Freedom from Religion Foundation claims the Bibles located at the Thunderbird Executive Inn at Arizona State University violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Casey Mattox of Alliance Defending Freedom points out that the Gideons placed those Bibles there - not the university - and no one has ever claimed that government officials did so.
"So the idea that this is an endorsement of religion for the [school] to simply allow the Gideons to place materials, at their own cost in these guest rooms, is ridiculous," he complains.
Yet the university caved in, and it's not the first. Christiannews.net reports FFRF has also coerced Iowa State, Pennsylvania State, Portland State, and Northern Illinois and Wisconsin universities to remove Bibles from their guest rooms.
FFRF, based in Wisconsin, is known for its legal tactic of claiming public officials are violating the Constitution then threatening a costly lawsuit.
Many of them back down, giving the atheist group an easy win, with just a threatening letter, without ever stepping into a court room to defend its legal claims.
In May, an Ohio school board president declared the school was in "a war we can't win," when FFRF told East Liverpool High School to remove Mozart's "Requiem Mass" and Handel's "Messiah" from graduation ceremonies.
Recent stories about FFRF at ONN recount its lawsuit against Clemson University and its Christian coaches; its attempt to ban basketball chaplains at several universities; and its complaint over an elective Bible course in an Oklahoma public school district, among others.
"When people stand up to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, they win," says the ADF attorney, who is familiar with FFRF and its threats.
A record number of Americans are identifying as homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual, at least according to a new poll, and a medical doctor says the jump is evidence that our rainbow flag-waving society is influencing younger generations.
News stories each weekday from reporters you can trust without the liberal bias found in much of "mainstream" media.
News stories each weekday from reporters you can trust without the liberal bias found in much of "mainstream" media.
An atheist group has intimidated another public university into removing Bibles from the school's hotel rooms.
An education analyst maintains that she is not surprised that the majority of high school graduates taking the American College Testing (ACT) college readiness test failed to hit the benchmark in the core subjects tested.