Daniel Mach (he/him), director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Religious liberty belongs to all public school students and families, not just those who embrace some government officials’ preferred scripture.”

“It’s imperative to protect a captive audience of public school students, including impressionable children as young as kindergartners, from this zealous crusade to turn schools into places of religious indoctrination,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor (she/her), co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “The diversity reflected by the number of religious and nonreligious plaintiffs reveals what a distressing violation of conscience this unconstitutional law is.”

“This case is critical to reaffirm a bedrock constitutional principle: public schools cannot be used to advance or endorse any faith,” said Jon Youngwood, Global Co-Chair of the Litigation Department at Simpson Thacher. “Families—not the government—must have the freedom to decide how and when their children engage with religion.”

Ashby v. Schertz-Cibolo-Universal ISD is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Litigation history

The organizations filed their first lawsuit, Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, challenging Senate Bill 10 in July 2025 on behalf of 16 multifaith and nonreligious Texas families. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued a preliminary injunction in August preventing the 11 defendant school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments. 

Despite the court’s ruling that the displays would be “plainly unconstitutional,” some Texas school districts that weren’t defendants in the Nathan case began to display or announced their intention to begin displaying Ten Commandments posters. In response, the organizations filed a second lawsuit, Cribbs Ringer v. Comal Independent School District, on behalf of a new group of 15 multi-faith and nonreligious Texas families who attend 14 of these districts. U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia on Nov. 18, 2025, issued a preliminary injunction requiring those districts to remove the displays by Dec. 1, 2025, and prohibiting them from posting new displays. Throughout this ongoing litigation, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued statements instructing school districts to comply with Senate Bill 10 unless a court has ordered them not to do so, and Paxton has sued three school districts to enforce the law.

The defendants in the Nathan case have appealed that decision and the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has agreed to hear the case (along with a case challenging a similar law in Louisiana) en banc on Jan. 20, 2026. The court injunctions blocking the schools from displaying the Ten Commandments remain in place while the appeal is pending.

Media Contacts:

• Americans United: Moisés Serrano, media@au.org 
• ACLU of Texas: Kristi Gross, media@aclutx.org  
• ACLU: Ella Wiley, media@aclu.org 
• Freedom From Religion Foundation: Sara Tetzloff, tetzloffs@ffrg.org
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP: Caroline Fatchett, mediainquiries@stblaw.com 

Heretic on the Hill: The Law of Unintended Consequences Can’t Be Repealed

If this goes down as the “Pay Me” presidency with President Trump playing the role of mafia boss, demanding payments from universities, tech companies, networks, and whomever else he can shake down, then Stephen Miller will undoubtedly be the consigiliere.

Miller is the deputy chief of staff for policy and architect of the roundup and mass deportation of tens of thousands of people who are overwhelmingly Hispanic. You can tell from his policies and statements that he has pulled off the trick of being a Jewish Christian nationalist. One recent example: “We are on the side of goodness. We are on the side of God.” An older example: “Christianity is embedded in the very soul of our nation.” 

However, sometimes when you think you’re doing the Lord’s work, the law of unintended consequences shows up (as have other laws). Hispanic Americans are definitely more Christian than White Americans. Sixty-seven percent of them identify as Christian, compared to sixty-two percent of White Americans. The difference is wider among young people, where it’s 54 percent of young Hispanics compared to 43 percent of whites.

By rounding them up and deporting them, Trump, Miller, and their minions are reducing the number and percentage of Christians in America now and, because of that differential among young, reproducing Hispanics, into the future.  Trump has promised that “Christianity will have power” but it turns out not all Christians get to stay here for that.

Forty-five percent of Hispanics are Catholic. The Catholic church has long provided help for immigrants to this country, as have other religious denominations. The Bible tells them to. This has led to increasing tension with anti-immigration forces in Washington. Three years ago Marjorie Taylor Green was complaining about the Catholic Church’s involvement in immigration to the point that she said “I thought we had a separation of church and state in this country.” They say even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

(Note: that worked better when I wrote it yesterday before she did the one thing that could partially redeem her Congressional career; resign in protest. Kudos for that.)

Last June a House Committee held a hearing to criticize the immigration work of faith based groups, who responded by saying that their religious liberty was being threatened. This tension has escalated since then. A coalition is suing the Department of Homeland Security over raids at houses of worship. The Conference of Catholic Bishops just released a “Special Message,” its first Special Message in 12 years, in support of their work for immigrants and opposing most of the tactics ICE is using.

The ability of Christian Republicans to rationalize attacking faith-based groups who help immigrants was best demonstrated by Christian nationalist House speaker Mike Johnson. Speaker Johnson says the best way to learn his position on “any issue under the sun” is to read the Bible. The Bible says about a dozen times that people should help the stranger/traveler/immigrant.  When asked about how he can ignore those Bible verses, he weaseled out of it by saying that the Bible doesn’t spell out that the government should do that, just people, so Congress doesn’t have to.

The Catholic Church doesn’t need our help standing up for its religious freedom but there are many nonbelievers among the Hispanics in America and we are here to stand up for their rights as much as anyone’s. We count Hispanic American Freethinkers as one of our coalition members. When I tell Republicans that the Hispanics being deported are overall more Christian than the country as a whole I do get a look of “Hmm, I wasn’t aware of that.” One law Congress can’t do anything about is the law of unintended consequences.

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