Portrait of Annie Laurie Gaylor
Barrylb, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Recent

Annie Laurie Gaylor

b. 1955
Atheist

Annie Laurie Gaylor is a third-generation freethinker raised without religion, with no faith to lose. She met religion first as "under God" in a fifth-grade pledge, and then as the force her mother blamed for women's oppression. From 1976, when at twenty she co-founded the Freedom From Religion Foundation, she expressed her unbelief as a single demand: keep religion out of government. She pressed it through pickets, books and lawsuits the courts mostly turned away on standing, and after 2004, as co-president, through billboards and bus signs. The method changed; the conviction, as far as the record shows, did not.

The belief timeline

1955Inheritance (no faith to lose)1955Notice (first crack, inferred)c. 1965–66Declaration1976 (public action 1977)Revision (inferred; no change of belief documented)2004–2009
  1. Inheritance (no faith to lose) (1955) — Born into a third-generation freethinking family; raised "without religion or even much talk about it at home," though she attended church with her paternal grandparents [6][7]
  2. Notice (first crack, inferred) (c. 1965–66) — The fifth-grade Pledge episode: she brings home the words "under God" and her mother is shocked; the date is computed from the grade, and the moment is the child's first sight of religion inside a public ritual, not a doubt about God [8]
  3. Declaration (1976 (public action 1977)) — At 20 she co-founds a foundation to separate church and state; her first documented public protest is the May 1977 Simonson picket (a feminist action; the religious motive for FFRF is stated in FFRF's account of the 1976 hearings) [15][16][12]
  4. Revision (inferred; no change of belief documented) (2004–2009) — Becomes co-president (2004); FFRF moves from lawsuits and banners to billboards and bus signs saying there is no God (2007–09); the court losses on standing (1988, 2011, 2014) and the 2019 loss on the merits change the method, not the belief [37][39][29][34][35]
Notes to the timeline (11)
  1. [6] She is "a third-generation freethinker on her mother's side," grew up "without religion or even much talk about it at home, though she attended church with her paternal grandparents." FFRF uses "third-generation freethinker" of her in its own biographies. — Ann Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor are happily God-free," Isthmus (The Daily Page), cover story, 18 December 2009. Read through the Internet Archive capture of 7 Nov 2013:, [E2; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted" (page dated 22 May 2012, updated since), capture of 18 Aug 2026, [F2.
  2. [7] Her mother believed in "providing a safe, stimulating environment for her children but not indoctrinating them"; Anne said that when everyone around you is free of religion or indifferent, "to be irreligious seems quite normal." — Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E4] [E5.
  3. [8] In fifth grade she came home and proudly recited the Pledge of Allegiance with "under God"; her mother was shocked, not having known the pledge "had been interfered with." The year is c. 1965–66 by arithmetic only (she turned 10 in November 1965). — Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E3. An anecdote in the biography, not a documented event.
  4. [15] FFRF was founded in 1976 by Anne Gaylor with Annie Laurie and "a Milwaukee gentleman"; the court finding of 2010 also says FFRF "is an organization founded in 1976 in Madison." — FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor," Freethought of the Day, "Compiled by Annie Laurie Gaylor," capture of 5 Oct 2015, [F3; Freedom From Religion Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President" staff biography (page dated 12 July 2024), Internet Archive capture of 3 Nov 2025, [F1; Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E1; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Obama, 705 F. Supp. 2d 1039 (W.D. Wis. 2010) (Crabb, J.), Facts A.
  5. [16] The Gaylors founded FFRF out of the reproductive-rights movement after seeing legislative hearings "packed with Catholic nuns, priests and schoolchildren," concluding religion was the root of women's inequality. — Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E1; FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", [F3] (Anne's wording).
  6. [12] She "called the first picket" against Dane County Judge Archie Simonson over his 1977 sentencing remarks, in a nun's habit; Simonson sentenced on 25 May 1977 and was recalled on 7 September 1977. — Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1] (picket, costume); Wikipedia, "Archie Simonson," revision 1378857129 of 6 Oct 2026, (25 May and 7 Sept 1977). Reported at second hand; the original has not been seen.
  7. [37] She has been FFRF co-president with Dan Barker since November 2004 (they "share a seat and a vote" on the board); her title was still co-president in captures of November 2025 and August 2026. — Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2; Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…".
  8. [39] FFRF bought its first billboard in Madison in 2007 ("Imagine No Religion"), its first exterior bus sign ("Sleep in on Sundays") in 2009, and Seattle bus ads ("Yes Virginia...there is no God"); she called the signs "gentle snowball lobs, not a war on Christmas." — Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E13] [E11.
  9. [29] In the La Crosse Ten Commandments suit (filed 1985) she was a plaintiff as a Madison resident and editor of the foundation's paper; Judge Crabb dismissed on 22 June 1987 for lack of standing, finding "no allegation... and no evidence adduced at trial, of any injury suffered by" her; the Seventh Circuit affirmed on 10 May 1988. FFRF says the challenge was turned "into a firm victory in 2004." — Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Zielke, 663 F. Supp. 606 (W.D. Wis. 1987) (Crabb, J.), Facts and Opinion section 1; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Zielke, 845 F.2d 1463 (7th Cir. 1988), final paragraph; FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", [F3] (2004).
  10. [34] In the National Day of Prayer case (docket 08-cv-588) the plaintiffs were FFRF, Anne Nicol Gaylor, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, Paul Gaylor, Phyllis Rose and Jill Dean; Judge Crabb granted summary judgment on 15 April 2010; the Seventh Circuit on 14 April 2011 held the plaintiffs lacked standing. — Obama10, caption and Order; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Obama, 641 F.3d 803 (7th Cir. 2011) (Easterbrook, C.J.), opening and standing paragraphs; Freethought Today vol. 28 no. 5 (June/July 2011), "In Memoriam: Paul J. Gaylor," capture of 6 Apr 2022.
  11. [35] FFRF and its co-presidents Gaylor and Barker challenged the ministers' housing exemption (26 U.S.C. section 107(2)); Judge Crabb ruled for them on 22 Nov 2013; the Seventh Circuit vacated on 13 Nov 2014 because they had never claimed it; after filing refund claims they sued again and on 15 March 2019 the Seventh Circuit held section 107(2) constitutional and reversed. — Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Lew, 983 F. Supp. 2d 1051 (W.D. Wis. 2013) (Crabb, J.), opening; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Lew, 773 F.3d 815 (7th Cir. 2014), opening and section III; Gaylor v. Mnuchin, 919 F.3d 420 (7th Cir. 2019) (Brennan, J.), Part V and opening.

