Recently the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent a letter to Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson chiding him for posting Bible verses on his official Facebook page every Sunday.
The group posted a soundbite on social media, saying, “Freedom of religion is freedom WITHOUT Favor. Our government represents ALL citizens, regardless of faith or belief.”
AU sent a letter to Arkansas Governor @AsaHutchinson
— Americans United (@americansunited) January 5, 2022
for his routine habit of posting Bible verses on his official social media pages. https://t.co/Ypcud5AOU1
Freedom of religion is freedom WITHOUT Favor. Our government represents ALL citizens, regardless of faith or belief.
Governor Hutchinson has routinely shared verses of scripture on his official Facebook page since he was inaugurated in 2015.
Here’s an example of one of the passages that he posted recently from the Psalms:
Unfortunately, atheist organizations have a long history of saber rattling in Arkansas.
In 2017 the atheist group the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to Governor Hutchinson asking him to stop posting scripture every Sunday, but Governor Hutchinson has continued to do so. To date, no one has sued the governor for sharing Bible verses online each week.
In 2016 Americans United for Separation of Church and State unsuccessfully opposed a 40 Days of Prayer event in in El Dorado.
And in 2011 Americans United for Separation of Church and State fought to remove a Nativity scene from a bulletin board at a school in Paragould.
The truth is that elected officials don’t lose their First Amendment freedoms.
By most accounts, the Bible is the single most widely-read book in the history of human civilization, and public speakers, writers, and elected officials have quoted it routinely for centuries.
The President of the United States typically takes the Oath of Office on a Bible.
Elected officials often share well-known, popular, or inspirational quotes via their official social media accounts.
In light of that, why shouldn’t an elected official be able to post a Bible verse on Facebook?
It’s ridiculous to suggest that posting Bible verses on Facebook violates the U.S. Constitution. However, that seems to be what Americans United for Separation of Church and State is doing.
