Freedom from Religion Foundation
Professional services
UnclaimedAn American nonprofit organization advocating for atheists, agnostics, and other nontheists, with a particular focus on the constitutional separation of religion and government.
Last updated August 22, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) is a United States nonprofit advocacy organization representing atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and other people who do not identify with a religion. Its central objective is to defend the constitutional separation of church and state and to oppose government promotion, endorsement, or preferential financial support of religion. The organization commonly works through litigation, legal correspondence, public education, media, and support for nonreligious communities. FFRF was formed in 1976 by Anne Nicol Gaylor and her daughter, Annie Laurie Gaylor. It was incorporated nationally on April 15, 1978. The organization emerged in the context of disagreements with other atheist activism, including objections to antisemitic views associated with Madalyn Murray O'Hair's American Atheists. FFRF subsequently developed an independent institutional identity centered on secular constitutional law, rather than on a general campaign against private religious belief. The foundation has challenged the use of public money and public institutions to advance religious programs in social services, health care, education, criminal-justice programs, military and veterans' services, and government workplaces. Its litigation has addressed such matters as publicly funded faith-based initiatives, school Bible instruction, chaplaincies, religious displays on civic property, faith-based health programs, and religious holidays. Some cases produced settlements or practical changes without a final merits ruling; others resulted in court decisions concerning taxpayer standing, government endorsement, or unconstitutional religious funding. FFRF also provides resources and community support for nonreligious people. It publishes Freethought Today, produces or has produced Freethought Radio, supports secular student activity, and has participated in projects assisting clergy who leave religious ministry. The Clergy Project, launched with the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science in 2011, created a confidential online support community for clergy transitioning out of faith. In 2015, FFRF announced Nonbelief Relief, a related humanitarian initiative intended to assist people affected by suffering and injustice without a religious basis for eligibility. The organization has been headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, including in a nineteenth-century building that formerly served as a church rectory. Its public-facing work combines legal advocacy with secular education and criticism of theocratic policies. In late 2024, an internal and public dispute over the publication and subsequent removal of an article concerning the definition of womanhood led several prominent honorary-board members, including Jerry Coyne, Steven Pinker, and Richard Dawkins, to resign. FFRF later dissolved its honorary board. This episode reflected a broader dispute over editorial standards, sex and gender, and the scope of the organization’s values, rather than a change to its core church-state mission.
History
FFRF was founded in 1976 by Anne Nicol Gaylor and Annie Laurie Gaylor and incorporated nationally in 1978. Its formation followed tensions within American atheist activism and was shaped by a concern that religious organizations and ideas should not receive governmental preference. From the beginning, the foundation combined advocacy for atheists and agnostics with a constitutional argument: government must neither establish religion nor condition public benefits on religious participation. During the 1990s and 2000s, FFRF expanded its litigation program across several policy areas. It challenged Wisconsin’s Good Friday legal holiday, arguing that the holiday’s primary purpose was the promotion of Christianity; a federal district court ruled for FFRF in 1996. The foundation also litigated public financing of religious social services. In the Faith Works case in Wisconsin, a district court found that unrestricted direct public funding of a program involving religious indoctrination violated the Establishment Clause, although an appellate ruling later rejected a narrower coercion theory concerning prisoners who voluntarily joined faith-based programs. Education and health care became additional areas of activity. FFRF litigation helped secure a ruling that public schools could not teach the Bible as literal truth in weekly classes. It also challenged public support for faith-based nursing and health programs in Montana, with a federal court finding that direct and preferential state funding of inherently religious parish-nursing programs violated constitutional limits. In Minnesota, the University of Minnesota ended a partnership involving a faith-and-health consortium after FFRF litigation. In another case, the U.S. Department of Education agreed to suspend a federal grant to Alaska Christian College after FFRF argued that the institution’s program was predominantly religious. FFRF also challenged federal and state faith-based initiatives, government chaplaincies, prison programs, religious displays, and public-sector promotion of religion. Some cases were curtailed by standing doctrine. In 2007, the Supreme Court’s decision in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation held that general federal taxpayers generally lacked standing to challenge executive-branch spending decisions, affecting FFRF’s challenge to conferences connected with the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. A related challenge to religious practices in Veterans Affairs health care was later dismissed for lack of standing. The foundation’s public education work grew alongside its legal work. It publishes Freethought Today, a newspaper issued ten times each year, and has produced Freethought Radio, featuring secular commentary and historical material about freethinkers. Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker became the organization’s public co-presidents. Barker, a former Pentecostal minister, brought experience as an author, musician, and speaker; Gaylor has written and edited works on freethought, women and religion, and clergy abuse. In 2011, FFRF and the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science launched The Clergy Project, a confidential support network for clergy reconsidering or leaving their faith. FFRF later provided a hardship grant to former pastor Jerry DeWitt. In 2015, the organization announced Nonbelief Relief as a related humanitarian project. Nonbelief Relief later relinquished its federal tax-exempt status and was involved in litigation concerning its ability to challenge the church Form 990 exemption. FFRF remains active in U.S. church-state disputes, including challenges to official religious roles in public institutions, publicly financed religious education, and religious displays on government property. Its work is principally domestic, although its publications and online materials reach an international audience. In late 2024, an editorial controversy concerning an article on sex and gender led to resignations from the honorary board by Coyne, Pinker, and Dawkins. FFRF removed the disputed article, described its publication as an error, and dissolved the honorary board, leaving its constitutional separation-of-church-and-state mission intact.