The Third Generation

On 22 June 1987 a federal judge in Madison, Wisconsin, dismissed a lawsuit against a monument of the Ten Commandments that stood in a public park in La Crosse. One of the plaintiffs was a young woman who edited a small freethought newspaper. Judge Barbara Crabb wrote:

since Annie Laurie Gaylor has shown no injury of any kind, I find that she is without standing to bring this lawsuit12

It was the first time her name appeared in a court's opinion, and it would not be the last. Over the next thirty years she would be a plaintiff or an organiser in suits over Good Friday, the national motto, the National Day of Prayer and the tax privileges of clergy, winning some and losing more, and often losing on the same point: that an unbeliever offended by public religion had not been harmed in the way the law requires. This chapter asks what it means to be an unbeliever who never had a faith to lose, and how such a life finds its expression.

Annie Laurie Gaylor at the Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne, 2012.
Annie Laurie Gaylor at the Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne, 2012.Barrylb, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0

A family without religion

According to Wikipedia she was born on 2 November 1955; she is a twin, and her parents, Anne and Paul Gaylor, had four children.34 The family had moved to Madison in 1952.5 Her mother, born on a farm near Tomah in 1926, was a freethinker on her father's side.67 Her father had been raised in a segregated Church of Christ in Springfield, Missouri, and was immersed at twelve; but religion, he always said, "never took" with him.85

So she grew up, as a Madison newspaper put it in 2009, without religion or even much talk about it at home, although she sometimes went to church with her father's parents.9 Her mother explained, in the same article, that she had wanted a safe and stimulating home for her children without indoctrinating them, and that when everyone around you is free of religion or indifferent to it, being irreligious seems quite normal.1011 Her foundation calls her a third-generation freethinker.9 This is the first mark on her timeline, and it is not a faith: it is an inheritance.

Downtown Tomah, Wisconsin, near the farm where her mother was born in 1926.
Downtown Tomah, Wisconsin, near the farm where her mother was born in 1926.Iulus Ascanius at English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

"Under God"

The first time religion stood in her way, she remembered, was in the fifth grade, about 1965 or 1966. She came home proud to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, with its words "under God." Her mother was shocked; she had not known the pledge had been changed, and the daughter still remembered the look on her face.1213 It was not a doubt about God, since there was none to doubt. It was a child's first sight of religion inside a public ritual, and the mark on her timeline that follows from it is an inferred one.

The root cause

She was on her first feminist picket line at fourteen.14 Her mother had written, in 1967, what her foundation calls the first editorial in the state calling for legal abortion, and from 1970 she ran an abortion referral service. Working for women's rights, her mother concluded that none of the groups was dealing with the root cause of women's oppression, which was religion.1516 The Gaylors had watched legislative hearings on reproductive rights packed, as the 2009 article put it, with Catholic nuns, priests and schoolchildren.17

In 1976, by her foundation's account, Anne Gaylor founded the Freedom From Religion Foundation with her twenty-year-old daughter and a man from Milwaukee; a federal court later described it as founded in 1976 in Madison.18 Accounts differ on whether she was already a student; the newspaper says she was a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin.19 The foundation went national in 1978.20 Wikipedia says it split from Madalyn Murray O'Hair's American Atheists that year, but the source it cites was not read for this chapter.21

Her first documented public protest came in May 1977. Over a Dane County judge's remarks at a sentencing, she called the first picket against him, Judge Archie Simonson, dressed in a nun's habit. He was recalled that September.22 On her timeline, this is the declaration: a foundation to separate church and state, and a protest that joined her feminism to her unbelief.

