Other Court Successes

- Ended Religious Cancellations by Post Office
- Ended Church Entanglement with Public University
- Alabama Chapter Won Two Cases
- Mayor Forced to Disclaim "Day of Prayer"

Ended Religious Cancellations by Post Office

Anne Gaylor in front of the Madison post office

The Foundation's very first lawsuit, challenging the use of a religious cancellation by the Post Office in Madison, Wisconsin, successfully ended the violation in November 1977. The federal lawsuit set national precedent.

Ended Church Entanglement with Public University

Annie Laurie Gaylor, one of the plaintiffs

In September 1984, the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a federal lawsuit seeking removal of a religious question from mandatory registration forms at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The names and addresses of students who indicated their religious preferences were given to area churches, campus ministries and religious officials for recruitment. The University settled the case by adding the Freedom From Religion Foundation name to the list, then eventually discontinued the church check-off list.

Alabama Chapter Won Two Cases

Roger Cleveland and the Alabama Freethought Association, a Foundation chapter, sued to remove crosses and preference for Christian use at Alabama state parks in 1992. In 1993, the Alabama State Parks agreed to take down crosses, to stop using the term "chapel" on buildings and state maps, and to give groups "first come-first serve" rights to use public facilities, instead of reserving buildings for religious groups every Sunday morning.

In 1995, the Alabama chapter and members were plaintiffs in the original ACLU case against Judge Roy Moore, filed when he was a county judge inflicting prayers on juries and erecting a Ten Commandments plaque in his courtroom. The plaintiffs won at the federal level in November 1996, with Moore ordered to stop the prayers. The case was thrown out on a technicality in 1998, after interference by the governor complicated the lawsuit.


Pat and Roger Cleveland, directors of Alabama Freethought Association		Judge Roy S. Moore's office

Mayor Forced to Disclaim "Day of Prayer"

Bob Tiernan
Photo by Brent Nicastro

In November 1993, the Freedom From Religion Foundation Denver chapter, with the national organization, successfully went to court when the Denver mayor's office proclaimed a "Day of Prayer." The mayor was ordered to disclaim it.

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