Christian Icons On Public Land: Federal Court To Decide If Jesus Statue Must Go

On Tuesday, a Federal appeals court will decide if a Jesus statue can continue to stand in Flathead National Forest. A ruling in 2013 affirmed that Jesus could stay on the mountain, and this week, a court will hear an appeal and decide whether to reverse that ruling or let it stand.

According to the Missoulian, the statue was erected in the 1950s by Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization. They call the statue a memorial to World War II veterans and members of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division.

The property is government-owned, specifically by the U.S. Forestry Service, but the court ruled in 2013 that the statue was not government owned, and the property was not government-controlled, and therefore the Jesus statue did not represent the government expressing a preference for one religion over another, or for religion over nonreligion.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation says that’s bunk. When the organization (based in Wisconsin, but with members across the nation) decided to appeal the decision, the FFRF noted that Chip Weber, supervisor of the Flathead National Forest, initially agreed that it was an inappropriate use of the land, but after backlash erupted, he not only changed his position on the statue of Jesus, but sought to have the Montana State Historic Preservation Office help place the shrine on the National Register of Historic Places.

“FFRF accuses the Forest Service not only of giving preferential consideration to a Catholic shrine, but of engaging in subterfuge.”

The FFRF says that the Jesus statue fails the “Lemon test” — a standard that says a religious icon may be part of public property if it serves a secular purpose.

U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen disagreed, calling the statue “private speech” by its owners, rather than government speech and accepting the defendants’ claim that the statue is secular, since it isn’t frequently used for worship.

The Becket Fund, a law firm devoted to promoting the rights of religious groups, is defending the Jesus statue, and has also released a statement.

In it, they assure the public that the Jesus statue is not a religious icon, because it means different things to different people.

“I see this as a war memorial, some people see this as a historical figure, some people see it as a religious figure, some people see it as just a statue at a nice location where they like to come up and have a picnic…. It’s almost as if this statue has become a citizen of Whitefish, Montana.”

Only last week, Oklahoma’s State Supreme Court ordered a Ten Commandments monument removed from the state capitol grounds, finding no secular purpose for that religious icon, and recognizing it as government speech. If this Federal Appeals court follows the same protocol on Tuesday, the Jesus statue may be seeking a new home.

[Image: Screenshot via Becket Fund]