South Bend Police Department's Prayers Answered by FFRF and NIA
On October 11, 2023, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) sent a letter on behalf of Northern Indiana Atheists (NIA) to Chief Scott Ruszkowski of the South Bend Police Department making a formal complaint about their inappropriate religious promotion on social media.
On August 8, 2023, the Department posted a photo of officers in uniform praying with a South Bend citizen, captioned as follows: “As officers from our Strategic Focus Unit were shopping for Friday’s Back-to-School Cookout this afternoon, they were approached by a woman named Kathy. Kathy had just one request – to pray for our officers’ safety. Our officers then formed a circle and joined hands with Kathy as she prayed over them – right in the middle of Walmart. Thank you for offering this moment of peace for our officers today, Kathy.”
It is inappropriate and unconstitutional for a police department to promote religious activities on its official social media pages. The Supreme Court has long held that the Establishment Clause requires “government neutrality between religion and religion, and between religion and nonreligion.”
FFRF said in the letter, “As you are aware, citizens interact with and rely on law enforcement officers during some of the most urgent and vulnerable times of their lives. As Chief, you serve a diverse population that consists of minority religious citizens who may not believe in public prayer, as well as nonreligious citizens. We hope you will agree that the Department must be even-handed and avoid any appearance of bias toward some citizens or hostility toward others. Promoting prayer through the Department’s official social media suggests that it prefers religion over nonreligion. This needlessly alienates community members who are among the nearly one in three adult Americans (29 percent) who are religiously unaffiliated.”
By promoting prayer on its Facebook page, the Department conveys a message to all non-religious citizens in the South Bend area that they are disfavored members of the community. NIA has requested that the Department refrain from using its official social media channels to promote divisive religious activities and religion in general. NIA has also asked the Department to respect the diversity of its community and the constitutional principle of separation between state and church.
NIA is a nonprofit organization established to fight state/church violations on a local level and defend the rights of atheists and other marginalized communities across Northern Indiana.
Membership is open to atheists and allies who share our vision for a government that represents all people equally and our passion for serving our community. Your membership and donations amplify our voice and make our impact even stronger. Become a member today at NorthernIndianaAtheists.com.