WASHINGTON (CN) - Sparing a 90-year-old cross that rises above an intersection just across the Maryland border with Washington, D.C., the Supreme Court rejected claims Thursday that the war memorial violates the establishment clause.
The Bladensburg Peace Cross was dedicated in 1925, a project of the American Legion to commemorate local soldiers who died in World War I. Originally in a park with other monuments, the cross now stands in the middle of a three-way interchange under the care of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
In 2014 the American Humanist Association filed a federal lawsuit claiming the cross was an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion, a position that the Fourth Circuit supported but the Supreme Court today threw out.
Hailing what he termed to be a "landmark decision,” a lawyer for the American Legion said in a phone interview the court cleared the way for a new method of analyzing establishment clause cases.
"This is definitely a significant change, and I think it's a really good change," said Kelly Shackelford, president and chief counsel of the First Liberty Institute.
Courts have long reconciled establishment-clause challenges using what is known as the Lemon test, a three-part inquiry that looks at whether a government action has a clear secular purpose, what the effects of that action are, and whether it would improperly entangle government in religion.
Taking the lead this morning for the plurality, Justice Samuel Alito cautioned courts against using the Lemon test when evaluating monuments or other ceremonial symbols that carry religious connotations.
Instead, Alito said courts should presume "constitutionality for longstanding monuments, symbols and practices.”
Alito noted that crosses have taken on more secular significance in several prominent symbols, including Maryland's state flag and the logo for the Red Cross. Considering as well the various American towns with religious references in their names, Alito said the government could not expect to rename those cities, or tear down every monument with a religious symbol, at the risk of making religion a divisive subject — exactly the opposite of what the First Amendment was meant to do.
"A government that roams the land, tearing down monuments with religious symbolism and scrubbing away any reference to the divine will strike many as aggressively hostile to religion," Alito wrote.
Jones Day attorney Michael Carvin represented the American Legion as well and called the decision a "historic victory for the First Amendment."
"This decision simply affirms the historical understanding of the First Amendment that allows government to acknowledge the value and importance of religion," Carvin said in a statement.
The American Humanist Association, which challenged the cross, meanwhile said it will work to limit the effects of the decision going forward.