Today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down an opinion in Shurtleff v. Boston, holding 9-0 that the city of Boston violated the First Amendment when it refused to fly the Christian flag at city hall. The American Humanist Association denounces this decision and defends the City of Boston’s actions. 

“To realize a truly inclusive democracy, we must reject the myth that the United States was founded upon Judeo-Christian values,” comments AHA Executive Director Nadya Dutchin. “We are disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision to support the continued erosion of separation of church and state.”

The case involves a group that was denied permission to fly a “Christian flag” at city hall, claiming that this decision unconstitutionally silences their speech. The city of Boston has argued that their practice of allowing outside groups to fly their flags amounts to speech by the city and that they need to be able to choose which flags it wants to fly. 

The AHA signed onto an amicus brief filed in the Supreme Court in December 2021 in support of the City of Boston and joined a friend of the court brief in 2020 when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit heard the Shurtleff case.