Tag Archives: Group: Freedom from Religion Foundation

OneNewsNow.com: Liberty Counsel is proud of an Alabama school board for standing strong against a complaint filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation concerning religious assemblies.

GoBlueRidge.net: The Town of Newland is being threatened by a national group over the posting of the Ten Commandments at the town hall.

Freedom From Religion Foundation: FFRF has readied a legal complaint and plans to file it shortly in federal court in Montana. In an official memo released today by the US Forest Service, it announced it will reauthorize a special use permit for the Knights of Columbus to maintain a Jesus shrine in Flathead National Forest for the next decade.

WAAYTV.com- Huntsville, Alabama Television (includes video): It all started when the board of education received a complaint from a family in the school system and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
They say the so-called “Bible Man”….who leads a program to help students earn Bibles should not be allowed because it’s unconstitutional.

News from The Associated Press: The U.S. Forest Service says it will re-authorize a permit for a 57-year-old statue of Jesus that had been facing eviction from a northwestern Montana ski resort.

Freedom From Religion Foundation: The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a cautionary letter to President Barack Obama asking him to once again disassociate the Oval Office from the so-called annual “National Prayer Breakfast” taking place on Thursday, Feb. 2. Obama is scheduled to once again participate.

Baptist Press: To show support for a Tennessee town facing legal action against a cross atop its water tower, area residents carried a 12-foot cross nine miles to Whiteville, where it was presented to city representatives during a rally that drew about 350 people.

Florida Independent: A bill that would allow students to pray during school events passed through its final state Senate committee yesterday.

Freedom from Religion Foundation: The Freedom From Religion Foundation this afternoon filed a formal complaint with the State of Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights, alleging “illegal discrimination based on religion” when a flower shop in Cranston refused, on the basis of religion, to fill an order to send a dozen roses to Jessica Ahlquist.

The Malakoff News: Officials for both Henderson County and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) confirmed this week that the next round in the battle over the county’s Christmas display will likely come in March, when the FFRF is expected to ask Commissioners’ Court for the right to display one of its banners on the lawn in December.

Ashland Current: Ashland city councilors voted Tuesday night to end the practice of starting meetings with prayer, according to an audio recording posted on the City of Ashland’s website. The 9-2 vote . . .

Freedom From Religion Foundation: In a Jan. 10 letter of complaint to Mayor John DeStefano of New Haven, Conn., the Freedom From Religion Foundation cautioned the city against “taking an unconstitutional proposal to ‘put prayer back in schools’ seriously.” Newly elected City Clerk Ronald Smith proposed prayer as a technique to lower crime rates at his inauguration ceremony

Freedom From Religion Foundation : The Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service over questionable campaign intervention activities at Jubilee Family Church in Oskaloosa, Iowa. | C-Span Video

EllwoodCity.org: Despite over 100 people present at the borough council meeting last night and some strong words by religious leaders and residents alike, the Borough of Ellwood City will still plan to move the traditional Nativity Scene off borough property come next Christmas.

FFRF.org: The Freedom From Religion Foundation, its Valley of the Sun chapter, and several FFRF members and Maricopa County citizens brought suit today against Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, challenging her annual Arizona Day of Prayer.

Courthouse News Service: A religious display that included a baby Jesus, a cross and a sign, “Reunite the church and state …” was removed last week from the entrance to the Lubbock County Courthouse – but another Texas county refused to remove its religious display.

NYTimes.com: “The free-speech rights of students and teachers are under an all-out assault,” said Kelly Shackelford, president of the Liberty Institute, a Christian legal group in Plano, Tex. He described one continuing legal case in which “children had pencils ripped out of their hands” because they carried a Christian message and students were “banned from writing Merry Christmas to the soldiers.”

The Freedom from Religion Foundation has issued a press release indicating that they sent a letter of complaint to Alsip, Illinois regarding a cross on top of the water tower.

Daily Tribune: Reacting to criticism from an atheist group that a Nativity scene at Warren City Hall violates the constitutional separation of church and state, Mayor James Fouts said Tuesday he won’t allow displays that seem to “attack” religion.

ADF Attorney Nate Kellum appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the assault on a nativity scene in Texas. | MP3 audio 15:40 mins | Related: Video: Thousands Rally in Texas to Save Nativity – War On Christmas | Nate Kellum at Townhall: Don’t Mess with Texas (at Christmas)

MalakoffNews: The FFRF answered back Monday in a letter to Abbott signed by foundation co-presidents and husband and wife, Dan Taylor and Annie Laurie Gaylor.

MyFoxDetroit: You may have heard this argument before, that a nativity scene or any display of religious symbol on public ground is a violation of church and state. In Warren, a man wants to challenge the argument a step further by displaying a ‘certain’ sign right next to the nativity scene.

News.Ellwoodcity.org: “We cannot afford an expensive lawsuit,” said DeCarbo. “I urge the council to move this thing,” DeCarbo added.

