October 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 42

LAW REVIEW continued from page 39

Secular Purpose

the following circumstances:

As characterized by the Supreme Court,
the federal district court had " concentrated solely on the religious aspects of
the cross, divorced from its background
and context. " In so doing, as required
by the " Lemon test, " the Supreme Court
found the lower courts had failed to determine " whether the Government's actions had a secular purpose or caused
excessive entanglement " based upon

Private citizens put the cross on Sunrise Rock to commemorate American
servicemen who had died in World
War I. Although certainly a Christian
symbol, the cross was not emplaced
on Sunrise Rock to promote a Christian message.
Placement of the cross on Government-owned land was not an attempt to
set the imprimatur of the state on a

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particular creed. Rather, those who
erected the cross intended simply to
honor our Nation's fallen soldiers.
Time also has played its role. The
cross had stood on Sunrise Rock for
nearly seven decades before the statute was enacted. By then, the cross
and the cause it commemorated had
become entwined in the public consciousness. Members of the public
gathered regularly at Sunrise Rock to
pay their respects. Rather than let the
cross deteriorate, community members repeatedly took it upon
themselves to replace it.

In light of such circumstances, the
Supreme Court noted further that " [t]he
Constitution does not oblige government
to avoid any public acknowledgment of
religion's role in society.
The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement does not require eradication
of all religious symbols in the public
realm. This Court has long recognized
that the government may (and sometimes must) accommodate religious
practices and that it may do so without
violating the Establishment Clause.
Rather, it leaves room to accommodate
divergent values within a constitutionally permissible framework... A relentless
and all-pervasive attempt to exclude
religion from every aspect of public life
could itself become inconsistent with
the Constitution.

In this particular instance, the court
found federal legislation authorizing
" ownership of the cross by a private
party, rather than by the government "
was one way to accommodate the secular purpose of the cross while " avoiding the perception of governmental
endorsement. " As noted by the court, a
memorial cross " need not be taken as
a statement of governmental support for
sectarian beliefs. "
[A] Latin cross is not merely a reaffirmation of Christian beliefs. It is a
symbol often used to honor and respect those whose heroic acts, noble
contributions, and patient striving help
secure an honored place in history for
this Nation and its people.
Here, one Latin cross in the desert
evokes far more than religion. It
October 2010 - Parks & Recreation

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