Chapter updates (October 2026)
Salt Lake Chapter of FFRF
The Salt Lake City chapter hosted its second annual lecture on July 29 in celebration of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence. The theme was Thomas Paine. Salt Lake City chapter members enjoyed an in-depth discussion led by Vikki Deakin, a professor of history at Weber State University who is the author of a book on Thomas Paine. Deakin spoke about Paine’s radical thinking and how his beliefs strongly influenced his advocacy for separation of church and state. We were joined by several members of Salt Lake Oasis, who co-sponsored the event.
Upstate New York Freethinkers
The Upstate New York Freethinkers chapter works closely with American Humanist Association (AHA) chapters and the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) to mentor freethinking students across Upstate New York — supporting groups at RIT, Onondaga Community College and a new SSA chapter at SUNY Cobleskill.
Building vibrant secular student communities begins with personal connections, starting at informal campus game nights. From that foundation, the Secular Student Alliance at Rochester Institute of Technology, led by President AJ Keeney, is driving civic engagement. The group is collaborating on nonpartisan voter registration tabling with RIT’s ROAR the Vote.
Upstate New York Freethinkers counts on generous donations to provide ongoing FFRF student gift memberships to regional SSA presidents, like AJ, through college and post-graduation, building a long-term FFRF leadership pipeline. Contact info@unyft.org or 585-454-9921.
FFRF-East Tennessee
With Tennessee being a test state for implementation of Project 2025, the East Tennessee Chapter of FFRF has been busy fielding complaints about state/church separation, especially in the local school systems. Blount County is one of the school districts at the forefront of statewide efforts to post the Ten Commandments in all schools. Chapter President Aleta Ledendecker has spoken out at Blount County Board of Education meetings against posting the commandments, and against offering a Christian prayer at the beginning of those meetings. Ledendecker was also interviewed by local TV station WVLT regarding her efforts to stop approval of the new policy to post the Ten Commandments.
The chapter also provided a $1,000 scholarship to a Tennessee student through the Secular Student Alliance program.
On Oct. 11, FFRF-East Tennessee will be hosting Bradley Onishi for his book tour of “American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords are Turning America into a Monarchy.” For more information, visit ffrf-etc.org.
Ozarks Chapter of FFRF
The Ozarks chapter had an overflow crowd show up to see “The Friendly Atheist” Hemant Mehta, the second guest in our 2026 Secular Speaker Series. More than 75 people from Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas joined us to hear Hemant speak about the role Christian women play in perpetuating Christian nationalist ideology.
Sam McGuire of American Atheists spoke on Sept. 26, and Fish Stark of the American Humanist Association will speak Oct. 22 to wrap up our 2026 series.
Visit ozarksFFRF.org for more information and tickets. We hope to see you there!
FFRF Pikes Peak Region
The FFRF Pikes Peak Region chapter engaged with thousands of visitors who attended three separate regional Pride events in Woodland Park, Colorado Springs and Pueblo in June and August. The chapter staffed booths at each event to show support for the LGBTQ+ community and to continue secular outreach and visibility in the region.
