Court Upholds Florida’s Massive Christian Cross

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Sam Gerard, (202) 238-9088 ext. 105, sgerard@americanhumanist.org

(Washington, D.C., February 19, 2020) – The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals just upheld the constitutionality of the massive Christian cross in Bayview Park in Pensacola, FL. The court reconsidered the earlier American Humanist Association victory against the publicly funded religious symbol in light of the June 2019 Bladensburg cross Supreme Court decision.

“The court dealt a devastating blow to the Establishment Clause in the Eleventh Circuit,” explained Monica Miller, American Humanist Association Legal Director and Senior Counsel and lead counsel on the case. “We are currently exploring all of our options.”

The 34-foot-tall religious symbol stands in the popular Bayview Park, serving solely as the centerpiece of annual Easter Sunrise Christian worship services. It was first challenged in a 2016 lawsuit filed by the American Humanist Association and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

“It is troubling to see the court attack the principle of church-state separation that was held dear by our Founders,” said Roy Speckhardt, the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association. “Today’s decision is part of the religious right’s ongoing crusade to privilege Christianity at the expense of true religious freedom for all.”

The American Humanist Association is currently considering a further appeal.

Read today’s decision here.

Learn more about this case here.

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The American Humanist Association (AHA) works to protect the rights of humanists, atheists, and other nontheistic Americans. The AHA advances the ethical and life-affirming worldview of humanism, which—without beliefs in gods or other supernatural forces—encourages individuals to live informed and meaningful lives that aspire to the greater good of humanity.

Special thanks to the Louis J. Appignani Foundation for their support of the Appignani Humanist Legal Center.