A federal court ruled on Feb. 19 that a religious monument in a Florida city park does not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment. In an important victory for religious liberty, the 11th Circuit decided that the Bayview Cross, a 34-foot Latin cross erected in 1941, can remain standing. The monument represents the city of Pensacola’s history and serves as a symbol of hope. It was originally built to commemorate Easter sunrise services, a traditional Christian holiday.
In 2016, an atheist group sued to have the cross removed from the park and argued that it violated the establishment clause. Surprisingly, a district court judge ruled in the group’s favor and said the monument must come down because “the City’s maintenance of the cross violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.”
Becket, a religious liberty organization, took on the case in defense of Pensacola and the Bayview Cross, arguing that while the establishment clause is certainly vital, a monument with religious undertones showcases historical value and authenticity and is not an attempt by the city to establish a formal religion.
At first, on appeal, the 11th Circuit Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling because even though it seemed like the judges wanted to keep the monument up, they were bound by Supreme Court precedent. Then, the city of Pensacola asked the Supreme Court to review the case, and while that was pending, the Supreme Court ruled on American Legion v. American Humanist Association, a similar case regarding an old, historic cross monument. In that case, the Supreme Court held that a 32-foot Latin cross sitting on a piece of public land in Bladensburg, Maryland, did not violate the establishment clause despite another nonreligious group’s arguments.
Now, this federal court has essentially tossed out its own previous ruling and made a new decision based on the Supreme Court’s 2019 decision. The new federal court decision also noted that an atheist group suing the city over a monument that’s almost 80 years old, causing significant expense and commotion, just because the group is “offended” is “just plain wrong.”
As Luke Goodrich, an attorney for Becket, said in a Twitter thread explaining the case, “Atheist groups that make bank by suing over harmless religious symbols are going to have to find a new line of work and learn to look the other way.”
Bottom line: Atheist groups that make bank by suing over harmless religious symbols are going to have to find a new line of work and learn to look the other way. fin/
— Luke Goodrich (@LukeWGoodrich) February 19, 2020
There are two big takeaways from this religious liberty victory. One is that even federal courts are starting to get tired of petty or malicious lawsuits over historical aspects of society that also happen to be religious. Just because a person or group disagrees with a monument or doesn’t like it doesn’t mean it’s worthy of an expensive, four-year lawsuit.
Second, and just as importantly, federal courts are taking cues from the Supreme Court to essentially ignore the infamously problematic “Lemon test” established by precedent, which the late Justice Antonin Scalia likened to “some ghoul in a late-night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in its grave and shuffles abroad after being repeatedly killed and buried.” The “Lemon test” is vague, short-sighted, and absurd — so I’m glad to see this federal court treat it as such.
A religious monument may not seem like a significant part of day-to-day life, and indeed, it may not be for most people. However, if every single lawsuit targeting historical religious monuments succeeded and the monuments were torn down one by one, we would become a country not without religion or God — for He is not so confined to time and space — but without memory.
Whether atheists like it or not, this country was founded by people who sought religious freedom and yet were wise enough to create a form of government that would never force anyone to be religious. Our nation needs to remember our past, whether that be our religious roots or the mistakes we’ve made, so that we may continue to learn, grow, and prosper.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
