In a ruling disappointing to humanists, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a 40-foot-high Bladensburg Cross honoring World War I soldiers can stand on public land. Seven of the nine justices deemed it a “peace cross”; Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg disagreed. Ginsburg read her dissent from the bench to emphasize her opinion. “By maintaining the Peace Cross on a public highway, the Commission elevates Christianity over other faiths and religion over nonreligion.” she said.
The American Jewish Committee noted, however, that the decision could have been broader and more detrimental. “Today’s decision, while regrettable, is notable mostly because the Court did not do what some had urged — reinterpret the First Amendment in a way that would broadly allow non-coercive government endorsements of religion,” said the organization’s general counsel, Marc Stern. (source of quote: https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/ruth-bader-ginsburg-reads-out-loud-her-dissent-to-ruling-allowing-40-foot-cross-to-stand-in-maryland )
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