F.F.R.F: More cases of Constitutional abuse
It seems that the Freedom From Religion Foundation is having to increasingly flag a bipartisan failure to adhere to our secular Constitution.
Our rights do not come from “God,” we chided Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis when he claimed that “our rights come from God, not government.” Adopting the first constitution in the world to be predicated in “We the People,” not on a divinity, wasn’t some oversight but a deliberate act to establish a secular country where freedom of conscience would be paramount, we pointed out.
A mayor is not a ‘servant of God’
Take back your unconstitutional God-obeisant statements, we asked Mayor Eric Adams when he claimed that he was a “servant of God.” The mayor of New York City is not a “servant of God,” we asserted, but is, in fact, a servant of the people, since Adams took an oath of office “to support and defend” the U.S. Constitution — an entirely godless, secular document.
We welcome the repeal of a Trump rule
Not all political developments have been bad, though. We celebrated a presidential decision to repeal a Trump administration-era rule that allowed federal contractors to discriminate in the name of religion. We had joined a coalition of 67 groups in urging the Biden administration to correct this misstep. Entities that accept federal funds should be required to abide by basic anti-discrimination rules — and rescinding the Trump rule moves in this direction.
National Prayer Breakfast dissected on our Sunday TV show
Alas, President Biden hasn’t fundamentally changed his approach toward another noxious legacy that he’s been handed down: the quasi-official National Prayer Breakfast (which went through some changes this year). A leading investigative reporter skewers the breakfast on our “Freethought Matters” TV show this Sunday. Jonathan Larsen is not only an investigative reporter and managing editor with the news platform TYT, he’s also been involved in some of the most popular TV news programs. You can already watch him dissect the breakfast on our YouTube channel. Or find out where you can catch the interview Sunday.
Okla. education superintendent needs to stop the religion rulingsOKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (NewsNation) — Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction has vowed to “fix America’s schools” and add more religious teachings in the classroom.Ryan Walters, a Republican firebrand, has burst onto the scene as a divisive figure in the Oklahoma education system, which has emerged as a ground zero in the battle over religion and education.But critics say Walters is blurring the lines between church and state, while supporters believe his ideologies could catch on in other states with conservative education leaders.“As a public school teacher, I’ve seen the propaganda Democrats want in our schools. It’s sick,” Walters said. “As state superintendent, I’ll crack down on their anti-American curriculum.”It has been seven months since Walters was sworn in as Oklahoma superintendent. And since then, he’s turned a largely bureaucratic post into one promoting conservative — and sometimes controversial — policies, like calling for prayers in public schools and displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms.“What some folks are trying to do is use the public school system as a vehicle to promote a certain type of faith and it’s usually very conservative, evangelical fundamentalist, Christianity,”.