A courts cross to bear: Memorial monument or religious endorsement?

The Memorial Peace Cross in Bladensburg, at 40-feet tall, was built in memory of the forty-nine Prince George’s County men who died in World War I. (Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

By Ann E. Marimow November 25 at 7:00 AM

It is hard to miss the 40-foot-tall marble-and-cement cross that towers over the busy intersection of two state roads in one of Maryland’s largest counties. The question for a federal court next month is whether the landmark is a memorial to local men lost in war or a government endorsement of religion that should be removed from public land.

The legal challenge to the Memorial Peace Cross in Prince George’s County is one of a number of recent cases throughout the country involving public displays of religion. The Maryland situation has attracted attention from a group of conservative members of Congress, which says the case threatens to eliminate other monuments, images and inscriptions with religious significance, including at Arlington Cemetery.

One federal judge already declined to order the removal of the Bladensburg cross, finding last year that it is a historically significant, secular war memorial.

At issue for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit next month is whether the monument violates the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from favoring certain faiths over others.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/a-courts-cross-to-bear-memorial-monument-or-religious-endorsement/2016/11/25/ec5b201c-b006-11e6-840f-e3ebab6bcdd3_story.html