“We still don’t know if a tree falling in a forest makes a
sound. But we can be sure that a lonely Jesus statue standing in a Montana
forest doesn’t create an official state religion for the United States,” said Eric Rassbach, Deputy General Counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty who defended the monument in
court. “The Court’s common-sense decision today honors our veterans, preserves
our Nation’s history, and rejects the idea that all religious symbols must be
banished from public property.”
Judge Christensen held that “Unquestionably, Big Mountain
Jesus is a religious symbol commonly associated with one form of religion. But
not every religious symbol runs afoul of the Establishment Clause of the United
States Constitution. . . . Big Mountain Jesus is one of the only
vestiges that remains of the early days of skiing at Big Mountain, and to many
serves as a historical reminder of those bygone days of sack lunches, ungroomed
runs, rope tows, t-bars, leather ski boots, and 210 cm. skis.”
Nearly sixty years ago, the Knights of Columbus leased a
25-foot x 25-foot plot of land, which lies within a commercial ski resort, from
the United States Forest Service on Big Mountain, to erect a monument honoring
fallen soldiers from World War II.
The permit has been renewed every ten years without incident
until 2010, when the Freedom from Religion Foundation—a Wisconsin anti-religion
organization—threatened the Forest Service claiming the monument violated the
United States Constitution. The Forest Service, buckling under pressure from
the Freedom From Religion Foundation, initially denied the permit, but
reconsidered after significant public outcry. In February, the Freedom from
Religion Foundation sued to have the statue permanently removed.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty intervened in
federal district court case on behalf of several individual Montanans and the
Knights of Columbus to defend a monument to
fallen soldiers that includes a statute of Jesus and stands on a public land in
a ski resort near Whitefish, Montana. The case was filed by the Freedom from
Religion Foundation, who claimed the monument violated the United States
Constitution. The Becket Fund asked the U.S. District Court in Montana to vindicate the
constitutional rights of Knights to honor soldiers who have given their lives
for our country.
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