Theocracy Watch: Week of October 18, 2026

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This week: FFRF sues for the records behind the government’s America 250 prayer events, an Arkansas kindergarten trip to a Christian day camp gets fixed, and three updates on the Theocracy Watch Map.

What did taxpayers pay for at “Rededicate 250”?

On October 13, FFRF sued the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service in federal court in Washington, D.C., under the Freedom of Information Act. The agencies never produced records FFRF requested months ago about federal involvement in religious programming tied to the administration’s “Freedom 250” and “America 250” initiatives, which grew out of Executive Order 14189, signed shortly after Trump took office in 2025. One of those events, “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving,” was an all-day Christian prayer rally on the National Mall on May 17, 2026.

Read more at FFRF

A kindergarten field trip to a Christian day camp

Lakeside Primary School in Hot Springs, Arkansas, planned an Oct. 1 kindergarten field trip to Family Farm Christian Day Camp. A parent who had visited the camp and seen religious activity there objected to an official public school trip to a camp with a pervasively sectarian mission, and the principal confirmed that earlier school visits had included prayer. After FFRF stepped in, the parent no longer had to choose between protecting their 5-year-old from school-sponsored religion and letting the child go on the trip with classmates.

Read more at FFRF

This week on the map

Louisiana: The Ten Commandments classroom law is in force after the full Fifth Circuit lifted the injunction in February, and displays went up this school year. Louisiana’s response to the Supreme Court petition (No. 25-1360) is due October 19, so the Court has not acted yet. Docket

Kansas: Closing arguments in the challenge to SB 244, which restricts restrooms in government buildings and invalidates updated driver’s licenses, wrapped up October 7. A ruling on the injunction is expected in the coming weeks. Lawrence Journal-World

Arkansas: Act 372, which makes “furnishing a harmful item to a minor” a crime librarians can be charged with, is enforceable after the Eighth Circuit reversed the injunction in July. The challengers have asked for a rehearing, and the court has asked both sides for briefs.

See every state on the Theocracy Watch Map

Good news

FFRF and the Secular Student Alliance announced this year’s secular student activism awards: three $1,000 student activist awards, two $1,000 Cliff Richards Memorial Student Scholarships for freethinking students going to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and a $1,000 Strong Backbone award. Read more at FFRF

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How this is made: Theocracy Watch uses AI to help gather, sort, and draft stories from public news reports. Chris reviews every issue before it goes out, and every story links to its original source.