Founding Principles

President's 'Religious Liberty 

Commission' Tramples on Constitution,

Separation of Church and State

   

     (FFRF) -- 4/20/26 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation is castigating the recently held final hearing of President Trump’s so-called Religious Liberty Commission.
    At the seventh and concluding hearing held at the Museum of the Bible (a privately owned facility underwritten by Hobby Lobby) recently, commissioners and witnesses repeatedly denigrated the foundational constitutional principle of state/church separation. Commission Chair and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called it “the biggest lie that’s been told in America since our founding.” Helen Alvaré, a professor at Antonin Scalia Law School, described the principle as “unfortunate, historically and culturally inaccurate” while openly advocating for greater integration of religion into public schools, government policy and civic life.
    FFRF is putting the commission on notice that it will contest any unconstitutional proposals.
    “This commission has once again made its agenda unmistakably clear,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said. “It is not about protecting religious liberty. It’s about dismantling it. But we don’t intend to let that happen.”
    Patrick boasted that Texas has passed legislation requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom, a mandate FFRF is actively challenging in court with our allies. Dismissing the constitutional concerns, he remarked, “Of course we’re being sued, but that’s okay. That comes with the territory.” On that point, he’s right: When government officials flout the Constitution, legal challenges are not only expected, they are necessary. FFRF is proud to be holding Texas accountable for this clear violation of the First Amendment and the right of a captive audience of schoolchildren and their parents to be free from state interference and coercion over private religious beliefs.
    Over nearly five hours, commission members and witnesses advanced a series of deeply troubling ideas rooted in Christian nationalism rather than constitutional principles. Among the most egregious to undermine the wall of separation:

• A proposal to engineer a legal challenge, by encouraging the IRS to deliberately penalize a church for political activity, to the Johnson Amendment, which bars electioneering with tax-exempt funds by churches and other nonprofits. 
• Claims that religious liberty originates exclusively from Christianity and that not all faiths are equal under the law. 
• Suggestions to expand government funding pipelines to religious organizations without sufficient safeguards. 
• Advocacy to teach children a distorted, sectarian version of American history that would erase the nation’s commitment to secular governance.

    The commission, established by executive order in 2025, is expected to deliver a final report to the president next month. Based on the rhetoric and recommendations previewed at the final hearing, FFRF warns that the report will serve as a roadmap for advancing Christian nationalist policies at the federal level.
    FFRF notes that these proposals are not about religious freedom, but privileging Christianity via its elevation above all other beliefs. True religious liberty requires government neutrality — neither hostility nor favoritism. If the administration attempts to implement any of these unconstitutional recommendations, FFRF will fight them, and vigorously defend the right of Americans to believe, or not believe, without government encroachment or compulsion.

    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.

