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U.S. Supreme Court Case Turns to Defeat
for Religious Zealots

Churches should sponsor religious displays,
not the Government

AU says: Public Buildings Shouldn't Display Religious Symbols

Compiled by GayToday
Americans United for Separation of Church & State

Washington, D.C.-The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear an Indiana case concerning government display of the Ten Commandments is another defeat for the movement to adorn courthouses and public schools with religious symbols, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The Rev. Barry Lynn: Applauds Supreme Court's inaction

"Public buildings should display patriotic symbols that bring us together, not religious symbols that divide us," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "All Americans should feel welcome when they walk into a city hall, a courthouse or a public school. The posting of religious symbols there says some religious groups are better than others."

The court declined yesterday to hear O'Bannon v. Indiana Civil Liberties Union et al. The ICLU filed the suit in May of 2000 after Governor Frank O'Bannon agreed to erect a Ten Commandments monument on the statehouse lawn in Indianapolis.

The monument, which is seven feel tall and weighs over 11,000 pounds, features the Decalogue on one side, the Bill of Rights on the other, and has the preamble to the state constitution etched on its side.

Last year, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the display violates the separation of church and state, and the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of the case lets that ruling stand.

The O'Bannon case had generated interest from attorneys general in nine states, each of whom urged the Supreme Court to hear the matter, including Alabama, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Virginia.

Last year the high court refused to hear a similar case from Elkhart, Indiana, and numerous lower courts have struck down government display of the Decalogue.

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Americans United for the Seperation of Church & State

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In fact, advocates of government-sponsored religious displays have fared poorly in courts. Over the last three years, state and federal courts have struck down Commandments displays in South Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky and Indiana in a separate case.

"Here's a new commandment we all need to follow: Thou shalt not mix religion and government," said Lynn. "Houses of worship should sponsor religious displays, not the government."