BGEA Backs WWI Memorial in Supreme Court Case

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has jointly filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court, urging the high court to reverse a prior decision that a cross-shaped war memorial violates the separation of church and state.

Built in 1925, the almost 40-foot tall cross was created to honor 49 fallen World War I soldiers. Private citizens funded the marble and cement cross that now sits at a busy junction in Bladensburg, Maryland, just seven miles or so from Capitol Hill. The monument drew the attention of the American Humanist Association, and in 2014 the anti-religious group sued, claiming the historic memorial was unconstitutional because of its shape and its location on now state-maintained lands.

Lower courts agreed with that thinking, but the American Legion appealed, disagreeing with their reasons why and the precedent they used. The Supreme Court accepted the case, and arguments are expected to begin in late February.

Read the entire article here at the BGEA.