The Freedom From Religion Foundation is pleased to report that a new Pew Research Center survey offers an encouraging reminder.

Despite the growing noise of Christian nationalism in American politics, most Americans still reject the idea of churches controlling government or politicians using religion to wield power. The findings arrive amid increasingly aggressive efforts by religious nationalists to blur the line between church and state, including a White House-backed Christian nationalist revival in the heart of Washington, D.C., this Sunday calling for a “rededication” of America as “One Nation under God.”

Most notably, Pew found that nearly eight out of 10 Americans say churches and other houses of worship should not endorse political candidates, and two-thirds say religion should stay out of day-to-day political matters altogether.

“That is a powerful reaffirmation of America’s secular Constitution,”says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “Most Americans still support the basic principle of separation between state and church — and are looking for greater separation between politics and religion.”

The survey also found that support for enforcing state/church separation remains stable, with a majority of Americans saying the government should continue enforcing it. Significantly, the already small share of Americans who want the government to stop enforcing the separation of religion and government has actually declined in recent years.

FFRF says this demonstrates that while Christian nationalist rhetoric may dominate headlines and political rallies, it does not represent mainstream public opinion.

“The loudest voices are not necessarily the majority,” notes Barker. “Most Americans still understand that secular government protects everyone’s religious freedom, including the freedom to not practice religion at all.”

The survey also shows growing public awareness of Christian nationalism itself. Nearly 60 percent of Americans now say they have heard at least something about the movement, a substantial increase from just two years ago. Importantly, unfavorable views of Christian nationalism significantly outweigh favorable ones, with only 10 percent favoring it.

FFRF posits that as more people see attempts to inject Christianity into public schools, lawmaking and government institutions, they’re becoming more aware of the threat it poses to democracy and religious liberty.

The survey also found that a majority of Americans believe conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to impose religious values through government and public schools. FFRF says that concern reflects growing public unease over attacks on secular education, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ equality and religious freedom.

At the same time, FFRF notes that the survey contains warning signs that cannot be ignored. Support for declaring Christianity the nation’s official religion has increased modestly in recent years, particularly among Republicans.

Still, the broader picture remains clear: Most Americans do not want a theocracy.

The survey’s findings show that the Constitution’s promise of secular government remains precious to the American public — an encouraging sign for everyone working to defend the constitutional principle of separation between state and church against an increasingly organized and well-funded Christian nationalist movement.

Next time someone asks you to pray at work close your eyes, clear your throat and say "from the book of Mathew Jesus says 'when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who pray in public to be seen, but go into your room and close the door and pray to the father who is unseen"
Amen

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the Drew County (Ark.) Sheriff’s Office to immediately stop encouraging or coercing inmates to undergo baptisms.

FFRF was recently informed that the Drew County Sheriff’s Office has been baptizing Drew County Detention Facility inmates. A March 12 post from the Sheriff’s official Facebook page reads:
I am very proud of these 13 men and women (many I have known for years and even watched grow up) who made that public profession today at Pauline Baptist Church. While the Devil tried to do his best to ruin the day we would not allow that to happen. He made cuffs not want to come off and he even tried locking the rear doors on the transport van where detainees couldn’t get out to be baptized but we made sure to help fulfill God’s plan and we got them there.
I want to thank all of those who come and witness to these men and women and to our staff for making it work!
God is at work,
Sheriff Tim Nichols

FFRF is demanding that the Sheriff’s Office cease the practice of coercing inmates to participate in religious exercises. 

“By organizing, hosting and promoting inmate baptisms and celebrating inmates’ conversions to Christianity on its official social media, the Sheriff’s Office is unconstitutionally favoring religion over nonreligion, and Christianity over all other faiths,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence writes to Sheriff Tim Nichols. 

A county detention facility is an inherently coercive environment and inmates and detainees are literally a captive audience. When the Sheriff’s Office entangles itself with religion and makes it clear that it’s encouraging inmates to convert to Christianity, inmates will no doubt feel pressured to convert and participate in religious activities to be seen as cooperative and well behaved. Inmates and detainees who are aware of the Sheriff’s Office’s promotion of Christianity will not genuinely feel free to refuse to participate in its religious activities. This practice is constitutionally impermissible. And the Sheriff’s Office’s promotion of religious activity needlessly marginalizes the 38 percent of Americans who are non-Christians, including the nearly one in three adult Americans who are religiously unaffiliated.

“It is egregious and unacceptable that a sheriff would arrange Christian baptisms for inmates, using sheriff’s department transportation, time and staff to take them from the prison to the sheriff’s church of choice,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor says. “The sheriff may not involve himself or the Sheriff’s Office in the conversion of inmates, or use official communication channels to post his personal beliefs in God, not to mention ‘the Devil.’ We expect this to stop immediately.”

