Supreme Court agrees to hear religious school discrimination case

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is raising the alarm following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this morning to hear a case regarding public funding of religious preschools.

St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy concerns whether religious preschools can receive taxpayer money while refusing to comply with basic nondiscrimination requirements, including protections for LGBTQ+ children and families. FFRF warns that the case could significantly weaken longstanding constitutional principles that allow governments to enforce neutral, generally applicable laws without granting religious exemptions that harm others.

“This case is about whether publicly funded programs can be used to subsidize discrimination,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The Constitution does not require, and should not permit, religious entities to accept taxpayer dollars while excluding families based on who they are.”

Colorado voters approved a preschool program in 2020 (implemented in 2022) to provide voluntary, publicly funded early childhood education. Participating providers must agree to an equal opportunity requirement ensuring that children are not denied enrollment based on characteristics such as religion, sexual orientation or gender identity. Two Catholic parishes challenged this requirement, arguing that it violates their First Amendment rights because they seek to consider the religious affiliation, sexual orientation and gender identity of students and their parents in admissions decisions.

Both the federal district court and the 10th U.S. Court of Appeals rejected those claims. The 10th Circuit unanimously held that Colorado’s nondiscrimination requirement is a neutral law of general applicability that does not target religion and is rationally related to the state’s legitimate interest in ensuring equal access to preschool.

The Supreme Court has agreed to review two legal questions centered on how courts should evaluate such neutrality and whether recent precedent has altered the framework established in Employment Division v. Smith. That 1990 decision, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, said that persons should not be exempt from neutral laws of general applicability that conflict with their religious beliefs. Notably, the court declined to take up the broader question of whether Smith itself should be overturned.

FFRF cautions that the court’s review could open the door to sweeping religious exemptions from civil rights protections in publicly funded programs.

“If the court rules in favor of the religious plaintiffs, it could snowball discrimination by publicly funded entities,” FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott warns. “That would undermine decades of civil rights law and harm vulnerable communities, especially religious and nonreligious minorities and LGBTQ+ families.”

Allowing exemptions in this context would mean that states could be forced to fund providers that openly exclude qualified families — contradicting the very purpose of universal programs designed to serve all.

FFRF intends to file an amicus brief in this case, urging the Supreme Court to uphold the 10th Circuit’s decision and preserve the government’s ability to enforce nondiscrimination requirements in publicly funded programs.

“The First Amendment protects the right to believe or not believe in religion,” Gaylor emphasizes. “It does not guarantee a right to discriminate on the public dime.”

FFRF will continue to monitor the case closely.

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 Supreme Court agrees to hear religious school discrimination case appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Oct. 15–18, 2026 – Freedom From Religion Foundation 49th Annual Convention (Milwaukee, Wis.)

Registration is now open for the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s 49th annual convention, taking place mid-October in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This year’s event will feature a dynamic lineup of activists, authors, educators and state/church advocates for a weekend of thought provoking programming.

The convention will be held at the Baird Convention Center, beginning Thursday afternoon, Oct. 15, with “early bird” workshops, registration and a complimentary welcome reception. The formal program will run Friday, Oct. 16 through Saturday, Oct. 17, followed by FFRF’s annual membership and state representatives meetings on Sunday morning, Oct. 18, concluding by noon.

Featured speakers include acclaimed novelist Percival Everett, podcast host Jennifer Welch, marriage equality plaintiff Jim Obergefell, civil rights leader Maya Wiley, and labor leader Randi Weingarten. Additional speakers include content creators Drew McCoy and Forrest Valkai. Attendees will also hear from award recipients and activists, including Peter Isley and Ibtissame Lachgar, among others. The convention will conclude with a keynote address by Ron Reagan. Read more about featured speakers by clicking here.

Programming will include workshops such as the popular “Ask an Attorney” panel, advocacy training sessions, and a chapter development workshop. The weekend will also feature executive and legal updates, student activist recognition, book signings, social events, and FFRF’s signature Non-Prayer Breakfast.

