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Secular grads, I’m a Black A god created the world Republican — in our now needs you and now atheist own image PAGE 12 PAGE 14 PAGE 18 Vol. 37 No. 6 Published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. August 2020 Supreme Court voucher Sign of the times ruling blasted by FFRF The U.S. Supreme Court handed down that a neo-voucher school funding scheme an alarming decision June 30 on school violates the “No Aid” to religion clause of voucher programs that imperils true reli- the state Constitution. The state court struck gious liberty, asserts the Freedom From Reli- down the entire neo-voucher scheme as it gion Foundation. applied to all private education, religious “The ruling eviscerates a founding prin- and secular. Nearly 90 percent of Mon- ciple of our secular republic — that citizens tana’s private schools are affiliated with reli- must not be taxed to support religion, in- gion. Christian parents, represented by the cluding religious schools,” comments FFRF pro-voucher Institute of Justice, appealed to Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. She adds the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to declare that the ruling would appear to severely that No Aid clauses violate the federal Free undercut specific safeguards in state consti- Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to tutions prohibiting the union of state and the U.S. Constitution. church. In The New York Times, reporter Adam In Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue, Liptak wrote: “Montana’s Constitution, like the Supreme Court overturned a ruling by those of many other states, restricts govern- the Montana Supreme Court, which held See Voucher on page 2 Abortion rights upheld by court FFRF applauds the U.S. Supreme TRAP (targeted restrictions on abortion Court for striking down an unconstitu- providers) laws, required physicians who tional Louisiana provision that would provide abortions to unnecessarily hold have effectively outlawed abortion in “active admitting privileges” at a hospi- the state. tal located within 30 miles of the clinic. In a 5-4 decision in June Medical Ser- The law was virtually identical to a Texas vices v. Russo issued June 29, Chief Justice provision quashed by the high court only John Roberts joined the court’s more four years ago in Whole Woman’s Health v. liberal justices to overturn an onerous Hellerstedt, in which the court had decid- Photo by Chris Line Louisiana law (Act 620) intended to shut ed the restriction constituted a medically A mask was put on this Bucky Badger statue on the University of down clinics. The law, part of a series “undue burden” on abortion access. Wisconsin campus, not far from the national office of the Freedom From of anti-abortion legal attacks known as See Abortion on page 17 Religion Foundation in Madison. 2020 convention canceled FFRF sets sights on 2021 Boston gathering Antonio using the FFRF room bloc, your reservation Gloria Steinem, Margaret has been automatically canceled. You should receive Atwood, others from 2020 a notification from the hotel. (If you reserved a room through other means, on dates not included have agreed to speak in the room block or at another area hotel, please be at next year’s event sure to double-check or cancel directly.) All registration fees have been refunded by FFRF. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and related Thanks to the many members who donated it as a safety concerns, FFRF’s 2020 national convention gift! scheduled for San Antonio in November has been We are now working on the challenges of con- canceled. ducting our first online annual membership meet- FFRF’s annual meetings of the membership and ing this fall, followed by an online state representa- state representatives will take place online. tives meeting. The membership meeting will include We plan to hold a fabulous post-pandemic cele- some fun items, highlights of the year and legal Gloria Steinem Margaret Atwood bration — including the lineup advertised for this accomplishments. year — at the Boston Plaza Hotel over the weekend Private Line, our twice-a-year newsletter, will be of Nov. 19-21, 2021. in 2021, including author and journalist Katherine mailed in the fall with full details on how to regis- We are pleased to confirm that headliners Gloria Stewart, secular studies professor Phil Zuckerman, ter for the online annual membership meeting. We Steinem and Margaret Atwood are expected to speak and author and advocate Megan Phelps-Roper. We look forward to “meeting” with you later this year. at the 2021 convention. will be updating information on next year’s gather- We appreciate your patience. Stay tuned for de- Also, others who had planned to speak in 2020 ing, although it’s still too early to register. tails! Stay safe, and we’ll see you Nov. 19-21 next year have let us know they will be joining the convention If you reserved a room at the Hyatt Regency San at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. Page 2 FFRF | FREETHOUGHT TODAY | Madison, Wisconsin | August 2020 Take FFRF’s membership survey! It’s been five years since the and convey your views to the media. office requesting the survey link. message slowly providing your Freedom From Religion Foundation We emailed every member a Please email [email protected] with your full name (spell your last name), last surveyed its members. comprehensive membership survey request and include your full name mailing address and phone number, FFRF, with over 32,000 members, on July 15. If FFRF does not have an and full mailing address so we can and indicating that you need a is the largest freethought group in email address in our database for check or update our records. membership survey mailed to you. North America and the third-largest you, we have mailed you a hard copy. If you do not use email and have We’ll be glad to get that out to you. in the world. You are a vital part of Please participate! not received your mailed survey To help us learn more about you, an influential organization, and we If you haven’t seen the emailed by early August, please phone our update our membership profile and want to hear from you. By taking this survey invitation, please double- office at 608/256-8900. During find out how we can better serve or survey, you will also help FFRF lobby check your inbox or spam folder. the COVID-19 pandemic, our represent you, please take 10 minutes more effectively on your behalf on If you can’t find our emailed office phone calls are not directly to fill out the FFRF membership Capitol Hill and at your state level, invitation, please contact the FFRF answered. Please leave a clear voice survey at your earliest convenience. tana Supreme Court had made no distinc- state a tax-credit program that the Consti- ligious taxpayers will be injured the most. Voucher tion between religious and nonreligious tution did not demand in the first place. James Madison, later the architect schools in a previous ruling. [The court] rejects the Religion Clauses’ of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, Continued from page 1 “Because Montana’s Supreme Court balanced values in favor of a new theo- famously defeated a Virginia propos- ment aid to religious groups. Those pro- did not make such a decision — its judg- ry of free exercise, and it does so only by al in 1785 to pay the salary of Christian visions, often called Blaine amendments, ment put all private setting aside well-es- teachers, calling even a three-penny tax were initially adopted in the 19th century school parents in tablished judicial on citizens supremely immoral. The No and often had the goal of restricting fund- the same boat — this Without any need or constraints.” Aid language in many state constitutions ing for Catholic schools. Of the 37 states court had no occa- power to do so, the court FFRF had filed dates to the Virginia Statute for Religious with Blaine amendments, 14 have strict sion to address the “ an 18-page friend- Liberty of 1786, written by Thomas Jeffer- appears to require a state to prohibitions on the participation of reli- matter,” the dissent of-the-court brief in son, who deemed it “sinful and tyranni- reinstate a tax-credit program gious schools in state programs.” states. It adds: “The November cogently cal” to tax citizens to support ministries But, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 deci- state court struck the that the Constitution did not arguing that true re- or religious schools. sion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, program in full. In demand in the first place. ligious liberty would The Supreme Court’s decision does not illogically ruled that religious schools were doing so, the court — Justice Sonia Sotomayor be endangered if address whether some restrictions placed indeed being singled out. never made religious the court strikes on funds going to religious schools would “A state need not subsidize private edu- schools ineligible for down the provision pass constitutional muster. States may still cation,” the majority judgment states. “But an otherwise available benefit, and it nev- of Montana’s Constitution that prohibits be able to restrict funding on the basis of once a state decides to do so, it cannot dis- er decided that the Free Exercise Clause funding religious education. “religious use.” For example, a restriction qualify some private schools solely because would allow that outcome.” “Religious liberty is imperiled in this on direct funding of religious education they are religious.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor has a stinging case,” its brief asserted. “This case is not classes may be permissible.

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