The Dane County Courthouse in Madison, in a modern photograph.
The Dane County Courthouse in Madison, in a modern photograph.Corey Coyle, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

At the university she was editorial-page editor of the student paper, the Daily Cardinal, in 1978, and a petition of hers ended prayers at the commencement ceremony before she graduated, in journalism, in 1980.2324

Bascom Hall at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she studied journalism.
Bascom Hall at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she studied journalism.Michael Barera, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Books and a newspaper

In the early 1980s she founded and edited a feminist monthly in Madison, The Feminist Connection.25 Her foundation published her Woe to the Women: The Bible Tells Me So, which it dates to 1981, though no copy of that year was seen for this chapter, and Betrayal of Trust: Clergy Abuse of Children in 1988.2627 In 1997 she edited Women Without Superstition: "No Gods—No Masters," an anthology of women freethinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.28 She joined the foundation's staff in 1985 and edited its newspaper, Freethought Today, for about a quarter of a century, until 2009; accounts differ on the year she began.293031

In 1984 she met Dan Barker when both appeared on Oprah Winfrey's Chicago morning show; they married in 1987, and he joined the foundation's staff.32 In 2009 she described herself as the practical one of the two and Barker as the philosopher.33

Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker at the Reason Rally in Washington, 2012.
Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker at the Reason Rally in Washington, 2012.S Pakhrin from DC, USA, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

In the courts

The La Crosse case was the first. Judge Crabb found no evidence of any injury to her, and the Court of Appeals agreed in May 1988; her foundation says it later turned the fight into a victory, in 2004.2

In December 1993, and again from 30 November 1995, the foundation hung a banner in the rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol. It read:

State/Church — Keep Them Separate3435

The state replaced its permit with a smaller one, and in September 1996 the court ruled for the state.35 That year the Gaylors lost a challenge to "In God We Trust" on the currency; the Tenth Circuit held that the motto "symbolizes the historical role of religion in our society."3637 They won another. In February 1996 Chief Judge Shabaz declared Wisconsin's Good Friday holiday unconstitutional, writing that the Establishment Clause meant "at the very least that government may not demonstrate a preference for one particular sect or creed."3839

The rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol, where the foundation's banner hung in 1993 and 1995.
The rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol, where the foundation's banner hung in 1993 and 1995.Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0

In 2007 the foundation lost before the Supreme Court. In Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, a plurality of the justices held that the taxpayers bringing the foundation's challenge lacked standing; the opinions named the foundation and three of its members, not the Gaylors. Justice Alito wrote:

it is a complete fiction to argue that an unconstitutional federal expenditure causes an individual federal taxpayer any measurable economic harm4041

The first page of the syllabus of Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, 551 U.S. 587 (2007).
The first page of the syllabus of Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, 551 U.S. 587 (2007).United States Reports, vol. 551, Library of Congress (tile.loc.gov), federal court record

Co-president

In November 2004 her mother stepped down, and Gaylor and Barker became co-presidents, sharing one seat and one vote on the board.4243 With them the foundation changed its method. In 2007 it bought its first billboard in Madison, "Imagine No Religion," in 2009 its first bus sign, "Sleep in on Sundays," and bus advertisements in Seattle.44 She explained why: wherever she went there were crosses and steeples, and believers were preached at around the clock on radio and television; now, for the first time, unbelievers could market their ideas too. The signs, she said, were gentle snowball lobs, not a war on Christmas.454644 The foundation's solstice sign in the Capitol, in her mother's words, said that there are no gods, no heaven or hell, only the natural world.4748

Not every reader thought the lobs gentle. When the foundation placed an advertisement of anti-religious quotations in a Unitarian Universalist magazine, the magazine apologised, and a Unitarian official, Scott Ulrich, who agreed with the foundation about church and state, said the advertisement had characterised "religion" and "faith" so broadly that it was bound to sound like an attack.4950 That year, 2009, she had received four death threats, the worst she remembered.51

The foundation's solstice sign in the Wisconsin State Capitol, December 2008.
The foundation's solstice sign in the Wisconsin State Capitol, December 2008.Freedom From Religion Foundation, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Freethought Hall in Madison, the foundation's headquarters, in a modern photograph.
Freethought Hall in Madison, the foundation's headquarters, in a modern photograph.Michael Barera, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Asked in 2009 why she did not believe, she gave a simple answer: if something is not true, you should not believe it. The theological questions she left to Barker.5253 Unbelievers, she said, were barely tolerated in America; even to say you were an atheist, in a conversation about religion, was thought aggressive.54

The lawsuits went on. In April 2010 Judge Crabb ruled for the foundation, Anne and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Barker and others, holding that the statute creating the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional; a year later the Court of Appeals held that none of them had standing. Chief Judge Easterbrook wrote:

It takes an invasion of one's own rights to create standing.5556

Then Gaylor and Barker challenged the tax-free housing allowance that ministers of religion may receive. The foundation paid them part of their own salaries as a housing allowance, and, unlike clergy, they could not exclude it from tax.5758 Judge Crabb ruled for them in 2013, observing that "under no remotely plausible interpretation" could they qualify as "ministers of the gospel."5958 In the same opinion she noted that the foundation was "open to non-atheists" and so was not an atheist organisation that "practiced" atheism.60 The Court of Appeals vacated the ruling in 2014 because they had never claimed the allowance; they claimed it, were refused, sued again, and in March 2019 lost on the merits:

FFRF claims § 107(2) renders unto God that which is Caesar's. But this tax provision falls into the play between the joints of the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause6158

The Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison.
The Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison.Wikideas1, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0

In 2010 the American Humanist Association named her a Humanist Heroine.62 Her mother died in 2015.6 She was still co-president of the foundation in 2026.43

Annie Laurie Gaylor in 2012.
Annie Laurie Gaylor in 2012.Vera de Kok, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Did her unbelief change shape?

No document shows her belief changing; there was never a faith to lose and no record of one gained. What changed was the method. The young feminist who picketed in a nun's habit and the editor who sued in La Crosse became, after 2004, the co-president of an organisation that bought billboards and bus signs. The courts turned her away again and again on standing, and that changed her means, not her conviction. Her unbelief, inherited from her mother's family and her father's, was expressed from the start as a single demand, that government keep out of religion and religion out of government, and the shortest account of it is her own: if something is not true, you should not believe it.

Ernestine Rose, a rabbi's daughter who lectured for women's rights and, in 1861, in defence of atheism, has her own chapter in this book.

Footnotes

  1. Judge Barbara B. Crabb: Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Zielke, 663 F. Supp. 606 (W.D. Wis. 1987) (Crabb, J.), Opinion, section 1. ↩

  2. Zielke87, Facts and Opinion section 1; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Zielke, 845 F.2d 1463 (7th Cir. 1988), final paragraph; FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor," Freethought of the Day, "Compiled by Annie Laurie Gaylor," capture of 5 Oct 2015, [F3] (2004). ↩ ↩2

  3. Wikipedia, "Annie Laurie Gaylor," revision 1372346471 of 31 Aug 2026. A map to sources only, (infobox); not in FFRF-Bio or any other source read. Tier 4 is the only source for this, as for the other details in this chapter cited to that source alone. ↩

  4. Freethought Today vol. 28 no. 5 (June/July 2011), "In Memoriam: Paul J. Gaylor," capture of 6 Apr 2022, (survivors paragraph). ↩

  5. FFRF-Paul. ↩ ↩2

  6. FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", (birth; "D. 2015"); Wikipedia, "Anne Nicol Gaylor," revision 1372346464 of 31 Aug 2026, (25 Nov, 14 June 2015, Fitchburg, citing FFRF and NYT). Reported at second hand; the original has not been seen. ↩ ↩2

  7. FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", [F3. ↩

  8. Paul Gaylor (father), as reported by FFRF: FFRF-Paul, [F4. ↩

  9. Ann Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor are happily God-free," Isthmus (The Daily Page), cover story, 18 December 2009. Read through the Internet Archive capture of 7 Nov 2013:, [E2; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted" (page dated 22 May 2012, updated since), capture of 18 Aug 2026, [F2. ↩ ↩2

  10. Anne Nicol Gaylor (mother): Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E5. ↩

  11. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E4] [E5. ↩

  12. Annie Laurie Gaylor, of her mother: Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E3. ↩

  13. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E3. An anecdote in the biography, not a documented event. ↩

  14. Freedom From Religion Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President" staff biography (page dated 12 July 2024), Internet Archive capture of 3 Nov 2025, [F1. ↩

  15. Anne Nicol Gaylor (as compiled by Annie Laurie Gaylor): FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", 25 Nov entry, capture 5 Oct 2015 [F3. ↩

  16. FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", [F3; Wikipedia, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,". ↩

  17. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E1; FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", [F3] (Anne's wording). ↩

  18. FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", [F3; Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1; Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E1; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Obama, 705 F. Supp. 2d 1039 (W.D. Wis. 2010) (Crabb, J.), Facts A. ↩

  19. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E6; Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1. Accounts differ; see the disputed points. ↩