A discounted room block is available at the Hilton Milwaukee, located at 509 W. Wisconsin Ave., for $229 per night plus taxes. Attendees can reserve online or by phone using FFRF’s group code. Reserve your room now by clicking here. 

The event is open to members and nonmembers alike. To learn more about the convention visit FFRF’s website, here. 

FFRF works nationwide to defend the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

The post Oct. 15–18, 2026 – Freedom From Religion Foundation 49th Annual Convention (Milwaukee, Wis.) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

August 21–23, 2026 – BAHACon 2026 Premier Conference to Bring Freethinkers Together in Sarnia, Ontario (Canada)

BAHA (Bluewater Atheists, Humanists & Agnostics) will host its premier annual conference, BAHACon 2026, from Friday, August 21 through Sunday, August 23, 2026, at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel and Conference Centre in Sarnia/Point Edward, Ontario.

BAHACon 2026 will bring together atheists, humanists, agnostics and freethinkers from across Canada and the United States for a weekend of engaging presentations, community dialogue and social connection. The conference will feature 12 respected speakers offering thought-provoking talks on secularism, humanism and related topics.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to upholding the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, is a platinum co-sponsor of BAHACon 2026. FFRF works nationwide to defend the rights of nontheists and to educate the public on matters relating to freethought, making its partnership a natural fit for this event.

Organized by BAHA, a Canadian nonprofit committed to promoting reason, compassion and secular values, the conference also supports charitable causes, with all proceeds donated to local charities.

The conference begins Friday evening at 6 p.m. and concludes Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. Attendees can purchase an all inclusive weekend pass, which includes a Friday VIP dinner, two full days of speaker sessions, a Saturday night after-party and a Sunday river luncheon cruise with speakers. Breakfast and lunch buffets are included, with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options available.

The event will take place at 1498 Venetian Blvd., Point Edward, Sarnia, Ontario, near the Blue Water Bridge and the scenic Lake Huron waterfront. The location offers access to beaches, trails and local attractions, providing a vibrant summer setting for the conference.

Early bird registrants will receive a complimentary event T-shirt. Discounted hotel accommodations are available for attendees using the conference group code.

BAHACon 2026 is open to the public, and all are welcome to attend. Refunds are available up to seven days prior to the event. For more information, including the full schedule and registration details, please click here. 

BAHA promotes inclusive, respectful dialogue and encourages attendees to engage thoughtfully with speakers and fellow participants throughout the weekend.

The post August 21–23, 2026 – BAHACon 2026 Premier Conference to Bring Freethinkers Together in Sarnia, Ontario (Canada) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Supreme Court to decide if anti-LGBTQ Catholic schools in Colorado can receive public funding

Friendly Atheist
By Hemant Mehta

The post Supreme Court to decide if anti-LGBTQ Catholic schools in Colorado can receive public funding appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

FFRF salutes Earth Day: Freethinkers have vital role to play in saving our planet

There’s no backup. No second Earth. No divine redo.

This is it.

And that means what we do here — how we treat this planet, how we protect it, how we care for each other — matters.

So reads the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s full-page ad in the April 22 (Earth Day) edition of the Cap Times, published in FFRF’s hometown of Madison, Wis.

Every day ought to be Earth Day. President Trump instead views each new day as an opportunity to pillage the country and planet, endangering public health — and the future along the way. The Trump administration, fueled by greed and hubris and blessed by its Christian evangelical base, has not just sabotaged climate change mitigation but is actively contributing to climate change by pushing coal and the denial of science. Who can forget the debacle of Trump’s embarrassing rant to the United Nations last September, when he called climate change a “con job,” denounced renewable energy as a “scam,” and urged other nations to purchase more U.S. oil and gas.

Barely a year into Trump’s second term, it’s chilling to recognize that more than two-thirds of Project 2025’s plans to attack climate change mitigation and the environment have been realized or are in progress. This includes the planned withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

This year, the Environmental Protection Agency repealed the 2009 scientific determination, known as the endangerment finding, that empowered the federal government to combat climate change. The EPA announced that it will no longer include the monetary benefits of saving lives and improving public health in its calculations when curbing deadly air pollutants. (In other words, this so-called “pro-life” administration rates the value of human life at “zero.”)