As many as 5,000 attended a rally in a small Texas community to show their support for a Nativity scene under attack by a Wisconsin-based atheist group, according to a minister who organized the event.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s press release announcing its intentions is here. “FFRF is filing papers showing intent to appeal the decision to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and is also considering filing a similar case in state court.”

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Officials in Ellwood City, threatened with legal action from an atheist group over a holiday display at the borough’s municipal building, say they’re on the verge of an agreement that will result in a “happy ending” for the parties involved.

Capitol Times: “This is all we do in November and December is Nativity scene violations,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, the group’s co-president. “We tell our attorneys to get ready. It’s our busiest time of the year.”

CBS Philly (includes video): Some residents of a South Jersey town are calling a Knights of Columbus banner that hangs over Broadway in Pitman, a sign of the season.

The Malakoff News: Late last week, the legal focus shifted away from removing the nativity to allowing the FFRF to place one of its banners on the courthouse lawn. The request is based on the idea of “public forum,” said FFRF Co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor.

A federal judge has thrown out efforts to block Gov. Jan Brewer from declaring an official “day of prayer.”

KBND.com: Prineville’s Nativity Scene is still creating controversy in the small town. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is complaining the display is not inclusive.

ADF Attorney Nate Kellum at Townhall: And while it sounds like the FFRF is about to get a lesson in what “Don’t mess with Texas” means, Athens and other towns around the country need to remember that they can respond to a letter from the FFRF with a phone call, an e-mail, or a mailed request to the Alliance Defense Fund.ADF exists to defend religious liberty free of charge, and part of that liberty consists in the freedom to celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas.

KLTV.com: Henderson County pastors are now organizing a nativity rally to take place on the courthouse steps next week . . . Organizers say for one hour on December 17 Christians will gather in worship and prayer.

TriValley Central: A western Pennsylvania mayor refused to include a banner from an atheist group that says “there are no gods” as part of a holiday display that includes a Nativity scene and has been erected annually on city property for decades.

WI State Journal: The conservative group Wisconsin Family Action set up the manger scene on Sunday, and its president Julaine Appling said they plan to display it through the end of the month. But the move angered the Madison-based Freedom from Religion Foundation,

Fox News: A nativity scene in Athens, Texas is the talk of the town because a national group is trying to get it removed, claiming it is offensive.

Annette Lathrop at Wallowa.com: Coalescing behind the ACLU and the Freedom from Religion Foundation (a Wisconsin-based group), the Christmas haters are among those who “have been on a mission to eliminate public expression of our nation’s faith and heritage,” according to the Alliance Defense Fund. This well-known legal group is often called to answer court challenges. [more]

Malakoff News: The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Wisconsin, sent a letter dated Dec. 1 to Henderson County commissioners saying the nativity scene located on the courthouse lawn is illegal.

WCN: Hundreds gathered at Ellwood City’s borough building to support the traditional nativity display.

Ellwood City News: The Borough of Ellwood City will likely have a number of protestors outside of the Municipal Building by week’s end in response to the setting up of a Nativity display on the building’s front lawn.

NYTimes.com: Hiram Sasser, a lawyer for the Liberty Institute, a conservative legal advocacy group, said that because the ski resort is already leasing much of the mountain from the Forest Service, the federal government has no right to ban the statue merely because some people might not like it.

LaTimes.com: Officials say an $80,000 Stonehenge-like worship center underscores a commitment to embrace all religions.

Wisconsin State Journal: First it was the ACLU, then the unions. Now the Madison-based Freedom from Religion Foundation is joining the list of organizations speaking out against Madison Preparatory Academy.

Freedom from Religion Foundation: A new Madison, Wis., public charter school set to operate in a former church has drawn the attention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. FFRF is also asking for a review of why the property has maintained tax-exempt status while it’s been vacant and not being used for worship services.

FFRF: “The Freedom From Religion Foundation is awaiting a response from the Onslow County Board of Commissioners regarding Sheriff Ed Brown’s decision to blatantly violate the constitution via the distribution of an overtly religious message . . . Sheriff Brown placed an advertisement in the Jacksonville Daily News on Oct. 23, 2011. ”

FFRF.org: “Explicit political endorsements on his church’s website by a California pastor drew the attention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which has requested an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. Churches are barred from endorsing candidates as a condition of their tax-exempt status.”

Timesonline.com: Borough officials will attempt to continue a local tradition next month while avoiding federal legal action.

FFRF.org: The Freedom From Religion Foundation has waited three years to declare victory over an election violation complaint it filed with the Federal Election Commission in 2008 concerning the political group Informed Catholic Citizens.

WLWT Cincinnati (includes video): Last year, Franklin County came under fire for a Nativity scene on the grounds of the county courthouse.

ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot at Speak Up Movement Church Blog: The long standing tax provision that permits churches to provide pastors with a non-taxable housing allowance was recently challenged in the case Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Geitner in a California federal court. The radical group that filed the lawsuit voluntarily dismissed it after the Supreme Court handed down its decision in ACSTO v. Winn – an ADF case that severely restricts the ability of anti-religious organizations to challenge government programs that acknowledge the autonomy of religious organizations and the benefits they provide our communities.

But the atheist organization filed another lawsuit challenging the housing allowance in the federal court in Wisconsin on September 17, 2011

BradentonHerald.com: The Manatee County Commission has been asked by a non-profit organization to halt prayers before its meetings, contending they violate the nation’s constitutional principle of separation of church and state.

Ashland Current: In the Ashland Current poll conducted on Facebook, 48 percent of readers said praying should be used to open Ashland City Council meetings, while 52 percent of readers said praying should not be used to open Ashland City Council meetings.

Florida Independent (includes FFRF letter): “In a letter to state legislators, the co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation warn policy-makers that a new school prayer bill is “patently unconstitutional . . . Last week, a state education committee amended Senate Bill 98 . . . ”

Chicagotribune.com: Walker said Monday that the evergreen decorated with ornaments and adorned with a star in the center of Wisconsin’s Capitol Rotunda is a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree as it’s been called for the past 25 years.

Daily Inter Lake: A land swap has been proposed to defuse the controversy over a statue of Jesus Christ atop Big Mountain. Congressman Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., is seeking public comment on draft legislation to exchange approximately 625 square feet of land between Whitefish Mountain Resort and the U.S. government.

Christian Post: Ron Baker, pastor at Russell Baptist Church in Green Cove Springs, said that he would continue to pray no matter what happens. The flagpole, which is the site where the prayers have been taken place, is at the center of an ideological standoff between the school board and those who wish to pray.

Available at RushLimbaugh.com.

Odessa American Online: It is the first time the City of Odessa has responded to such a request from Rock the Desert, Zentner said. Some find giving city money to a religious organization problematic.

Todd Starnes at FOX News & Commentary: The Air Force Academy apologized Thursday night after it was accused of religious intolerance for promoting Operation Christmas Child – a program designed to send holiday gifts to impoverished children around the world.

Odessa American Online: It is the first time the City of Odessa has responded to such a request from Rock the Desert, Zentner said. Some find giving city money to a religious organization problematic.

American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ: In just a few short hours, more people have taken a stand for the war memorial statue of Jesus that sits atop Big Mountain in Montana than the entire membership of the atheist group seeking to have it removed.

TimesDaily.com: Lauderdale County Superintendent of Education Bill Valentine said his school district’s position on Christian prayer being offered via public address before football games focuses on one thing: abiding by the law.

WREG: Town’s residents have placed hundreds of crosses in their yards around the city

OneNewsNow.com: “Obviously, this is a complete violation of the constitutional rights of the group for being excluded merely because they’re Christians,” contends ADF attorney David Cortman. “This was a secular assembly approved by the school, and yet this far-left group wants them prohibited merely because they’re Christian.”

Houston Chronicle (includes video): Hundreds of people turned out to demonstrate their concern over a move to stop pregame prayers at a high school in northwest Alabama.

WREG: The mayor of the town complied in his own way, having one arm of the cross removed as a form of protest.

Calgary Sun: Normally, it’s Jesus who does the saving. This time though, it’s Canadian tourists being called upon to save Christ — or, rather, a six-decade-old statue of Jesus being threatened by a zero-tolerance atheist group just south of the border.

ADF Attorney David Cortman at Townhall Conservative: So how exactly do we move from a nation whose founders and first public servants included many Christians, to a place where Christians are no longer fit to participate in public life? Because if the “Freedom From Religion Foundation” (FFRF) has their way, that’s exactly what our country will look like.

The Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter Friday to Clay County School District officials informing them that voluntary faculty participation in a community-led, before-school prayer event is protected by the First Amendment despite the objections of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

A Texas school district was right to reject an atheist group’s demand that it cancel a non-religious school assembly just because the presenters were Christians, according to a letter sent to the district Monday by the Alliance Defense Fund.

KXLH.com | Helena, Montana: The Flathead National Forest Supervisor is withdrawing his earlier decision on the Knights of Columbus special-use permit for the statue of Jesus on Big Mountain near Whitefish.

Freedom From Religion Foundation: The Social Security Administration, following complaints by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has halted a mandatory baptismal question previously asked of all applicants seeking benefits.

NBC Montana: A Flathead service group is fighting the US Forest Service over a statue of Jesus Christ built half a century ago on public land.

FFRF.org: The Freedom From Religion Foundation has asked Northwest Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Karen Rue to halt an evangelical “Seven Project” assembly in Trophy Club, Texas.

Roanoke.com: A student perturbed by a display of the Ten Commandments at Narrows High School should not be allowed to sue under a veil of secrecy, attorneys for the Giles County School Board say.