{"id":94455,"date":"2019-08-08T12:54:37","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=94455"},"modified":"2019-08-08T12:54:37","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:54:37","slug":"appeals-court-rejects-atheist-groups-attempt-to-censor-symbols-of-lehigh-countys-history-and-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=94455","title":{"rendered":"Appeals court rejects atheist group\u2019s attempt to censor symbols of Lehigh County\u2019s history and culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

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WASHINGTON <\/strong>\u2013 Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, is free to continue honoring its history and culture with its 70-year-old seal, including an image of a Latin cross. In FFRF v. Lehigh County<\/em>, <\/em><\/a>a federal appellate court today rejected an attempt by the Wisconsin- based atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation to censor the image of a cross from\u00a0Lehigh County\u2019s historic seal. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia ruled <\/a>3- 0 that after the Supreme Court upheld the Bladensburg Cross war memorial as a historic\u00a0monument, Lehigh County can maintain its seal as a symbol that \u201chas become part of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is common sense that religion played a role in the lives of our nation\u2019s early settlers. Recognizing that is just as constitutional as honoring symbols like the Liberty Bell,\u2019\u201d said Diana Verm, senior counsel at Becket<\/strong>. \u201cIt is only right that Lehigh County can continue honoring its history and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lehigh County\u2019s seal, which has been in use for over 70 years without any complaints, features a cross representing the county\u2019s early German settlers who fled persecution in their homeland seeking religious freedom in America. The seal also features over a dozen other images \u2013 such as grain silos, textiles, the Liberty Bell, and a red heart \u2013 representing important aspects of the county\u2019s rich history and culture.<\/p>\n

Becket represented Lehigh County, arguing that the Constitution allows communities to maintain religious symbols in the public square in recognition of the significant role of religion in our history and\u00a0culture.<\/p>\n

Images of historic significance are common on the seals and flags of states, counties, and towns across America. But in 2016, FFRF sued to try to censor the cross from Lehigh County\u2019s seal. In September<\/p>\n

2017, a federal judge ruled in FFRF\u2019s favor, following a Supreme Court case, Lemon v. Kurtzman<\/em>, which requires courts to guess whether the government is trying to \u201cendorse\u201d religion whenever it mentions God or religion (What is the Lemon Test? <\/em>Watch this short video<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Becket argues that judges must apply the actual text and historical meaning of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has since moved away from the so-called Lemon <\/em>test, ruling that religious symbols in government and in the public square that were acceptable at our nation\u2019s founding are still acceptable today. The court today followed that precedent. Becket has also defended a World War II religious<\/a> memorial in a Montana ski resort, <\/a>a 9\/11 Ground Zero cross artifact, <\/a>and a historic Pensacola park cross<\/a> monument, <\/a>among others.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis decision is another nail in the coffin of the Lemon <\/em>test, making room for our nation\u2019s founding principle that religion is not a blight to be scrubbed from the public square, especially when it represents our history,\u201d said Verm.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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For more information or to arrange an interview with a Becket attorney, please contact Ryan Colby at <\/em>media@becketlaw.org or 202- 349-7219. Interviews can be arranged in English, Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Additional Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n