  20. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2; FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", [F3; Wikipedia, "Freedom from Religion Foundation," revision 1371810897 of 28 Aug 2026, (date of 15 April). ↩

  21. Wikipedia, "Annie Laurie Gaylor,"; Wikipedia, "Freedom from Religion Foundation,", (cites NYT 17 May 1978, not read). Not verified. ↩

  22. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1] (picket, costume); Wikipedia, "Archie Simonson," revision 1378857129 of 6 Oct 2026, (25 May and 7 Sept 1977). ↩

  23. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2; Wikipedia, "Annie Laurie Gaylor,". ↩

  24. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E6; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2. ↩

  25. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2; FFRF-Paul, [F4. ↩

  26. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2; Gaylor, Woe to the Women--the Bible Tells Me So: The Bible, Female Sexuality & the Law (FFRF, 2004 edition). Internet Archive record woetowomenbiblef00anni (282 page images; lending only). Catalogue record only; the book itself is unread. ↩

  27. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1; Wikipedia, "Annie Laurie Gaylor,". ↩

  28. Annie Laurie Gaylor, ed., Women Without Superstition: "No Gods--No Masters": The Collected Writings of Women Freethinkers of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Madison: Freedom From Religion Foundation, 1997). Internet Archive record womenwithoutsupe00gayl (706 page images; lending only, text not obtainable). Catalogue record only; the book itself is unread, (catalogue); Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1] ("an anthology"). ↩

  29. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2; Zielke87, Facts; Gaylor v. Thompson, 939 F. Supp. 1363 (W.D. Wis. 1996) (Crabb, J.), Undisputed Facts. ↩

  30. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2. ↩

  31. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1. ↩

  32. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E7; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2; Wikipedia, "Annie Laurie Gaylor,". ↩

  33. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", body text. ↩

  34. FFRF banner text: Banner96, Undisputed Facts. ↩

  35. Banner96, Undisputed Facts and opening paragraphs. ↩ ↩2

  36. Judge Tacha, Tenth Circuit, Gaylor v. United States (23 January 1996); PD: Gaylor v. United States, 74 F.3d 214 (10th Cir. 1996) (Tacha, J.), second paragraph of analysis. ↩

  37. Motto96, opening paragraphs. ↩

  38. Chief Judge Shabaz: Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Thompson, 920 F. Supp. 969 (W.D. Wis. 1996) (Shabaz, C.J.), Memorandum. ↩

  39. GoodFri96, Background and Order. ↩

  40. Justice Alito for a plurality of the Supreme Court, Hein v. FFRF (25 June 2007); PD: Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., 551 U.S. 587 (2007), opinion of Alito, J., Souter, J., dissenting, Scalia, J., concurring (slip opinions, 25 June 2007), Alito opinion, opening summary. ↩

  41. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Chao, 433 F.3d 989 (7th Cir. 2006); Hein07, (Alito, opening and Part I B; Souter dissent). ↩

  42. FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2; FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", [F3; Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", (stepped down 2004); Wikipedia, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", (says retirement 2005). ↩

  43. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted", [F2; Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…". ↩ ↩2

  44. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E13] [E11. ↩ ↩2

  45. Annie Laurie Gaylor: Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E9. ↩

  46. Annie Laurie Gaylor: Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E11. ↩

  47. Anne Nicol Gaylor: FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", [F3. ↩

  48. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", body text; FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor,", [F3. ↩

  49. Scott Ulrich, Unitarian Universalist official, on FFRF's 2009 advertisement in the UU magazine; a religious believer who agreed with FFRF on church-state separation: Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E12] (COPYRIGHT). ↩

  50. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E12] and body text. ↩

  51. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", body text. ↩

  52. Annie Laurie Gaylor: Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", Dec 2009 [E8. ↩

  53. Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E8. ↩

  54. Annie Laurie Gaylor: Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor…", [E10. ↩

  55. Chief Judge Easterbrook, Seventh Circuit, vacating the National Day of Prayer ruling (14 April 2011); PD: Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Obama, 641 F.3d 803 (7th Cir. 2011) (Easterbrook, C.J.), standing section. ↩

  56. Obama10, caption and Order; Obama11, opening and standing paragraphs; FFRF-Paul. ↩

  57. Seventh Circuit (2014), of Gaylor and Barker: Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Lew, 773 F.3d 815 (7th Cir. 2014), Background. ↩

  58. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Lew, 983 F. Supp. 2d 1051 (W.D. Wis. 2013) (Crabb, J.), opening; Lew14, opening and section III; Gaylor v. Mnuchin, 919 F.3d 420 (7th Cir. 2019) (Brennan, J.), Part V and opening. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  59. Judge Barbara B. Crabb: Lew13, standing discussion. ↩

