Fifth Circuit Upholds Atheist Group's Right to Display Altered Nativity Scene
(CN) – A federal appeals court ruled for the atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation late Friday in their dispute with Texas officials over the removal of its nativity scene at the Texas Capitol that promoted separation of church and state.
A three-judge panel with the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans unanimously concluded a federal court in Austin had jurisdiction to rule on the lawsuit.
The FFRF sued Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Rod Welsh, executive director of the Texas State Preservation Board, in 2016 for free speech, equal protection and due process violations after its nativity scene was removed one year earlier.
Abbott had asked the board to remove the scene that depicts the Statue of Liberty and three Founding Fathers standing and kneeling around a copy of the Bill of Rights inside of a manger instead of a baby Jesus.
The scene contained a banner stating “Happy Winter Solstice / At this Season of the Winter Solstice, We Honor Reason and the Bill of Rights (adopted December 15, 2791 / Keep State & Church Separate / On Behalf of Texas Members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.”
https://www.courthousenews.com/fifth-circuit-upholds-atheist-groups-right-to-display-altered-nativity-scene/
