Atheist Group Opposes Inmate Baptisms in Arkansas

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A Wisconsin-based atheist organization is once again opposing inmate baptisms in Arkansas.

Earlier this month, the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to Drew County Sheriff Tim Nichols complaining about inmate baptisms after Sheriff Nichols posted on the Drew County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page about 13 inmates who were baptized at Pauline Baptist Church in March.

All told, 27 inmates at the Drew County Detention Facility reportedly have been baptized since 2023.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s letter accused the sheriff of “unconstitutionally encouraging or coercing inmates to participate in religious exercise.”

This is not the first time the FFRF has targeted an Arkansas sheriff over inmate baptisms. In 2023, the group sent a similar complaint to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office after inmates there were baptized in partnership with a local church.

The FFRF’s argument is the same one it always makes — that any visible expression of faith by a government official amounts to a constitutional violation. But that argument goes too far.

Nothing in the Constitution requires public officials to hide their faith or strip religious programming from county jails. Inmates are free to participate or not participate in religious activity. And there is a real difference between a government forcing someone to practice a religion and a sheriff who personally believes in God and wants to see the people find hope and redemption.

It’s also worth noting that groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation tend to threaten lawsuits. If people stand their ground, these organizations rarely follow through.

Religious freedom is a fundamental right in America, and groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation ironically infringe that liberty when they work to purge the free exercise of religion from public life.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Mid Vermont Christian School Back in Court

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Mid Vermont Christian School basketball players outside of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York City on April 9, 2025.

Attorneys representing a Christian school in Vermont were back in court on Friday after state officials refused to include the school in state programs.

The Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) believes that human beings are created either male or female. In 2023, the MVCS girls’ basketball team decided to forfeit a game rather than violate its religious convictions by forcing its girls to play against a team with a male player.

But the Vermont Principals Association decided to punish the school for forfeiting the game by kicking it out of the sports league. That led to a major court battle — and a $566,000 settlement for damages and attorneys’ fees to Mid Vermont Christian School.

While the principals association has settled the suit, our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom say state officials have continued to exclude all religious schools — including MVCS — and their students from participating in the state’s tuition program and other public benefit programs.

On Friday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont heard the case.

In a statement, Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Jake Reed said,

“Religious schools and the families they serve aren’t second-class citizens. Yet Vermont continues to treat them as such by excluding them from a public benefit available to other secular schools. All parents should be able to send their kids to schools that are the best fit for them, and the First Amendment protects parents’ right to choose religious schools.”

We appreciate our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom standing for religious liberty in court.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Basketball Team’s Full Court Press for Religious Liberty Pays Off

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Above: Mid Vermont Christian School basketball players outside of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York City on April 9, 2025 (Photo Credit: Alliance Defending Freedom).

A Christian school in Vermont recently won a major legal victory — and the price tag for violating its constitutional rights was steep.

The Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) believes that human beings are created either male or female. In 2023, the MVCS girls’ basketball team decided to forfeit a game rather than violate its religious convictions by forcing its girls to play against a team with a male player. But the Vermont Principals Association decided to punish the school for forfeiting the game by kicking it out of the sports league. That led to a major court battle — and a victory for MVCS.

Now the Vermont Principals Association has agreed to pay a $566,000 settlement for damages and attorneys’ fees to Mid Vermont Christian School.

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom represented the school in court. ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman put it plainly: “The government cannot punish religious schools — and the families they serve — by permanently kicking them out of state-sponsored sports simply because the state disagrees with their religious beliefs.”

Stories like this one are part of the reason Arkansas passed Act 461 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) in 2021 to protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.

Letting men compete in women’s sports is unfair and reverses 50 years of advancements for women. Female cyclists, swimmers, powerlifters, sprinters, volleyball players, and others have seen their sports radically changed by men who claim to be women. In some cases it can even be dangerous.

Right now the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a federal case that could affect state laws like Arkansas’ Act 461. Family Council joined dozens of state policy organizations and more than 200 state legislators in a legal brief in that case last September.

Most Americans agree that athletes should compete according to their biological sex — not their gender identity. This settlement between Mid Vermont Christian School and the Vermont Principals Association is a victory for religious freedom, fairness in girls’ sports, and common sense.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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