The Freedom From Religion Foundation has made its debut in the Wisconsin hinterland.

With the help of its members, the state/church watchdog had put up for the first time a Bill of Rights “Nativity” exhibit at the North Hudson Village Hall in northwestern Wisconsin. The installation has been erected near a Christian crèche scene.

The irreverent FFRF cutout by artist Jacob Fortin depicts Founders Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington gazing adoringly at a “baby” Bill of Rights in a manger while the Statue of Liberty looks on. A sign beside the tongue-in-cheek Nativity states: “At this season of the Winter Solstice … Join us in honoring the Bill of Rights, adopted on December 15, 1791, which reminds us there can be no religious freedom without the freedom to dissent. Keep religion and government separate!”

FFRF member Ken Wolter and other volunteers helped put up the display, and FFRF assisted in defraying installation costs. The display exemplifies the can-do spirit of members of the freethought organization, who often assemble such installations in their hometowns to commemorate founding principles and to counter religious displays at governmental public forums in December. FFRF helps out by providing the materials.

“Due to the pluck of our members, we’re making certain that public spaces are kept secular around the nation, including in our home state,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Wherever there’s religion in the public square, we’ll try to be there to represent the point of view of the 26 percent of Americans who identify as nonreligious.”

The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation is the largest national association of freethinkers (atheists and agnostics) with over 30,000 members all over the country, including more than 1,400 members in its own state. It has a similar “Nativity” display up at the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison every holiday season.