Atheists Take Out Full-Page New York Times Ad to Tell Trump That The U.S. Is 'Not a Nation of Believers'
Atheist activists vented their fury on U.S. President Donald Trump by buying one whole page of the New York Times to release its ad with a barbed message.
The full page ad from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) published in the newspaper's May 25, 2017 edition shows a cartoon-like image of Trump with various faith leaders standing behind him on the day he signed his religious freedom executive order exactly three weeks from that day. The ad blares out the message: "Mr. President, we are NOT a 'nation of believers.'"
The text states that the U.S. is "one nation under a godless constitution" and that citizens are free to either believe or not believe.
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In a statement, the FFRF said the ad was partly in response to Trump's recent commencement speech at Liberty University during which he said that "America is a nation of true believers."
The atheist group slammed Trump for his "exclusionary remarks" that "denigrate the quarter of the U.S. population today that is nonreligious."
In the ad, it claims that "the United States is not a theocracy and there is no religious test for citizenship," adding that their group is standing up for the constitutional principle of separation between state and church.
The FFRF earlier filed a suit Thursday in federal court against Trump over his religious liberty executive order, the Daily Beast reported.
The group claimed that the executive order is unconstitutional because it makes government favor religion over nonreligion.
Although the executive order applies to all nonprofits, FFRF believes it will be selectively enforced so as to only benefit churches and religious organizations.
The final version of Trump's executive order addresses two issues, according to The Atlantic.
First, it instructs the Internal Revenue Service to "not take any adverse action against any individual, house of worship, or other religious organization" that endorse or oppose candidates from the pulpit, which is currently disallowed by what is known as the Johnson Amendment.
In announcing the order during a White House ceremony on May 4, Trump declared, "We are giving churches their voices back."
Second, the order instructs the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to consider amending regulations in the Affordable Care Act that require most employers to cover contraception in employee insurance plans.
The order directs the government "to vigorously enforce Federal law's robust protections for religious freedom."
