Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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1. 

   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

2. 

   The defence of a Christian view never seems to be settled by debate: exchange of facts, reference to historical events.…

3. 

   But …… Rwanda is a safe place: Parliament says so.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/8/contentsSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 S 2 Safety…

4. 

   Religion can survive only on the most unquestionable assumptions. The statements made on Sundays on the BBC as if they…

5. 

   Yes, if I’ve got anything remotely like a phobia, as an ex-fundy, its bibles, churches, tracts etc. I like to…

ANNOUNCING this week that Metroplex Atheists have launched a lawsuit against the Texas city, Geoffrey Blackwell, above—litigation counsel for American Atheists—declared that “free speech is free speech, whether or not the government likes that speech or certain members of the community object to it.”

According to American Atheists, the lawsuit comes on the heels of Fort Worth’s decision to reject Metroplex Atheists’ banners advertising an upcoming event intended to highlight the dangers of Christian nationalism.

Blackwell, author of the complaint, said:

The City of Fort Worth’s attempt to silence atheists for opposing theocracy is textbook viewpoint discrimination

AA pointed out that, since at least 1998, Fort Worth has permitted nonprofit organisations to rent out space on downtown lamp posts to advertise events.

These nonprofits include Kenneth Copeland Ministries and Texas Christian University. By its policy, the City has created a limited public forum under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and may not discriminate based on viewpoint, which includes atheism. The Supreme Court recently confirmed these protections in its 2022 decision Shurtleff v. Boston.

But in clear violation of these protections, Fort Worth decided that the event—due to take place on August 26— was not of “sufficient magnitude” to deserve public promotion. But nowhere does the City’s Banner Display Policy mention such a requirement.

Image via FortWorthTexas.gov

The decision was made by Assistant City Manager William Johnson, above.

Said Umair Khan, President of Metroplex Atheists and a Texas assistant state director of American Atheists.

We did everything to meet the City of Fort Worth’s Banner Policy. We were denied purely on trumped-up claims nowhere in the policy, to disguise their prejudice. The City of Fort Worth’s decision infringes upon our fundamental constitutional rights.

This authoritarian and theocratic action enables Christian nationalist groups to attack the democratic rights of all citizens and our public schools—which is the focus of our seminar.

In 2019, the City of Fort Worth allowed Metroplex Atheists to post banners, including one that said “In No God We Trust”.

This led to a number of complaints. The mayor at the time, Betsy Price, said on Twitter:

I was appalled when I saw the banners currently being displayed downtown, as I do not support or agree with the message. While many of us may not agree with the message, the organization did follow policies and procedures set forth by the City & Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. (1/2)

The federal lawsuit brought against Fort Worth is being supported by American Atheists, the American Humanist Association, and local counsel Glast, Phillips & Murray.

American Atheists win a lawsuit centred on a faith-based substance recovery programme for prisoners

In a sweeping 60-page decision issued this week, a federal judge in West Virginia ruled in favour of Andrew Miller, an atheist and secular Humanist, who has been forced to participate in religious substance abuse treatment activities as a condition for his parole.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin issued a preliminary injunction requiring officials with the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (WVDCR) to remove completion of the state’s Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Program from Mr. Miller’s parole eligibility requirements.

Blackwell welcomed the ruling, saying:

This is a complete vindication of Andrew’s rights under the law. As Judge Goodwin said in his ruling, if Andrew had not stood up for his rights and instead allowed West Virginia to force this religious programming on him, it’s entirely possible he would already have been released. That’s not a choice anyone should have to make.

Image via YouTube

Nick Fish, President of American Atheists, added:

It’s clear that religious coercion is an all-too-common issue in our nation’s criminal justice system. This is a step in the right direction, but it’s long overdue that we push for big, systemic changes to finally fix this. We shouldn’t have to file lawsuit after lawsuit to force the government to do the right thing: protecting the religious freedom of everyone, atheists included.

And he praised Miller:

Without Andrew’s willingness to take on this fight, West Virginia would continue to unconstitutionally impose religion on people in its corrections system.

Judge Goodwin denied West Virginia’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, finding that all of Andrew’s claims were “likely—if not inevitable” to succeed on the merits.

He highlighted the “undeniably religious nature of the programme,” including pervasive religious content in the course material, mandatory prayers during meetings, and a chapter that “tells atheists and agnostics they are ‘doomed to an alcoholic death’ unless they ‘seek Him.’”

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