A laundry list of reckless actions on the part of Trump’s EPA includes: terminating $20 billion in Biden grant agreements to pay for clean energy and other climate-friendly projects; seeking to ride roughshod over the right of states and travel authorities to protect water; repealing all federal greenhouse gas emission standards for new motor vehicles; weakening federal methane standards … and on and on — in sickening relentlessness.

Earth Day provides a day to take stock of the state of climate change. The contiguous United States just experienced the warmest March on record, more than 9 degrees warmer than average, and the sixth driest. It was the second-warmest March worldwide. Last year was one of the three warmest years on record, and the past 11 years have been the 11 warmest on record, with oceans warming ominously. The population of birds — those “canaries in the coal mine” — which had fallen by 29 percent since 1970, is tragically declining at a faster pace than ever.

Yet there’s bright news. Trump’s self-inflicted wound of sending gas prices soaring due to his reckless war against Iran has renewed interest in renewable energy. Despite Trump’s vindictive fight against wind turbines and solar panels, which has impeded growth, “renewables are now the most cost-competitive form of energy generation in the US,” points out Earth.org. Trump’s machinations notwithstanding, renewable energy provided more than a quarter of our nation’s energy last year. Also heartening is the number of lawsuits filed against the EPA and Trump’s anti-environmentalism.

It’s also good news that we religiously unaffiliated Americans are the most likely to heed the science of climate change.

“That’s why our voices must be heard,” comments FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Freethinkers recognize that the only afterlife that should concern any of us is leaving our planet a secure and pleasant future.”

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 more than 41,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

The post FFRF salutes Earth Day: Freethinkers have vital role to play in saving our planet appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

May 3, 2026 – Dan Barker to Speak at Triangle Freethought Society Program Meeting (Morrisville, NC)

Dan Barker, Co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), will be the featured speaker at the Triangle Freethought Society’s monthly program meeting on Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Morrisville, North Carolina.

Barker, a longtime secular activist and former evangelical minister, will speak as a special guest during the organization’s regular monthly gathering. The meeting will also include time for new business and community discussion.

The event will take place from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Morrisville Historic Christian Church, located at 226 Church Street, Morrisville, NC 27560. The program meeting is free and open to the public, and all are welcome to attend and participate. See more details here.

The Triangle Freethought Society, the North Carolina chapter of FFRF, hosts monthly program meetings as an opportunity for members and the broader community to connect, discuss relevant issues and hear from guest speakers. While public input is encouraged, member perspectives will guide future board discussions.

Attendees are reminded that the event is intended to create respectful dialogue. Evangelizing, harassment or discriminatory behavior will not be tolerated.

FFRF works nationwide to defend the constitutional principle of the separation between state and church and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism. See more information on The Triangle Chapter of FFRF.

The post May 3, 2026 – Dan Barker to Speak at Triangle Freethought Society Program Meeting (Morrisville, NC) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Freethought Radio – April 16, 2026

After offering a fresh perspective on President Trump masquerading as Jesus and other news of the week, we interview Johnnie Cotton, a Texas band director who resigned rather than put up a Ten Commandments poster in his classroom.

The post Freethought Radio – April 16, 2026 appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

May 11, 2026 – Second program in FFRF’s free concert series! The Great American FREETHOUGHT SONGBOOK with Dan & Darcie (Madison, Wis. & Online)

Celebrate the music, life & views of IRVING BERLIN.

Monday, May 11, 2026
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 livestreamed.)

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

RSVP by Thursday, May 7 at RSVP@ffrf.org. 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, June 8 — Songwriters George & Ira Gershwin.

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 May 11, 2026 – Second program in FFRF’s free concert series! The Great American FREETHOUGHT SONGBOOK with Dan & Darcie (Madison, Wis. & Online) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

‘We Dissent’ guest star explains pro-natalism movement

The newest episode of “We Dissent” welcomes a guest to dig into the recent rise of the pro-natalism movement.

