Charitable Grants
Freedom From Religion Foundation-East Tennessee Chapter (FFRF-ETC) does more than fight violations of the wall of separation between religion and government. Each year, with the help of FFRF National, FFRF-ETC provides local agencies with charitable grants. If you participate in a local non-profit that aligns with FFRF principles, we encourage you to apply for a grant.
Past and present causes:
Mountain Access Brigade & Abortion Care Tennessee*
*These two agencies have recently merged.
First Amendment Violations
The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” There is a concerted push to insinuate religion into government agencies, which uses the agency to establish religion. Here are some of the actions FFRF-ETC has taken to push back against these Constitutional violations:
Knox County Election Commission
FFRF sent a letter advising the Election Commission against allowing the posting of religious signage in polling areas.
Maryville High School Choir Update (see below)
The legal director of the Maryville City Schools replied to FFRF regarding their letter about allowing the Choir to perform during school hours at a Day of Prayer event. He said:
“After discussing your letter and its allegations with my client, I can confirm that we take those allegations very seriously, and steps are being taken internally to ensure we do not receive a similar letter moving forward.“
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Jackson, TN
Jackson, TN: The city hosted a children’s pottery event to make an Easter Plate, using offensive religious iconography in their advertisements. FFRF-ETC has forwarded the complaint to FFRF-national
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Nursing School Graduation
Nursing School: Graduating nurses must recite a pledge promising good professional conduct. One graduating student turned to FFRF-ETC for advice upon learning that the pledge would be “before God”. FFRF-national attorneys replied that the school cannot require the “God” part, but the graduating nurse must request God’s removal. The student ultimately decided not to attend…
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Chattanooga School of Liberal Arts
Chattanooga School of Liberal Arts: An outraged parent of a child attending the school posted on the FFRF-ETC Facebook page, showing a sign on school property advertising the vacation bible school at a local Baptist church. It might be legal for the (nongovernmental) PTA to sell such advertising to a church, but the president of…
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Category IV (church-related schools)
Private schools in Tennessee must be registered in one of six categories. Category IV (church-related schools) poses two problems. First, these schools are exempt from many requirements. Core subjects such as math, English, and science are not required, nor are adequate textbooks, nationally standardized achievement tests, or licenced teachers. Second, home-schooling parents who do not meet…
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Knox County School Board
The Knox County School Board has approved a policy giving high-school credit for religious education provided off-campus by churches during school hours. Knox County will evaluate neither the qualifications of the teachers nor the content of the classes before offering credit. FFRF-national has sent a letter to the Knox County Schools demanding that the program…
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Knox County Sheriff’s Department
The Knox County Sheriff’s Department has been posting religious content and Bible verses on their Facebook page, and even secular messages are tagged with a Bible verse. FFRF-ETC has reported these violations to FFRF-national for possible legal action.
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Awake 21 Movement
Blount County pastors John Lowe and Chris Pass running for school board. Their financial backing comes from the Awake 21 movement, an evangelical organization which is working to elect right-wing Christians to local offices. Both are using their churches, Tuckaleechee Baptist Church and Grandview Baptist Church in Maryville, as the address for their campaigns, and have…
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Anderson County Sheriff
The Anderson County Sheriff has been baptizing prisoners, the ultimate “captive audience” to religious proselytizing, as reported on local media . The Sheriff’s office brags about this on social media. Following reports from FFRF-ETC, FFRF-national has sent a stern admonitory letter to the Sheriff.
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Carter County Constable
An outraged citizen photographed a Carter County Constable vehicle decorated with three crosses. FFRF-ETC forwarded the damning photograph to FFRF-national, which sent a stern warning letter to the constable. A disgusted voter notified FFRF-ETC that their Knox County polling place was inside a church building, with religious symbols on display. FFRF-ETC notified FFRF-national, which sent…
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Maryville High School Choir
The Maryville High School Choir performed during school hours at the National Day of Prayer rally at the Maryville courthouse, singing mainly about the combination of God and America. FFRF-ETC has notified FFRF-national of this violation of church-state separation for possible legal action.