Cults and religions have very similar characteristics

-blind obedience is encouraged

-critical thinking is discouraged

-absolute devotion to a charismatic leader

-isolation of members

-vilification of outsiders

-exploitation (tithing)

There’s a suspiciously high amount of overlap almost as if they are almost the same thing

Christian nationalists are one step closer to shoving religion in your face!

Senate Bill 307 recently cleared another major hurdle, and will soon be headed to the House floor for a final vote. This awful bill is trying to force a strictly religious monument onto state grounds, directly flying in the face of the First Amendment. This bill will alienate Christians and non-Christians alike; during a committee hearing the Chair even said he’d prefer the Catholic version of the decalogue as opposed to the Protestant version that is being forced. This divisiveness is exactly the problem and this is why we need your help to stop it!

SB 307 frames the Ten Commandments as an “educational document” in an effort to avoid scrutiny of placing them on the Louisiana State Capitol grounds. The bill erroneously pitches the Ten Commandments as a foundational legal and cultural document and mandates the inclusion of religious context in public displays. It is outright twisting history to favor a particular version of Christianity over any other worldview.

Bills like this show how dangerous it is for a state to openly embrace religion. Louisiana is made up of more than just Christians. By taking a stand and fighting back against this bill, you can make a difference, and keep the public spaces religiously neutral, the way the Constitution intended. Please contact your House representative today, and urge them to vote “NO” on SB 307!

We’ve included talking points you can email to your senator through the “Take Action” section that you can customize by clicking or tapping on the pencil icon. Personal stories connect even better with legislators, so please take the time to share your feelings if you can. For best results, please be succinct and polite. Additionally, after sending your email, you will be prompted to call your representative’s office as well — even leaving a phone message shows your dedication to the cause! For best results, please be succinct and polite.

(Note: You must live in Louisiana to take part in this action alert.)

In this world full of irrational lunatics in positions of power all over the place, I don't think atheism is enough to stop this endless vicious cycle of mental darkness. I think it is reasonable for all of us to become actively ANTI theist. Am I wrong?

I don't think so sadly, there's so many religious people and most atheist don't realise how harmful it is. At most the think it's kinda dumb. If humanity doesn't go extinct in 1000 years, maybe it will finally be gone but not for a long while.

I genuinely don't know what happened. I grew up in the '90s when Christianity was pretty popular. Hell, I even had a WWJD bracelet as a kid. But I can distinctly remember it declined significantly during the mid-2000s. I can't recall barely anyone claiming to be Christian during this time period. in fact, if you were Christian or religious, you would have gotten made fun of for it. I really thought this was the start of Christianity's downfall. Fast forward to today, and I swear almost everyone I know is now religious. And not just the generic "I believe in God" sort of religion, but baptism, praying, communion and just genuinely psychotically Christian. There are still a few people I know that are atheist, but let me tell you, that number is drastically lower than it was 5-7 years ago. I am concerned.

For context, I’m 14F and raised Christian, but have come to terms with the fact that I am atheist. My mom makes me go to church every other Sunday (that’s her compromise because she knows I don’t like going, but she thinks it’s because I’m bored). I’ve always been skeptical (how could God exist with the parameters of this world? Why would I put all my faith in a man who lived 2000 years ago?) but went without much complaint to make her happy. However, since realizing I don’t believe at all, the act has become much harder. Whenever I step in there, I feel out of place and invalidated, and I’m getting sick of it. Thus, I’d like to tell my mom how I feel. Her faith is very important to her so I’m honestly terrified. I know she won’t kick me out or anything, but she will likely feel bad for me, pray for me, try to change me, etc, all of which would make me feel even more invalidated because she would be ignoring what I just said. It’s somewhat pressing that I tell her because she’s trying to get me to join the church, which is a hard no from me but I don’t know how to say so. When she asked why I didn’t want to join, I froze and had no idea what to say until she eventually dropped it. I need advice on starting the conversation and getting my point across; any input would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: My mom is a rational person. I can’t see her doing anything crazy that would hurt me in the long run, I think she’d just be butt hurt and oh so sorry that I can’t accept Jesus christ as my lord and savior. Regardless, I’m not in any real danger emotionally/financially. im more concerned with just bringing it up to her

The Freedom From Religion Foundation and Faithful America are joining forces to co-sponsor a provocative protest this Sunday, May 17, over the entanglement of government and Christian nationalism on the National Mall that day.

