Maryland county quits reciting Lord’s Prayer before meetings after atheist group protests

The Christian Post
By Michael Gryboski

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Sher­iff in OK denies claims in reli­gious coer­cion com­plaint

Argus Leader
By Carla Hinton

The post Sher­iff in OK denies claims in reli­gious coer­cion com­plaint appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Maryland County Ends Lord’s Prayer During Meetings

Charisma Magazine
By Staff

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FFRF warns of expansive ADF legislative agenda targeting church–state separation

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is warning that Alliance Defending Freedom and its political arm, ADF Action, are openly escalating a nationwide legislative strategy to reshape state and federal law and impose a narrow religious ideology on public policy.

The alliance this week announced a sweeping legislative agenda to advance so-called “God-given freedoms” through coordinated lawmaking, litigation and testimony before legislatures across the country. The Christian nationalist group bragged that over the past three decades it has helped enact hundreds of bills, many of which have survived court challenges and reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Its total assets as of last year approach nearly $123 million.

“Defending freedom? Ha!” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Alliance Defending Freedom is a dyed-in-the-wool extremist Christian nationalist outfit whose stated mission to ‘keep the doors open for the Gospel’ is counter to U.S. pluralism and our secular Constitution.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom proudly highlights its role in opposing civil rights and individual liberties in major Supreme Court cases, including Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, and United States v. Skrmetti, which upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The group also points to pending cases involving bans on transgender students’ participation in school sports, which FFRF also weighed in on.

According to the alliance’s own materials, its legislative priorities include expanding religious exemptions, defunding abortion providers, restricting LGBTQ+ rights, promoting private religious education through public funding and inserting religious beliefs into public school policies under the banner of “parental rights.”

FFRF cautions that the Alliance Defending Freedom’s well-funded agenda is part of a campaign to usher in Christian nationalist and dominionist control of our secular government, and must be vigorously countered. The Freedom From Religion Foundation and its legislative arm, FFRF Action Fund, will continue opposing Alliance Defending Freedom-backed legislation at the state and federal levels and educating the public about the constitutional dangers posed by coordinated religious lobbying efforts masquerading as civil rights advocacy.

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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February 2, 2026 – Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow Kyle Steinberg to Address Law Students at University of Minnesota Law School (Minnesota, MN)

Kyle Steinberg, Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow at the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), will speak to students at the University of Minnesota Law School on Monday, February 2, as part of a lunchtime event hosted by the school’s newly formed Secular Law Society.

Steinberg will discuss the mission and work of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the religion clauses of the U.S. Constitution, and current legal challenges surrounding the push for religious charter schools. The talk will explore how church–state separation issues are playing out in courts and legislatures, with a focus on the implications for public education and constitutional law.

The event will take place from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Law School. This event is open to any students of the University, as well as members of the Secular Law Society. No RSVP registration is required. 

FFRF regularly engages with student groups and academic institutions to promote understanding of the constitutional principle of separation between church and state and to encourage civic engagement on related legal issues.

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Heathen Gospel Playlist for 2026

The Humanist
By Paul Babb

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After Bible-thumping backfires, Maryland county won’t open meetings with the Lord’s Prayer

Friendly Atheist
By Hemant Mehta

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SJC to hear appeal of lower court ruling blocking installation of religious statues outside Quincy public safety building

The Boston Globe
By Travis Andersen

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Freethought Radio – January 22, 2026

What is a “godman”? Tune in to find out. FFRF Senior Attorney Sam Grover gives an eyewitness account of oral arguments over Ten Commandments-in-schools court challenges. Next, Gauhar Raza, an Indian scientist, poet and social activist, tells us about his latest book, “From Myths to Science.”

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A School District in Idaho assured compliance with the First Amendment. (Jan/Feb 2026)

Idaho —

After FFRF contacted the Weiser School District in Idaho for the third time regarding religious content in Veterans Day assemblies, the new superintendent assured compliance with the First Amendment.

A parent reported that Weiser High School allowed a guest speaker to lead all attendees, including students, in a prayer at the school’s Nov. 11, 2025, Veterans Day assembly. The parent reported that the guest speaker initially asked for “a moment of silence” before beginning a prayer instead. The parent’s children were “extremely uncomfortable” during the prayer, and their parent felt that the school was continuing to include school-sponsored prayers at the assembly in a purposeful attempt to skirt the law.

“The district continues to knowingly violate the First Amendment by allowing its schools to include prayer at official Veterans Day assemblies,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district.

FFRF’s letter received a response from Superintendent Dave Kerby, who replaced the previous superintendent that FFRF had worked with. Kerby confirmed that the prayer was not planned by the district. “I was not aware of the guest speaker’s intent to lead a prayer,” Kerby wrote. “The speakers were selected by the veterans group and, as I believed, selected on the basis of content-neutral, evenhanded criteria, (as veterans) and the district did not control the content of any of their speeches.” Kerby additionally confirmed that he is aware that students have the right to be free from religious indoctrination in school. He promised to communicate with the school board chair in order to ensure the board understands their responsibility as well.

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