In case you've been in a freethought cave for the last couple of weeks, you've heard about the brave atheist teen, Jessica Ahlquist, and her (along with the ACLU and others) fight to have a prayer banner taken down from the auditorium of her high school. The Huffington Post has published an updated news story concerning this battle for separation of church and state at the public high school level.

Ahlquist didn't start the challenge, but she has been the teenage face on the side of freethought. She has caught hellacious (pardon the pun) backlash from the community, including a state representative who called her an "evil little thing" on the radio.

It is sad to me that, even in this time in the U.S. - the country who (supposedly) has a basic tenet of the "Freedom of Religion" and the Separation of Church and State - that Americans still don't understand what this truly means. The worst part is they don't realize that these tenets protect them, too. I'm sure we'll hear "this is a Christian nation!" before this is over.

Sigh...

I hope the fallout isn't too great for this young woman. We need more like her out there, and she is a great role model for atheists of all ages.

(NOTE: Edited to correct name from "Jennifer" to "Jessica" - thanks, Denise! --R)