Quick Facts
Biography
Catherine Fahringer (née Compton; September 12, 1922 – December 12, 2008) was an American activist who campaigned for the separation of church and state in the United States.
In 1988 Fahringer was one of the co-founders of the Freethought Forum, a San Antonio, Texas chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF). She later served as secretary of the FFRF.
Her campaigns in Texas included a protest against the San Antonio Mayor’s prayer breakfast in 1991, and a “Rally for Reason” in 1994. She also worked to remove banners displaying religious symbols from San Antonio lampposts, to remove prayer from public schools and universities, and to move voting booths out of religious institutions. She was also actively concerned in issues such as abortion and gun control. She is known for her quote, "We would be 1,500 years ahead if it hadn't been for the church dragging science back by its coattails and burning our best minds at the stake."