The Metroplex Atheists group hung "In No God We Trust" banners on Fort Worth, Texas, lampposts in July 2019. Photo via Atheists.org (RNS) — Metroplex Atheists, a Texas-based nonprofit advocating for the separation of church and state, filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Fort Worth, Texas, after being denied the right to hang banners promoting an event against Christian nationalism. The group argues the rejection was discrimination and a violation of free speech. In May, the city manager’s office denied Metroplex Atheists’ application to display advertisements on the city’s lampposts from Aug. 8-22. Assistant City Manager William Johnson declared the event noncompliant with the city’s public banner policy because it was not of a “magnitude to qualify.” Since 1998, the city has allocated free advertisement spots to nonprofits to promote their organization or any events as long as they are open to the public, of common interest to the general community and held in Fort Worth. Planned for Aug. 26 at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the Metroplex Atheist event is intended to highlight what the group sees as the dangers of Christian nationalism and to argue that prayer should be kept out of public schools. Guests […]
