Atheist group appeals Jesus statue ruling

A Wisconsin-based atheist group has appealed last year’s federal district court decision that allowed a statue of Jesus to remain on the side of Big Mountain inside Whitefish Mountain Resort.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation filed notice last summer that it would appeal the U.S. District Court ruling that kept the statue in place. Last week, the group filed a 60-page brief supporting its position to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Jesus statue is located on a small piece of national forest land near the top of Chair 2. The Knights of Columbus, which has maintained the statue at that location for about 60 years, claim the statue is a memorial to World War II veterans.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation, however, claims the statue violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which is the basis for the argument for separation of church and state.

“A permanent Catholic shrine on public land is prohibited by the Establishment Clause, every bit as much as a Catholic church would be,” the foundation’s brief states.

The foundation claims the statue is “an unambiguous and intended religious endorsement.”

“The monument was intended as, and approved by the Forest Service as, a religious shrine — and Jesus on Big Mountain remains a government-favored religious icon today,” the brief states.

The foundation says it’s suing on behalf of its 100 Montana members, including three who claim they have come into unwelcome contact with the statue.

Their brief cites William Cox, who claims he has long opposed the statue and has had “frequent and unwanted exposure to it when he skis on Big Mountain many times each winter.”

Another, foundation member Doug Bonham, claims he found the statue to be “grossly out of place” when he first encountered it. Bonham also said his 15-year-old daughter, who often skis on the mountain, considers it “ridiculously out of place.”

A second foundation member, Pamela Morris, said she first encountered the statue in 1957 at age 15 when she was part of a ski team. She said she regards the statue “intrusive” and “startlingly out of place.” Morris said she has since avoided the area, choosing to pursue other outdoor activities.

In last year’s ruling, U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen said leasing public land within a private ski resort to a private organization that maintains the statue does not violate the Establishment Clause. His ruling allowed the Flathead National Forest to re-issue the Knights of Columbus’ 10-year permit for the statue.

Christensen also said the statue’s presence does not convey that the government endorses Christianity over any other faith or absence of faith.

Flathead Forest officials initially denied a permit to the Knights of Columbus and called for removal or the statue. The decision was suspended after public outcry, and the matter was opened to public review.

Forest officials eventually reauthorized a special-use permit last year. The decision came after about 95,000 comments were received during an environmental analysis of the permit.