American Legion v. American Humanist Association

139 S.Ct. 2067 (2019)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The cross came into widespread use as a symbol of Christianity by the fourth century and it retains that meaning today. But there are many contexts in which the symbol has also taken on a secular meaning. Indeed, there are instances in which its message is now almost entirely secular. The familiar symbol of the Red Cross-a red cross on a white background-shows how the meaning of a symbol that was originally religious can be transformed. After WWI the image of a simple white cross “developed into a ‘central symbol’” of the conflict. After the 1918 armistice, the War Department announced plans to replace the wooden crosses and Stars of David with uniform marble slabs like those previously used in American military cemeteries. The public outcry against that proposal was swift and fierce. Many organizations, including the American War Mothers, a nonsectarian group founded in 1917, urged the Department to retain the design of the temporary markers. Those crosses became a symbol of sacrifice in the war. In late 1918, residents of Prince George’s County, Maryland, formed a committee for the purpose of erecting a memorial for the county’s fallen soldiers. Among the committee’s members were the mothers of 10 deceased soldiers. The committee decided that the memorial should be a cross. The completed monument is a 32-foot tall Latin cross that sits on a large pedestal. The American Legion’s emblem is displayed at its center, and the words “Valor,” “Endurance,” “Courage,” and “Devotion” are inscribed at its base, one on each of the four faces. The pedestal also features a 9- by 2.5-foot bronze plaque explaining that the monument is “Dedicated to the heroes of Prince George’s County, Maryland who lost their lives in the Great War for the liberty of the world.” The plaque lists the names of 49 local men, both Black and White, who died in the war. It identifies the dates of American involvement and quotes President Woodrow Wilson’s request for a declaration of war: “The right is more precious than peace. We shall fight for the things we have always carried nearest our hearts. To such a task we dedicate our lives.” The Bladensburg Peace Cross (Cross) has stood as a tribute to 49 area soldiers who gave their lives in the First World War. It attracted other honorariums for others who have served and died as well. Over the next five decades, the Commission spent approximately $117,000 to maintain and preserve the monument. In 2008, it budgeted an additional $100,000 for renovations and repairs to the Cross. Eighty-nine years after the dedication of the Cross and 50 years after the Commission acquired it, Ps filed this lawsuit, claiming that they are offended by the sight of the memorial on public land and that its presence there and the expenditure of public funds to maintain it violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The District Court granted summary judgment for P under the three-pronged test announced in Lemon v. Kurtzman. Under the Lemon test, a court must ask whether a challenged government action (1) has a secular purpose; (2) has a “principal or primary effect” that “neither advances nor inhibits religion”; and (3) does not foster “an excessive government entanglement with religion.” The Fourth Circuit reversed. The court held that the Bladensburg Cross failed Lemon’s “effects” prong because a reasonable observer would view the Commission’s ownership and maintenance of the monument as an endorsement of Christianity. The dissent contended that the majority misapplied the “effects” test by failing to give adequate consideration to the Cross’s “physical setting, history, and usage” and that the Commission’s maintenance of the Cross was not the kind of “comprehensive, discriminating, and continuing state surveillance” of religion that Lemon was concerned to rule out. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.