  60. Lew13, Part on standing, "minister" discussion. ↩

  61. Judge Brennan, Seventh Circuit, Gaylor v. Mnuchin (15 March 2019); PD: Mnuchin19, Part V. ↩

  62. Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President", [F1] (photo caption); Wikipedia, "Annie Laurie Gaylor,". ↩

Sources cited in the notes: Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Zielke, 663 F. Supp. 606 (W.D. Wis. 1987) (Crabb, J.).; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Zielke, 845 F.2d 1463 (7th Cir. 1988).; FFRF, "Anne Nicol Gaylor," Freethought of the Day, "Compiled by Annie Laurie Gaylor," capture of 5 Oct 2015.; Wikipedia, "Annie Laurie Gaylor," revision 1372346471 of 31 Aug 2026. A map to sources only.; Freethought Today vol. 28 no. 5 (June/July 2011), "In Memoriam: Paul J. Gaylor," capture of 6 Apr 2022.; Wikipedia, "Anne Nicol Gaylor," revision 1372346464 of 31 Aug 2026.; Ann Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor are happily God-free," Isthmus (The Daily Page), cover story, 18 December 2009. Read through the Internet Archive capture of 7 Nov 2013:.; FFRF, "Getting Acquainted" (page dated 22 May 2012, updated since), capture of 18 Aug 2026.; Freedom From Religion Foundation, "Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-President" staff biography (page dated 12 July 2024), Internet Archive capture of 3 Nov 2025.; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Obama, 705 F. Supp. 2d 1039 (W.D. Wis. 2010) (Crabb, J.).; Wikipedia, "Freedom from Religion Foundation," revision 1371810897 of 28 Aug 2026.; Wikipedia, "Archie Simonson," revision 1378857129 of 6 Oct 2026.; Gaylor, Woe to the Women--the Bible Tells Me So: The Bible, Female Sexuality & the Law (FFRF, 2004 edition). Internet Archive record woetowomenbiblef00anni (282 page images; lending only). Catalogue record only; the book itself is unread.; Annie Laurie Gaylor, ed., Women Without Superstition: "No Gods--No Masters": The Collected Writings of Women Freethinkers of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Madison: Freedom From Religion Foundation, 1997). Internet Archive record womenwithoutsupe00gayl (706 page images; lending only, text not obtainable). Catalogue record only; the book itself is unread.; Gaylor v. Thompson, 939 F. Supp. 1363 (W.D. Wis. 1996) (Crabb, J.).; Gaylor v. United States, 74 F.3d 214 (10th Cir. 1996) (Tacha, J.).; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Thompson, 920 F. Supp. 969 (W.D. Wis. 1996) (Shabaz, C.J.).; Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., 551 U.S. 587 (2007), opinion of Alito, J., Souter, J., dissenting, Scalia, J., concurring (slip opinions, 25 June 2007).; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Chao, 433 F.3d 989 (7th Cir. 2006).; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Obama, 641 F.3d 803 (7th Cir. 2011) (Easterbrook, C.J.).; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Lew, 773 F.3d 815 (7th Cir. 2014).; Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Lew, 983 F. Supp. 2d 1051 (W.D. Wis. 2013) (Crabb, J.).; Gaylor v. Mnuchin, 919 F.3d 420 (7th Cir. 2019) (Brennan, J.).

In their own words

If something isn't true, you shouldn't believe in it.

Annie Laurie Gaylor · Isthmus09, Dec 2009 [E8]

I still remember her face, the shock.

Annie Laurie Gaylor, of her mother · Isthmus09 [E3]

When you grow up free from religion and the people around you are free from religion or indifferent, to be irreligious seems quite normal.

Anne Nicol Gaylor (mother) · Isthmus09 [E5]

Nonreligious people in this country are scarcely tolerated. It's considered aggressive to even tell somebody in the context of a conversation about religion that you're an atheist.

Annie Laurie Gaylor · Isthmus09 [E10]

Here we are, crosses everywhere we go, religious signs and steeples, and being preached at and told we're sinners 24/7 on TV and radio

Annie Laurie Gaylor · Isthmus09 [E9]

gentle snowball lobs, not a war on Christmas

Annie Laurie Gaylor · Isthmus09 [E11]

There were many groups working for women's rights, but none of them dealt with the root cause of women's oppression--religion.

Anne Nicol Gaylor (as compiled by Annie Laurie Gaylor) · FFRF-Anne, 25 Nov entry, capture 5 Oct 2015 [F3]

There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

Anne Nicol Gaylor · FFRF-Anne [F3]

never took

Paul Gaylor (father), as reported by FFRF · FFRF-Paul [F4]

State/Church — Keep Them Separate

FFRF banner text · Banner96, Undisputed Facts

the constitutional principle of separation of church and state and to educate the public on matters related to non-theistic beliefs

FFRF bylaws, quoted by Judge Crabb · Lew13, minister discussion (quoting Gaylor Decl. exh. 1)

Under no remotely plausible interpretation of § 107 could plaintiffs Gaylor and Barker qualify as "ministers of the gospel."