Church and State

Court Issues Permanent 

Injunction Against Unconstitutional  

10 Commandments Law

   
    FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. (AU) – 3/23/26 -- In a victory for religious freedom and church-state separation, a federal district court issued a permanent injunction on March 16 in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1, prohibiting the school district defendants from implementing an Arkansas law that requires all public schools to permanently display a government-chosen, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library.
    In his decision U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks wrote, “Act 573 must be permanently enjoined. Failing to do so would violate the Establishment Clause rights of all Arkansas public-school children and their parents and also violate Plaintiffs’ Free Exercise rights.”
Ruling that the law would lead to unconstitutional religious coercion of the child plaintiffs and interfere with their parents’ rights to direct their children’s religious education, Brooks explained: “Act 573’s purpose is only to display a sacred, religious text in a prominent place in every public-school classroom. And the only reason to display a sacred, religious text in every classroom is to proselytize to children. The State has said the quiet part out loud.”
    Brooks added: “Nothing could possibly justify hanging the Ten Commandments—with or without historical context—in a calculus, chemistry, French, or woodworking class, to name a few. And the words ‘curriculum,’ ‘school board,’ ‘teacher,’ or ‘educate’ don’t appear anywhere in Act 573. Accordingly, there is no need to strain our minds to imagine a constitutional display mandated by Act 573. One doesn’t exist.”
    The injunction, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, permanently prohibits the school-district defendants, including Bentonville School District No. 6, Conway School District, Fayetteville School District No. 1, Lakeside School District No. 9, Siloam Springs School Dist. No. 21, and Springdale School District No. 50, from “complying with Act 573.” Last year, the court issued a preliminary injunction temporarily barring the school district defendants from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms and libraries.
    “Act 573 is a direct infringement of our religious-freedom rights, and we’re pleased that the court ruled in our favor,” said Samantha Stinson, who is a plaintiff in the case along with her husband, Jonathan Stinson. “The version of the Ten Commandments mandated by Act 573 conflicts with our family’s Jewish tenets and practice, and our belief that our children should receive their religious instruction at home and within our faith community, not from government officials.”
    Represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the ACLU, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel, the plaintiffs in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1 are a group of 10 multifaith and nonreligious Arkansas families with children in public schools.
    “Today’s decision honors the Constitution’s promise of church-state separation and religious freedom,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “It will ensure that Arkansas families – not politicians or public-school officials – get to decide how and when their children engage with religion.”
    John C. Williams, legal director for ACLU of Arkansas, stated: “Today’s ruling is a resounding affirmation that public schools are not Sunday schools. The Constitution protects every student’s right to learn free from government-imposed religious doctrine. Arkansas lawmakers cannot sidestep the First Amendment by mandating that a particular version of the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom. As the court recognized, this law served no educational purpose and instead placed the authority of the state behind a specific religious message. We’re grateful that the court has permanently blocked this unconstitutional law and protected the religious freedom of Arkansas students and families of all faiths and none.”

Law and Politics

ACLU Urges Congress to Block 

Any New War Funding After 

Bipartisan Resolution Fails 

    WASHINGTON, DC — (ACLU) -- 3/8/26 -- The U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass the bipartisan Massie-Khanna War Powers Resolution in a March 5 vote which would have required that all U.S. forces be withdrawn from Iran, until and unless Congress separately declares war.

    “This failed war powers vote is nothing short of cowardly, but Congress can’t dodge the Constitution forever,” said Christopher Anders, director of ACLU’s democracy and technology division. “By refusing to rein in President Trump’s unauthorized war with Iran, Congress has allowed President Trump to make a mockery of the Constitution and is trying to duck responsibility for putting servicemembers and civilians in great danger. But, this disgraceful vote does not change Congress’ legal duty, and it certainly does not silence the millions of Americans who oppose another illegal war. We will hold President Trump accountable for this abuse of power.”

    The ACLU is now urging Congress to use its funding authority to block all supplemental funding requests for war funding from the Department of Defense while President Trump is engaging in this unconstitutional war. Without Congress authorizing additional funds, the military will simply run out of money to spend on the war.

Civil Rights

People for the America Way 

Honors Martin Luther King Jr. Day

    Washington, DC – (PAW) -- 1/20/2026 -- In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, People For the American Way President Svante Myrick released the following statement:

    “Today in our country, one man’s thirst for power has overwhelmed the rule of law. Politicians twist the truth to justify cruelty. Institutions fail the people they were meant to protect. MAGA forces try to drape their actions in patriotism while pushing us ever closer to authoritarian rule.

Photo: marines.mil via WikiMedia Commons

    "Martin Luther King Jr. understood this kind of danger. And more importantly, he showed us how to confront it – with discipline, love, and an unshakable moral center.

    "He taught that nonviolence isn’t weakness. It’s a form of strength. Not the kind that avoids conflict, but the kind that meets injustice head-on – with clarity, with purpose, and with a refusal to be broken. It doesn’t appease power. It holds it accountable.

    "He called nonviolent resistance ‘a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love.’ And that courage is exactly what this moment demands.

    "Because nonviolence is not about silence. It is not surrender. It is action – deep, disruptive, demanding action that forces the world to look at the cruelty and the harm and dares us to imagine what justice can still become.”