Atheist activists say the weekly Bible study at the USA White House is “disturbing,” “scary” and maybe even “illegal”.
This week on Thursday, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) sued one of the State officials for reportedly lagging their plea for records relating to the religious meeting.
According to Faith Wire, the Freedom From Religion Foundation teamed up with government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), to push back against what the groups say is a systematic practice of denying fee wavers for Freedom of Information Act requests.
“If this bible study is legal and aboveboard, as the Trump administration and Fox News have argued, what are they trying to hide by torpedoing the FOIA process?” asked FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor in a statement seen by UG Christian News.
The secular group claims that the accused, Mr Ben Carson, Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development has a pattern and practice of denying fee waivers on Freedom of Information Act requests “where disclosure of the requested documents is likely to cast the agency or HUD Secretary Ben Carson in a negative light.”
FFRF and CREW are hoping the lawsuit grants them these fee waivers, so that they can review the aforementioned documents and information, Faith Wire reports.
Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) broke the news last year that Weekly Bible study classes are held at the White House, and some Trump administration officials — including Vice President Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions — join when they are in town.
CBN reported that President Trump is invited and receives a copy of each week’s Bible lesson. The classes are led by Ralph Drollinger, founder of D.C.-based Capitol Ministries, “which aims to spread the Gospel at the seats of power.”
FFRF has taken interest in the case due to the fact that Ralph Drollinger has reportedly made “controversial” past statements about Catholicism, women legislatures – also calling homosexuality an ‘abomination among others.
As Faithwire reported, the weekly Bible study in question has been “making history.”
Drollinger told CBN News in an interview last year that participants — some of the most powerful people in government — are “godly individuals that God has risen to a position of prominence in our culture.”
The Bible study is a rarity in government, and, according to Drollinger, a similar study among cabinet members potentially hasn’t happened in over a century.
By Paul W Dennis.