Judge Barbara B. Crabb · Lew13, standing discussion

since Annie Laurie Gaylor has shown no injury of any kind, I find that she is without standing to bring this lawsuit

Judge Barbara B. Crabb · Zielke87, Opinion, section 1

Whatever else the Establishment Clause may mean (and we have held it to mean no official preference even for religion over nonreligion), it certainly means at the very least that government may not demonstrate a preference for one particular sect or creed

Chief Judge Shabaz · GoodFri96, Memorandum

The only issue decided in this case is that the federal government may not endorse prayer in a statute as it has in § 119.

Judge Barbara B. Crabb · Obama10, end of opinion

they receive a portion of their salaries from FFRF in the form of a housing allowance

Seventh Circuit (2014), of Gaylor and Barker · Lew14, Background

The other side

It takes an invasion of one's own rights to create standing.

Chief Judge Easterbrook, Seventh Circuit, vacating the National Day of Prayer ruling (14 April 2011); PD · Obama11, standing section

it is a complete fiction to argue that an unconstitutional federal expenditure causes an individual federal taxpayer any measurable economic harm

Justice Alito for a plurality of the Supreme Court, Hein v. FFRF (25 June 2007); PD · Hein07, Alito opinion, opening summary

FFRF claims § 107(2) renders unto God that which is Caesar's. But this tax provision falls into the play between the joints of the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause

Judge Brennan, Seventh Circuit, Gaylor v. Mnuchin (15 March 2019); PD · Mnuchin19, Part V

The motto symbolizes the historical role of religion in our society

Judge Tacha, Tenth Circuit, Gaylor v. United States (23 January 1996); PD · Motto96, second paragraph of analysis

negatively and very broadly characterized "religion" and "faith" in ways that were guaranteed to sound to many of our readers like an attack

Scott Ulrich, Unitarian Universalist official, on FFRF's 2009 advertisement in the UU magazine; a religious believer who agreed with FFRF on church-state separation · Isthmus09 [E12] (COPYRIGHT)

Where accounts differ

PointOne accountAnotherHow the page handles it
When FFRF was founded and when she joinedFounded 1976 by Anne with Annie Laurie "as a college student" (FFRF-Bio, FFRF-Anne, Obama10)Formed by the Gaylors and a friend when she was "a sophomore" (Isthmus09); founded "in a meeting around the Gaylors' dining room table in 1978" (WP-ALG). A graduate of 1980 would have been a sophomore in 1977–78.Say FFRF began in 1976 by FFRF's account and went national in 1978; accounts differ on whether she was already a student.
Anne's last year as president1978 to 2004 (FFRF-Acq; Isthmus09 says she stepped down in 2004)Retired 2005 (WP-Anne)Use 2004; the 2005 date is her consultant start in FFRF-Anne.
Years she edited Freethought Today1984 to 2009 (FFRF-Bio); 1985 to 2009 (FFRF-Acq)"until 2004" (FFRF-Bio, another sentence); July 2008 and 2015 (Wikipedia, two articles); court records show her as editor in 1987 and 1996Avoid a start or end year, or say "edited its newspaper for about a quarter century, to 2009" after confirming against Freethought Today mastheads.
Years of The Feminist Connection1980 to 1985 (FFRF-Bio, FFRF-Acq)1980 to 1984 (FFRF-Paul)Say "in the early 1980s."
First publication of Woe to the Women1981, FFRF (FFRF-Bio, FFRF-Acq; fifth or fourth printing)2004 edition listed by Internet Archive and WikipediaSay first published 1981 (FFRF's statement); flag that no 1981 copy has been seen.
Who "raised" her without religionMother, third-generation freethinker "on her mother's side" (Isthmus09, FFRF-Acq)Father also a non-believer (FFRF-Paul); she attended church with paternal grandparents (Isthmus09)Say both parents were unbelievers and she sometimes went to church with her father's parents; do not call her mother the only influence.
Women's Medical Fund (mother's charity)Co-founded 1972 (FFRF-Anne)Incorporated as a non-profit 1976 (WP-Anne)Not needed for her arc; skip unless used.
Barker's change of mind (context only)Began 1979, five years of reassessment, atheist by about 1984 (Isthmus09)Became a freethinker in 1983 (FFRF-Acq)Skip or say "in the early 1980s."

List of illustrations

This page uses only public-domain and Creative Commons images; each is credited with its source and licence.

