FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularist of the Week” appeared on a panel last week at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) tackling Christian nationalism and its threat to democracy in the United States. Meanwhile, our “Theocrat of the Week” is an emerging perpetrator of Christian nationalism who is trying to force a specific prayer to open every school day in South Dakota.
Hillel Hellinger, a man based in North Miami Beach, Fla., recently filed paperwork with South Dakota’s attorney general to launch a ballot measure that could be presented to voters in 2026. If Hellinger collects the necessary signatures, voters will weigh in on an amendment to the South Dakota Constitution mandating prayer in schools.
The state constitutional amendment would require teachers to lead their students in a specific prayer, written by Hellinger, every school morning. Teachers would recite the mandated prayer, and each student would then repeat each phrase. The prayer reads: “Almighty God, who is aware of His creation, who keeps it going and judges it, please have mercy on us.” Teachers and students who do not wish to participate would be required to ask their school principal for an exemption.
Hellinger admits that he chose to submit his proposal in South Dakota instead of his home state because of the lower signature requirement to make the ballot. “If I were to admit it in Florida, I could do the exact same thing, but I would need more than 50 times as many people to sign the petition to get it on the ballot,” he remarked.
When discussing the amendment’s purpose, Hellinger declaimed, “South Dakota may be a very crime-free state, but most of the country is going through a lot of crime. By children knowing there’s a god in this world it would have an influence on their behavior.” He is apparently unaware that the most peaceful countries in the world also tend to be the least religious.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has been required to publicly explain the proposed measure in “fair and neutral” language and allow public feedback on its language by the end of August. The proposal will be submitted to the secretary of state in early September, and then Hellinger will need to collect over 17,000 signatures to appear on the 2026 ballot. In a press release, Jackley said the measure “may be challenged in court on constitutional grounds.”
Hellinger told Dakota News Now that he views the belief in God as “a central foundational aspect to the founding of the nation as evident in the Declaration of Independence.” He believes the ballot measure will restore faith in the United States and teach children to be “more virtuous.”
Hellinger also made headlines back in 2000 when he sued a pharmacy that would not hire him because he refused to sell condoms due to his religious beliefs. Hellinger did not win that case. In this endeavor, it is unclear how Hellinger plans to collect 17,000 signatures while in Florida. Even if the “theocrat” does manage to get the measure on the ballot, we can only hope South Dakotans will vote “no” on the overtly unconstitutional amendment.
In more promising news, the DNC hosted a panel discussing and denouncing Christian nationalism during its Interfaith Council session last week. Our “Secularist of the Week,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.,, appeared on the panel alongside Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md.,, co-founders of the Congressional Freethought Caucus and long-term allies of FFRF, and Professor Khyati Joshi, author of White Christian Privilege. The panel was moderated by Katherine Stewart, author of the upcoming book Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy.
The panel focused on the troubling rise of Christian nationalism in the United States and how the ideology has threatened democracy and agitated today’s political terrain. Stewart remarked that Christian nationalism is a “deeply anti-democratic” ideology that is more a tool for power than a religion.
Cleaver, representing Missouri’s 5th District, is a United Methodist pastor who understands the ever-growing threat of Christian nationalism. When asked about Christian nationalism’s relationship to democracy, Cleaver said, “Please remember that the Founding Fathers were not Christian.” Cleaver called Christian nationalism “ignorant” because it misconstrues U.S. history and insinuates that the Founders universally practiced Christianity.
Cleaver also referenced Louisiana recently becoming the first state to require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom, saying, “Ten Commandments on a wall is just Ten Commandments on a wall,” and that the empty gesture does nothing to help education.
Further denouncing Christian nationalism, Cleaver said, “God shall not be pimped [for political gain].” Cleaver asserted that “nothing about God is in the Constitution” and that the religious right only uses Christian nationalism to “make their politics seem godly” and fuel culture wars.
Overall, the panel traversed through the most dangerous aspects of Christian nationalism and delved into how exactly Congress and voters can push back against Christian nationalists. We thank both our “secularist” and the rest of the panelists for ensuring that Christian nationalism and its threat to U.S. democracy were discussed at the DNC. Because of their efforts, more and more people are becoming aware of the dangers of Christian nationalism.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.