Capitol’s Nativity scene agitates national group
Posted on Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The Nativity scene on the state Capitol grounds violates the U. S. Constitution’s separation of church and state, a national organization wrote to Gov. Mike Beebe.
Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc., said an Arkansas member of the 12, 000-member organization complained last Christmas about the display. In January, Gaylor sent a “strongly worded” letter to Beebe, she said.
“Placing this shack on the Capitol lawn not only is jarring and unaesthetic, but sends an unlawful message of endorsement of Christianity and its most holy day to all onlookers,” according to the letter, dated Jan. 14. “The state is endorsing Christianity over other religions, and over no religion, in contravention of constitutional dictates to be neutral on the subject of religion.” When the same Arkansan complained to the organization again this year, Gaylor had the foundation’s attorney write a second letter to Beebe.
Gaylor wouldn’t identify the Arkansan who complained.
“The creche is an inherently religious (and, in particular, Christian ) symbol,” the Dec. 11 letter said.
The governor’s office has not received either letter, according to spokesman Matt DeCample. Last year’s display had been taken down by the time Beebe took office Jan. 9.
DeCample added that the governor supports the display.
“It’s a simple, nonintrusive holiday display, and it’s appropriate for the season,” DeCample said.
Beebe is not in charge of the Capitol grounds. That’s the job of Secretary of State Charlie Daniels. A spokesman for Daniels said the display doesn’t violate the Constitution because it’s not prominently displayed.
“It’s displayed on the periphery of the Capitol grounds,” said Natasha Naragon. “It’s not in the Capitol building. It’s just a part of the decorations celebrating all aspects of the holiday season.” Naragon said the secretary of state has not received any complaint.
In 1995, the creche was turned over to the Foundation to Preserve and Promote the Nativity, a Little Rock nonprofit organization.
Until recent years, the display occupied a spot on the north side of the Capitol where the Little Rock Nine monument now stands.
For the past several years, the creche has been displayed on the south side of the Capitol in a grassy area near the Law Enforcement Officer memorial.
The display includes a rough wooden shed with a hay-covered floor containing wooden sculptures depicting Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus, who is shown lying in a straw-filled manger, which is surrounded by giftbearing Magi, plus a shepherd, a camel, a donkey, and two sheep.
Gaylor said that her Madison, Wis.-based group “would have to take further action” if it receives no response from state officials.
“It’s hard for me to believe we won’t get a response,” she said, although she acknowledged the group received no response last time.
Attorneys for the foundation cited the 1989 U. S. Supreme Court case Allegheny v. ACLU of Pittsburgh, in which the court ruled 5-4 that a Nativity scene on the staircase of the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pennsylvania was a violation of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause, a part of the First Amendment saying “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The justices ruled that because that creche stood alone in the most prominent part of the courthouse it had the effect of endorsing religion.
In the 1984 Lynch v. Donnelly case, the high court ruled that a creche that was accompanied by other holiday decorations was not a violation.
Gaylor said that the involvement of a nonprofit entity is not a defense.
She cited the Allegheny decision in which the court wrote that the Establishment Clause “does not limit only the religious content of the government’s own communications. It also prohibits the government’s support and promotion of religious communications by religious organizations.” The chairman of the foundation that owns and erects the Capitol’s Nativity scene said she was disappointed by the complaint.
Judy Beard said no state money is used to store or put up the scene. The shed is rebuilt every year by volunteers. She said there has been a Nativity scene on the state Capitol grounds since 1948.
“I went all the time as a child to see it,” she said. “It really saddens me that people can complain about something so uplifting.” From 1948 to 1995, the state owned the creche.
In 1984, the original state Capitol Nativity scene, made of papier-mache, was damaged by vandals. Beard chaired a committee which contacted two Arkansas artists, Dan Stewart and Jim Nelson, to recreate the display.
“They hand-carved it from native Arkansas woods,” Beard said.
Gaylor said the decoration of the Capitol, including the erecting of a Christmas tree, was not necessarily a violation of the churchstate separation doctrine.
“The Supreme Court doesn’t regard a decorated tree to be a religious symbol,” she said. “And we would never sue unless there was a cross on top of it.”
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