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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Atheist Group Targets Arkansas School District Over Student Prayer

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The Freedom From Religion Foundation has once again targeted religious expression in Arkansas. The Wisconsin-based atheist organization issued a statement last week saying it recently demanded the Highland School District to stop student-led prayer at school events.

The organization’s complaints stemmed from last September, when a student council president led prayer at a school pep rally and prayed during a Patriot Day memorial ceremony. FFRF’s staff attorney also objected to the school excusing students from class to voluntarily attend a prayer circle for a classmate in September and specifically promoting the Fellowship of Christian Students student-group.

This is just the latest example of FFRF’s ongoing campaign against religious expression in Arkansas. The organization is currently suing to remove the privately-funded Ten Commandments monument from the Arkansas Capitol lawn, and it recently joined a lawsuit to prevent public schools from displaying the Ten Commandments. In 2022, the group also celebrated the defeat of a proposed religious freedom amendment.

Arkansas families should be concerned when out-of-state groups try to intimidate local school districts into silencing student-led prayer. Students have clear constitutional rights to voluntarily pray and express their faith at school. These are fundamental freedoms protected by our constitution and our laws. There shouldn’t be anything controversial about that.

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

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Gov. Sanders Refuses to Rescind Christmas Proclamation

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Above: The Nativity Scene the adorns Arkansas’ Capitol Lawn.

On Monday, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement refusing to comply with a Freedom From Religion Foundation letter asking her to rescind her Christmas proclamation.

The governor’s proclamation tells the Christmas Story about the birth of Christ, and it ensures State offices will be closed December 25 and 26 in observance of Christmas.

In response, the Wisconsin-based atheist organization sent Gov. Sanders a letter claiming her proclamation violated the First Amendment by sharing the story of Christ’s birth. The group demanded she rescind the proclamation.

In her response, Gov. Sanders told the Freedom From Religion Foundation it would be “impossible” to keep religion out of Christmas.

“Christmas is not simply an ‘end-of-the-year holiday’ with ‘broadly observed secular cultural aspects,'” Sanders wrote. “Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and if we are to honor Him properly, we should tell His miraculous, world-changing story properly, too.”

This is not the first time the Freedom From Religion Foundation has targeted the free exercise of religion in Arkansas.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is currently suing the State of Arkansas to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the Capitol lawn in Little Rock, and it recently joined a lawsuit to prevent public schools and buildings in Arkansas from displaying the Ten Commandments.

In 2022, the atheist group issued a statement celebrating the defeat of religious freedom amendment Issue 3, which narrowly failed at the ballot box in Arkansas.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has opposed public prayer at meetings and gatherings in Arkansas.

In 2017 the group demanded that then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson stop sharing Bible verses on his Facebook page.

In 2016 the foundation went after Washington County election officials for using churches as polling places.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has even complained about the fact that that Arkansas’ public school students can study the Bible academically — even though it is one of the oldest texts in existence and has had a profound influence on human history.

Gov. Sanders is right when she says Christmas is about Christ. There shouldn’t be anything controversial about acknowledging that.

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

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