Law and Liberty

Event Criticized as Shocking

Mix of Church and State

    (FFRF) -- May 13, 2026 -- The White House’s “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving” on May 17 is an unprecedented and shocking mix of church and state.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is sounding the alarm over the prayer fest’s sponsor, “Freedom 250,” a public/private initiative aligned with the White House to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary with explicitly Christian nationalist programming.
    President Trump promoted the all-day prayer fest on the National Mall during his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast: “On May 17, 2026, we are inviting Americans from all across the country to come together on our National Mall to pray, to give thanks, and to rededicate America as one nation under God.”
    The all-day spectacle of prayer, testimony, Scripture and worship calls on Americans to gather for “Scripture, testimony, prayer, and rededication of our country as One Nation to God.” The overtly sectarian gathering is dominated by Christian nationalist figures and promoted with government involvement. FFRF’s Freedom of Information Act request seeking information on public funding is on appeal, so financial details are murky.
    The event overwhelmingly features Christian leaders and activists, including those among the Trump cabinet, with token non-Christian representation. Besides House Speaker Mike Johnson and cabinet members Pete Hegseth and Mark Rubio, they include a long list of pastors and religious figures, including Rev. Franklin Graham, Eric Metaxas (a vocal proponent of Christian nationalist ideology), White House Faith Adviser Paula White and Rev. Robert Jeffress, who has repeatedly argued that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. All but one of the 15 religious leaders are Christian.
    Military and other governmental bands will perform alongside religious choirs, such as with the extremist Christian Hillsdale College.
    “This is not a celebration of America’s founding principles — but an overtly sectarian, exclusionary event catering to evangelicals and other conservative Christians, with participation and the full blessing of the federal government,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Our Constitution is godless by design. The government has no authority to organize religious revivals, much less use them to promote a Christian nationalist agenda.”
    FFRF Co-President Dan Barker adds, “This isn’t subtle. They are openly declaring a goal of redefining America as a Christian nation and using the machinery of government to do it.”
    Major corporations — including Mastercard, Deloitte, SAP and Lockheed Martin — have signed on as sponsors of Freedom 250, even as questions mount about the initiative’s sectarian agenda and lack of transparency. Critics have called out the companies for potentially enabling what amounts to a government-backed religious campaign.
    The United States belongs to all of us — not just conservative Christians, FFRF points out. Our government was founded on secular principles to ensure freedom of conscience for everyone.
    FFRF is calling on federal officials to immediately cease any involvement in sectarian events, and on corporate sponsors to reconsider their support.
    “The 250th anniversary of our nation should celebrate liberty, equality and the constitutional separation of church and state,” Gaylor concludes. “Anything less betrays the very ideals the Declaration of Independence set in motion.”

    Original date of release: May 5/26

Economic Trends

Law Center Report: GOP Bill Will 

Worsen Hospital Closure Trend 

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. — (SPLC) -- 5/12/2026 -- The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) recently released Critical Condition: Rural Health Care Access Following HR 1, a report that examines how implementation of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” could exacerbate a dangerous trend of hospital closures throughout the rural South.

    Between 2005 and 2023, at least 146 rural hospitals across the country stopped offering inpatient services, with 34 located in the Deep South. New analysis from the SPLC shows that an additional 99 rural hospitals in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi could also be at risk of closing.

    “For people living in the rural South, hospital closures aren’t just an inconvenience; they can be the difference between whether a person survives a trip in an ambulance or doesn’t make it in time to receive lifesaving care,” said Gina Azito Thompson, policy analyst, SPLC. “Unfortunately, these critical lifelines are under threat thanks to devastating cuts to programs that ensure Americans in these areas have health insurance. In a region with alarming rates of chronic illness, diabetes and high blood pressure, making healthcare more expensive will result in people forgoing necessary visits to the doctor, causing treatable problems to turn deadly.”

    The current U.S. healthcare system relies heavily on patients’ insurance to ensure that doctors and hospitals get paid for providing care. As the report notes, many rural hospitals are already operating on slim profit margins, with residents in their areas less likely to be able to afford their medical expenses.

