Separation of Church and State in the Mojave National Preserve Debate

May 6, 2003

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0506/p02s02-usju.html

On May 6, 2003 The Christian Science Monitor reported that "perched on a wind-swept rock jutting 30 feet above the Mojave National Preserve, the monument looks like a headless man in an ugly suit. It's actually a six-foot cross - covered, by court order, with brown canvas - at the root of a debate over the separation of church and state... The Mojave Cross has sparked a First Amendment battle stretching from here to Congress over what constitutes religious symbolism and what is just plain historic. Civil libertarians say the outcome could have repercussions for dozens of other cases, ranging from the use of Confederate symbols on Civil War battlefields to the development of national park land... The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the National Park Service in March 2001, saying the cross violates the First Amendment because it is a 'religious fixture' on federal land."