At the Sunday, October 12 spot on your calendar, put "FTD, Sacramento" so that when that date arrives, you'll be heading to Sacramento for our 7th Annual Freethought Day Fair.
Freethought Day is a celebration of reason, freethought and church-state separation featuring speakers, live music, education expo, and children’s activities.
Free admission. 12-5 pm, Waterfront Park, Front & L Streets, Old Sacramento.
The event is an opportunity to celebrate values and actions we take for granted today which were once seen as radical and to commemorate the bold and independent thinkers who led our nation to its policy of governmental neutrality toward ultimate beliefs of citizens.
Time to plan ahead!
At the Sunday, October 12 spot on your calendar, put "FTD, Sacramento" so that when that date arrives, you'll be heading to Sacramento for our 7th Annual Freethought Day Fair.
Freethought Day is a celebration of reason, freethought and church-state separation featuring speakers, live music, education expo, and children’s activities.
Free admission. 12-5 pm, Waterfront Park, Front & L Streets, Old Sacramento.
The event is an opportunity to celebrate values and actions we take for granted today which were once seen as radical and to commemorate the bold and independent thinkers who led our nation to its policy of governmental neutrality toward ultimate beliefs of citizens.
Education Goals
- Promote accurate understanding of the heritage of liberty of conscience
- Raise public consciousness regarding secular governance (legal neutrality)
- Educate the public regarding the contributions of freethought and freethinkers in advancing human rights and in establishing and preserving a religion/government separation in the United States
Community Goals
- Foster participation of organizations with mutual understanding of and support of the mission
- Present a positive image to the public
- Provide enjoyment for those in attendance
Freethought Day commemorates a decision that took place over 300 years ago in Massachusetts. Activists venerating the decision instituted what has evolved into an annual outdoor observance in Sacramento, California.
History of Freethought Day
October 12 — One Step Forward
Over 300 years ago, on October 12, 1692, Governor William Phipps of the Colony of Massachusetts made a decision that brought to an end the horrendous Salem Witch trials.
A Christian, nevertheless he declared that spectral evidence (supernaturalism) would no longer be admissible in court, and so the trials, due to lack of appropriate evidence, came to an end. The governor’s decision was a distinct departure from the general community’s extant thinking and a giant step on the path toward the principle of legal neutrality that would, when the United States incorporated into its brand new Constitution a Bill of Rights, assure each U.S. citizen the freedom to follow his/her conscience regarding matters of ultimate belief.