    The legislation passed by Congress in 2025 cut more than $1 trillion of federal funding from healthcare programs including Medicaid, which the Congressional Budget Office forecasts could result in millions of low-income Americans losing health insurance. This could in turn cut off critical revenue streams for rural hospitals.

    “When we talk about making America healthy, one of the fundamental ways to do that is to ensure everyone can see a doctor or health professional without the fear of taking on tremendous medical debt,” added Azito Thompson. “By kicking people off of their insurance, this administration’s signature piece of legislation will only worsen so many of the health disparities that already exist across the Deep South.”

    In addition to exploring how rural Southerners’ insurance could be impacted by HR 1, the report also outlines recommendations for policymakers to help strengthen rural healthcare infrastructure and prevent unnecessary hospital closures.

Voting Rights

New Florida Congressional 

Map Called Unconstitutional;

Groups File Lawsuit To Stop It

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (SPLC) -- 5/6/2026 -- Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and Democracy Defenders Fund, filed a lawsuit on May 5 in the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County to stop the new Florida congressional map.

    You can view the lawsuit here.

    The lawsuit argues the new map specifically violates the Fair Districts Amendments, which prohibit the state Legislature from drawing maps that favor one political party. More than 60% of Florida voters approved the amendments in 2010.

    Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the new congressional map into law after the Legislature passed it in a special session. Common Cause, LWVFL and LULAC immediately filed suit.

    “The fact that this is a partisan gerrymander is as obvious as it is unconstitutional,” said Bradley Heard, deputy legal director, SPLC. “And while this unnecessary map is egregious in how it advantages Republicans and disadvantages Democrats, the people who will suffer the most if it is allowed to stand are once again Black and Brown communities, whose voices are consistently silenced in these redistricting battles. The SPLC will not allow this governor to turn back the clock on voting rights in Florida.”

    “The governor’s ploy to impose maps for an unfair partisan advantage is exactly why voters made it illegal in 2010 — and why we’re going to court,” said Amy Keith, executive director, Common Cause Florida. “This governor and Republican lawmakers will stop at nothing to put their finger on the scale because they are afraid of being held accountable by the people. We expect the courts to be the adults in the room and honor the Florida Constitution and the will of Florida voters.”

    The new congressional map was engineered by DeSantis and rammed through a hastily convened special session of the Florida Legislature with no meaningful opportunity for public input. DeSantis personally directed its drawing, releasing a color-coded version of the map to Fox News with proposed districts shaded red and blue. Notably, the Governor’s own mapmaker admitted to using partisan data to create the map.

    “When a map is distributed in a red/blue format to the media before being transmitted to the Legislature, and when the governor’s staff openly acknowledges in committee that there is no new Census data being used to justify a new map, Florida voters can’t help but suspect that this is a partisan gerrymander,” said Jessica Lowe-Minor, President, League of Women Voters of Florida. “Floridians have consistently said they are not interested in political gamesmanship within redistricting, which is why they passed the Fair Districts standards overwhelmingly in 2010. We hope the courts restore the rule of law and uphold the Florida Constitution’s explicit prohibition against partisan gerrymandering.”

    “Gov. DeSantis and lawmakers think they’re above the Florida Constitution and above the people,” said Adrianne Spoto, counsel for voting rights, SCSJ. “We’re here to say otherwise.”

    “More than 60% of Florida voters made partisan gerrymandering illegal in 2010, but Governor DeSantis just stamped his name on an electoral map that does exactly what voters forbade. We’re litigating on behalf of Floridians because this dangerous playbook ends in a democracy where your voice only counts if you agree with the president and his allies,” said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), co-founder and executive chair, Democracy Defenders Fund. “Even the Roberts Court’s shockingly wrong decision in the Callais case does not allow this. This gerrymander violates state law and the will of the Florida voters, and we are asking the court to strike it down.”

    “For decades, the Voting Rights Act protected Black communities from the legacy of Jim Crow, and those same federal protections safeguarded Latino communities. Governor DeSantis and the state legislature wasted no time thumbing their noses at these communities after the Court’s devastating decision in Callais,” said Juan Proaño, chief executive officer, LULAC. “This gerrymander intends to marginalize and silence Black and brown communities. We will not sit idly by while the people we elected to represent us abuse that power and try to silence us.”

    For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.

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.