  1. Annie Laurie Gaylor at the 2012 Global Atheist Convention, Melbourne — Barrylb, 2012-04-15 · Barrylb, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · CC0 (as stated on the Wikimedia Commons file page)
  2. Downtown Tomah, Wisconsin — Iulus Ascanius at English Wikipedia, 2009-07-04 · Iulus Ascanius at English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain · Public domain (as stated on the Wikimedia Commons file page)
  3. Dane County Courthouse, Madison — Corey Coyle, 2010-10-16 · Corey Coyle, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 · CC BY 3.0 (as stated on the Wikimedia Commons file page)
  4. Bascom Hall, University of Wisconsin-Madison — Michael Barera, 2022-08-08 · Michael Barera, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 (as stated on the Wikimedia Commons file page)
  5. Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker, FFRF co-presidents, at the Reason Rally, Washington, D.C. (frame A) — S Pakhrin from DC, USA, 2012-03-24 · S Pakhrin from DC, USA, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 · CC BY 2.0 (as stated on the Wikimedia Commons file page)
  6. Rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol, Madison — Daderot, 2013-07-24 · Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · CC0 (as stated on the Wikimedia Commons file page)
  7. Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., 551 U.S. 587 (2007), p. 587: syllabus: the case caption, argued 28 Feb 2007, decided 25 June 2007, and the question of taxpayer standing — Supreme Court of the United States, 2007-06-25 · United States Reports, vol. 551, Library of Congress (tile.loc.gov), federal court record · Public domain (US federal court opinion; United States Reports vol. 551, Library of Congress)
  8. Front and back of the FFRF solstice sign at the Wisconsin State Capitol — Freedom From Religion Foundation, 2008-12-02 · Freedom From Religion Foundation, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0 (as stated on the Wikimedia Commons file page)
  9. Freethought Hall, Madison, Wisconsin — Michael Barera, 2022-08-08 · Michael Barera, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 (as stated on the Wikimedia Commons file page)
  10. Wisconsin State Capitol, Madison — Wikideas1, 2024-06-02 · Wikideas1, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · CC0 (as stated on the Wikimedia Commons file page)
  11. Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (photo 1) — Vera de Kok, 2012-05-27 · Vera de Kok, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0 (as stated on the Wikimedia Commons file page)

Sources

Tier 1 — the subject's own record (court records in which she is a party; FFRF pages compiled or approved by her)

Tier 2 — scholarly biographies and encyclopedias

  • None found. There is no scholarly biography or encyclopedia entry on her that is freely scanned. Cited by Wikipedia and not read: Laura R. Woliver, "Feminism at the Grass Roots: The Recall of Judge Archie Simonson," Frontiers 11:2/3 (1990), 111–119 (JSTOR 3346835).

Tier 3 — popular biographies and journalism

  • [Isthmus09] Ann Grauvogl, "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor are happily God-free," Isthmus (The Daily Page), cover story, 18 December 2009. Read through the Internet Archive capture of 7 Nov 2013: https://web.archive.org/web/20131107013057/http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=27715. Short excerpts: research/texts/isthmus-2009-excerpts.txt [E1 to E14]. In copyright; pages are not numbered (web article), cite as Isthmus09 with excerpt number.
  • Not fetched (blocked or paywalled) and cited by Wikipedia only: Doug Erickson, "The atheists' calling," Wisconsin State Journal, 25 Feb 2007 (Wikipedia dates it 25 Feb 2010 in one place); Sam Roberts, "Anne Gaylor, Passionate Atheist, Is Dead at 88," New York Times, 16 June 2015; George Vecsey, "Some in Atheist Movement Are Challenging Madalyn O'Hair," New York Times, 17 May 1978.

Tier 4 — Wikipedia and similar reference sites (citable; give the article and revision date; prefer a higher tier where one exists)

  • [WP-ALG] Wikipedia, "Annie Laurie Gaylor," revision 1372346471 of 31 Aug 2026. A map to sources only.
  • [WP-Anne] Wikipedia, "Anne Nicol Gaylor," revision 1372346464 of 31 Aug 2026.
  • [WP-FFRF] Wikipedia, "Freedom from Religion Foundation," revision 1371810897 of 28 Aug 2026.
  • [WP-Simonson] Wikipedia, "Archie Simonson," revision 1378857129 of 6 Oct 2026.
  • Photographs on Commons: "File:Annie Laurie Gaylor.jpg" (2012, CC0, Barrylb); five 2012 portraits by Vera de Kok (CC BY-SA 3.0); Reason Rally 2012 photographs by S Pakhrin (CC BY 2.0). Video: "Interview with Annie Laurie Gaylor.webm" (2018, Bread and Roses TV, CC BY 3.0) and "Secularism as a Human Right Panel.webm" (2017, CC BY 3.0). See the licence questions in the report.

Opposition sources — contemporary critics and religious responses

  • [Hein07], [Obama11], [Mnuchin19], [Motto96]: the courts that ruled against FFRF, quoted for their reasons.
  • [Isthmus09]: Scott Ulrich, Unitarian Universalist official, on FFRF's 2009 advertisement.