Just 5 miles away from the Supreme Court on public land stands a 40-foot monument called the “Peace Cross.” It stands as a memorial for approximately 50 fallen soldiers who died in battle during World War I. Completed in 1925, it has stood for almost a century in remembrance of valiant veterans who died in the line of duty. However, today this monument and what it represents is under investigation as to whether or not it truly separates church and state. The controversy surrounding the Peace Cross illustrates how in the United States the line between church and state can be undefinable and difficult to interpret.
As the name of the monument suggests this memorial is in the shape of a cross; a very explicit symbol of Christianity. It first faced legal questioning when a law suit was filed in 2014 claiming that the Peace Cross violated the First Amendment. At first, a federal district court ruled that the monument could stay, but in 2017 an appeal was made and a panel concluded that the monument displayed the “preeminent symbol of Christianity” and therefore violated the First Amendment. The ultimate fate of the Peace Cross will be decided this upcoming week when the Supreme Court hears the trial.
This controversy over the Peace Cross is only one of the most recent examples of the seemingly never-ending battle to separate church and state. Although the United States was founded to ensure religious freedom the very obvious “American religion” has always been Christianity. For example, during World War II Japanese Americans were taken from their lives and their homes and were forced to live in internment camps. These camps were more like prison camps. Guarded with armed men and chain link and barbed wire fences Japanese men, women, and children were forced to work and learn the American way. They were taught Christianity in these camps although many of them had very different religious beliefs. Although the First Amendment obviously stood in place at the time these camps and conditions were justified because of culture. When the Peace Cross was erected it was also justified because of prominence and the cultural norm of Christianity. It was erected to remember soldiers who had fallen. Each soldier coming from different backgrounds, beliefs, and practices, but each soldier had one thing in common; they were American. The cross was originally supposed to memorialize and include all Americans who had died at war, but today it is under fire because not all Americans and certainly not all who have died for this great country are Christian.
To help set boundaries as to what the government could and could not do in regard to religion something called the Lemon Test was created in 1971. Through the years however courts have ignored the Lemon Test and its set of rules and decided cases on more of a case by case basis making it ever more unclear and uncertain as where the line should be drawn to truly separate church and state. As for the ruling on the Peace Cross next week the only thing that is certain is that the ruling will be unpredictable. Whatever the ruling ends up being the repercussions could have far reaching effects on the fate of other First Amendment controversies and could shed light on what actions the government should take in the future to separate church and state.
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