On Episode 52, FFRF Deputy Legal Director Liz Cavell, Americans United Legal Director Rebecca Markert and National Women’s Law Center Director of Nominations & Democracy Alison Gill welcome the center’s Chief Program Officer Emily Martin. Together, they take on the far-right pro-natalism movement. They explain the movement’s history of racism, sexism and eugenics — and the alarming support it has in the Trump administration. Finally, they discuss what truly pro-family policy would and should look like.

“We Dissent,” which first aired in May 2022, is a legal affairs show offering legal wisdom from the secular viewpoint of women lawyers. The show is a collaboration of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United and the National Women’s Law Center.

Find previous episodes here, which examine developments affecting the separation of church and state, particularly in the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts. Past episodes include discussions about court reform, religion behind bars and abortion and also feature a range of expert guests.

Episodes are available at the “We Dissent” website, on YouTube, Spotify or wherever your podcasts are found. Be sure to stay up to date with the “We Dissent” podcast on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bluesky.

Tune in regularly at “We Dissent” for compelling legal discussion and insights!

The post ‘We Dissent’ guest star explains pro-natalism movement appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

FFRF condemns bible-heavy Texas reading list

The Texas State Board of Education’s preliminary approval of a bible-heavy, mandatory reading list for Texas public schools is a brazen promotion of religious doctrine.

While removing about 100 readings that represent diversity, such as Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and writings from Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, the overlong reading list emphasizes the bible and Christianity. (For more details on the theocratic list, which starts in kindergarten, click here.)

To put it plainly: Public schools are not Sunday schools. Texas has no business putting one religion’s text on a pedestal above all others, yet that’s exactly what this reading list does. By making bible passages required reading, Texas officials are throwing their constitutional obligation to maintain religious neutrality out the window — and in doing so, sending a clear message to nonreligious and non-Christian students and families that they don’t quite belong or should convert. All students deserve a public education free from stealth proselytizing, but with the nonreligious now making up 26 percent of Texas adults, and another 6 percent subscribing to non-Christian faiths, it’s imperative the state school board recognize its constitutional obligations. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling on the Texas State Board of Education to reverse its decision at its final vote in June.

The Dallas Morning News editorial board points out that while studying religious texts can have genuine academic value, any such instruction needs to draw from more than “a single tradition.” This list doesn’t come close to meeting that standard. It props up the Christian bible while leaving out the wide range of religious and secular perspectives that actually reflect the diversity making up Texas classrooms today.

That isn’t education. It’s indoctrination.

The First Amendment isn’t a suggestion. It forbids government institutions — including public schools — from establishing religion, which by definition means schools can’t favor religious belief. As the Supreme Court has said over and over: Schools can teach about religion in an objective, academic way, but not inculcate religious doctrine. Texas has intentionally crossed that line.

Hundreds of Texas residents recently turned out for the “Teach the Truth” rally to stand up for honest, inclusive public education and push back against this kind of political meddling. They understand that public schools are for all students, not just those who happen to share the religious beliefs of whoever is currently running the state board.

This isn’t happening in a vacuum, either. It’s part of a sustained push on the part of Texas elected officials to chip away at the separation of state and church. Past efforts to do this have included a mandate to put up Ten Commandments posters in public schools (which FFRF is challenging in court), permitting religious chaplains to act as trained school counselors (fortunately almost all school districts opted out of doing so) and requiring school districts to vote on whether to allow a period of prayer during the school day (ditto). Such legislative overreach trades academics for ideology — and that’s a bad deal for every student in Texas.

If state officials genuinely care about educating young people, they’ll listen to teachers and scrap this sectarian agenda. Students deserve inclusive, academically rigorous and constitutionally sound curricula. Anything less is a failure of duty to students — and a direct assault on the freedoms the First Amendment was written to protect.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 41,000 members and several chapters nationwide, including 1,800 members and a chapter in Texas. 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 condemns bible-heavy Texas reading list appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.