- 2024
Honorary board dissolved
[1]Following a public editorial dispute, several honorary-board members resigned and FFRF dissolved the honorary board.
- 2015
Nonbelief Relief announced
[1]FFRF announced a related humanitarian organization serving nonreligious people and their supporters.
- 2011
The Clergy Project launched
[1]FFRF and the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science began a confidential online support project for clergy leaving religion.
- 2007
Supreme Court standing decision
[3]The Supreme Court ruled that federal taxpayers generally lacked standing to challenge certain executive-branch expenditures, limiting FFRF’s faith-based-initiative case.
- 2004
Faith-based health funding decision
[1]A Montana federal court ruled against direct and preferential state funding of religious parish-nursing programs.
- 1996
Good Friday holiday ruling
[1]A federal district court held that Wisconsin’s Good Friday legal holiday violated the First Amendment because its primary purpose was religious promotion.
- 1978
National incorporation
[1]FFRF was incorporated nationally on April 15.
- 1976
Foundation formed
[1]Anne Nicol Gaylor and Annie Laurie Gaylor formed the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
Products and positioning
A secular civil-liberties and advocacy organization using litigation, public education, media, and community support to defend nonreligious people and oppose governmental advancement of religion.
Publication
Freethought Today
FFRF’s newspaper covering secularism, church-state controversies, freethought history, legal developments, and organizational activities. It is published ten times a year and serves as both a member publication and an educational vehicle.
Broadcast and podcast-style media · 2006
Freethought Radio
A radio program produced by FFRF and hosted by Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. Its features have included commentary on church-state issues, a “Theocracy Alert,” and historical material about freethinkers.
Support program · 2011
The Clergy Project
A confidential online community created with the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science to support clergy who are questioning or leaving their religious faith. FFRF has also supported former clergy through hardship assistance.
Humanitarian initiative · 2015
Nonbelief Relief
A related initiative announced by FFRF to address human suffering and injustice affecting atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and supporters, including conditions resulting from disasters, human actions, or religious dogma.
Controversies
2024
Dispute over article on sex and gender
FFRF published and later removed an article arguing for a self-identification-based definition of womanhood. After a rebuttal was also removed, Jerry Coyne, Steven Pinker, and Richard Dawkins resigned from the honorary board, citing concerns about the organization’s editorial direction. FFRF said publication of the rebuttal had been an error and subsequently dissolved the honorary board.
Marketing campaigns
- 2011The Clergy Project
United States · Online
FFRF partnered with the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science to create confidential support for clergy transitioning away from religious belief.
Outcome. The project became a recognized support resource for clergy reconsidering or leaving ministry.
- 2006Freethought Radio
United States
FFRF developed a recurring broadcast platform for secular commentary, legal issues, and freethought history.
Outcome. The program expanded the foundation’s public education and media presence.
Brand decisions
2024
Dissolution of honorary boardOtherBackground
The organization faced an internal dispute over editorial treatment of competing views on sex and gender.
Action taken
After several honorary-board resignations, FFRF dissolved the honorary board.
Aftermath
The dispute became a prominent public controversy but did not alter FFRF’s stated church-state mission.
2020
Challenge to Boise State football chaplain roleStrategyBackground
FFRF argued that a publicly affiliated university should not give a football-team chaplain an official institutional role absent a constitutional basis.
Action taken
Boise State said the chaplain would no longer travel with the team and that references describing him as the team chaplain would be removed.
Aftermath
Students remained free to seek religious support privately, but the university ended the official role and related references.
2007
Indiana chaplaincy program ended after litigationOtherBackground
FFRF challenged an Indiana Family and Social Services Administration chaplaincy pilot program as an improper use of government resources for religious activity.
Action taken
Indiana ended the program after FFRF filed suit.
Aftermath
The program’s termination produced a practical resolution without the need for a reported final trial judgment.
2005
Settlement over Alaska Christian College grantOtherBackground
FFRF challenged federal education funding for a Bible college whose early curriculum was described as predominantly religious.
Action taken
The U.S. Department of Education agreed to suspend a $435,000 2005 grant and unspent portions of earlier grants.
Aftermath
The dispute ended through settlement rather than a reported final constitutional merits judgment.
Federal grant suspended. $435,000 grant awarded in 2005 → Grant suspended (2005)
Sources5 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/freedom-from-religion-foundation · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled