Another monument to faith and sacrifice must come down according to the courts.
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered the removal of a Bladensburg, Maryland, World War I memorial because its 40-foot tall cross shape violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The decision reverses a lower court ruling that would have preserved the monument. The battle drew impassioned reactions from litigants and observers throughout the week.
Bladensburg’s “Peace Cross” was erected by the American Legion in 1925 to honor the 49 men from Prince George’s County who fell in the Great War. In 1961, a Maryland state agency took possession of the land on which the monument sits.
Two of the three judges hearing an appeal led by atheist non-profit the American Humanist Association argued that the cross shape and the inclusion of references to “God” in the memorial’s dedication amounted to a government “endorsement” of Christianity.
The majority opinion was written by Judge Stephanie Thacker, an Obama appointee. She wrote, “[T]he sectarian elements easily overwhelms the secular ones, adding, “We also cannot ignore the American Legion’s affiliation with Christianity.”
A dissent by Clinton-appointed Judge Roger Gregory took issue with the majority’s characterization. He wrote, “The Establishment Clause was intended to combat the practice of compelling individuals to support and attend government-favored churches” “it does not require the government ‘to purge from the public sphere’ any reference to religion.”