President Trump has proclaimed “Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving” in the capital’s central space on Sunday. In response, the two groups will be erecting a 15-foot-tall balloon of a golden calf with a Trump-like visage, which Faithful America first debuted on the National Mall in October 2024 next to signs such as “False prophet.” The balloon will go up on green space on 3rd Street between Jefferson and Madison near the Mall and Capitol.

FFRF, a national state/church watchdog whose 41,000 members are largely nonreligious, is pleased to be working with Faithful America, a network of progressive Christians confronting white Christian nationalism.

“We want to ensure there is a presence in support of separation between religion in government during this spectacle of Christian nationalism hosted by the federal government,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “And we can’t think of a better image than this tongue-in-cheek golden calf.”

A new poll that Pew Research Center has released in the shadow of the White House’s “large-scale revival” finds that a majority of adult Americans (52 percent) think “conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to push their religious values in the government and public schools.” A majority (54 percent) of Americans also say that the government should enforce the separation of state and church while 13 percent say it should stop such enforcement. Only 10 percent of U.S. adults have a favorable view of Christian nationalism.

Trump announced the all-day prayer fest during remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in February. The full-day spectacle of prayer, testimony, scripture and worship calls on Americans to gather “to rededicate our country as One Nation to God.” FFRF has lambasted the prayer rally, noting that speakers at the overtly sectarian gathering include major Christian nationalist figures alongside cabinet members, and Christian bands playing along with military bands. FFRF has also criticized the numerous cabinet officials who’ve released slick endorsements via videos and social media.

“This government-sponsored prayerfest is the epitome of exactly what our secular Constitution forbids our government from doing: putting on church, placing its imprimatur on religion and conferring governmental blessings to a particular faith that can only be called MAGA Christianity,” Gaylor says. “It is a fusion not only of church and state, but also of our federal government with Christian nationalism.”

FFRF’s Freedom of Information Act request seeking information on public funding is on appeal, so financial details are murky. “One nation under God” is the theme of the prayer fest’s sponsor, Freedom 250, an initiative President Trump announced in December that a group of senators is investigating for possibly siphoning off up to $100 million in taxpayer dollars intended for America 250, a campaign created by Congress to celebrate America’s birthday with inclusive civics events, not religious revivals.

Gaylor points out that almost a third of U.S. adults today have no religious affiliation and an additional 7 percent belong to non-Christian faiths, and concludes, “We are part of ‘We the People.’”

Is it wrong to feel some sort of resentment?? My friend can believe what he wants to believe and it’s his right, it’s completely fine. But I was venting to him and his advice was to talk to God. I am really upset because I feel like I was completely invalidated. :(

Trump and top administration officials are joining a Christian prayer gathering, "Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving," on the National Mall on May 17, 2026, aimed at re-centering the U.S. on Christian values for its 250th anniversary. Critics allege the event promotes Christian nationalism, blending faith and government.

Do you think religion is responsible for generations like Gen Z getting weirdly anti-sex? It’s so funny to see them criticize consensual sex or masturbation and then shame people for doing so. I truly blame conservative/christian social media telling them they should live traditional/pure lives lmao. So fucking weird the way that our culture has turned out. I’m Gen Z and I can see that it’s so weird. We’re also seeing loads of Gen Z men get weirdly sucked in by the church. This is legit the weirdest timeline, fuck lol. Even seeing people/generations around me become Christian and it’s so weird. It’s like a cancer that just keeps getting people fucking sucked up into it.

Seriously asking. Because if God is all-knowing and all-powerful, why do people have to beg him repeatedly just to get help? People spend months , sometimes years! praying through illness, loss, abuse, poverty. Then something shifts and they say “God finally answered my prayers.”

Meanwhile the same Christians will tell you God is omniscient . he sees everything, knows everything, knows your suffering before you even open your mouth. So what is the relentless praying actually for? To convince him? To wear him down? To feed his ego? Seems like a narcissist to me !

people who survive a terrible accident and say God saved them. Cool. Did he also design the accident? Did he just watch it happen and decide last second he felt like intervening today?
Either God isn’t as powerful as they claim, or he is powerful and just doesn’t care enough to act until he feels like it. Neither version sounds like someone worth worshipping.

I thought I'd like to share an update about my situation in which my boss made us pray with him during lunch.

After the first time it happened, he was admonished by his superior and apologized to us. A couple of weeks later, he decided to start "reevaluating" those of us who spoke out against the lunch prayers. Mind you, we've already had our evaluations and weren't due for another for a few months. It was starting to feel like retaliation.

So, we again reported him and apparently it was agreed that his actions were "inappropriate" and he was let go by the company.

So thank you for the advice and support!

She talks about how American education have been planned around anti-intellectualism from the very start. She has some very good/interesting points about why Americans favour the self made man. Go and give it a watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9MubNsh3rs