Free Republic

A familiar nativity scene and menorah were removed from the Luzerne County Courthouse lawn Wednesday night because the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to get a restraining order. County Solicitor Vito DeLuca said a Pittsburgh lawyer from the ACLU contacted him Wednesday to give the county an opportunity to remove the items before it filed court action that was already in the works. The ACLU argues the displays violate the separation of church and state clause of the U.S. Constitution, DeLuca said. DeLuca said county officials opted not to spend time and money on a lawsuit – at least not...

Springfield Nativity Scene To Stand In Illinois State Capitol Rotunda Building For Second Year: ACLU Says It Supports Constitutional Rights To Express Religious Liberty In the Public Square by Daniel T. Zanoza, Executive Director of RFFM.org and Chairman of the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee For the second year a row, a Nativity Scene will stand in the state Capitol Rotunda Building in Springfield, Illinois. Last Christmas season, the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC) made history with the financial and legal assistance of the Chicago-based Thomas More Society (TMS) and the support of private donations. An article written by Kurt Erickson...

The lunch conversation inevitably turned to whether the White House would display its crèche, customarily placed in a prominent spot in the East Room. Ms. Rogers, this participant said, replied that the Obamas did not intend to put the manger scene on display — a remark that drew an audible gasp from the tight-knit social secretary sisterhood. (A White House official confirmed that there had been internal discussions about making Christmas more inclusive and whether to display the crèche.) Yet in the end, tradition won out; the executive mansion is now decorated for the Christmas holiday, and the crèche is...

A Michigan man has filed a federal lawsuit claiming his constitutional rights were violated when he was ordered to remove a Nativity scene from the median of a public road — a creche that his family has displayed at the location for 63 years. John Satawa, of Warren, Mich., filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Friday in an attempt to be allowed to put back the 8- by 8-foot nativity scene his late father built in 1945. After receiving a complaint by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation last December, the Road Commission of Macomb County told Satawa...

A Michigan man has filed a federal lawsuit claiming his constitutional rights were violated when he was ordered to remove a Nativity scene from the median of a public road — a creche that his family has displayed at the location for 63 years. John Satawa, of Warren, Mich., filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Friday in an attempt to be allowed to put back the 8- by 8-foot nativity scene his late father built in 1945. After receiving a complaint by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation last December, the Road Commission of Macomb County told Satawa...

ANN ARBOR, MI — After four years of litigation by the Thomas More Law Center, John Satawa will once again be able to erect a Nativity display on a public median in Warren, Michigan—a tradition that his family and neighbors have been observing every Christmas since 1945. Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented: “Every December, militant secularists declare war on Christmas celebrations. This is one battle they lost. And we are extremely pleased that Mr. Satawa and his neighbors will be able to resume their wonderful tradition just in time for this Christmas.” The Nativity...

Taunton second-grader suspended over drawing of Jesus Father angered by forced psychological evaluation of boy, 8 By Gerry Tuoti, Staff Writer GateHouse News Service Posted Dec 14, 2009 @ 10:20 PM Taunton — A Taunton father is outraged after his 8-year-old son was sent home from school and required to undergo a psychological evaluation after drawing a stick-figure picture of Jesus Christ on the cross. The father said he got a call earlier this month from Maxham Elementary School informing him that his son, a second-grade student, had created a violent drawing. The image in question depicted a crucified Jesus...

CHRISTMAS IN JAPAN can be a little lonely and isolated for the Westerner here. What with the distance from “home” and cultural differences. Little things, here and there. Missing some of the usual things from back home, especially for people like one particular 'American in Tokyo'. This year 2009 is again no different. However, in many respects I must say there is nevertheless one little thing that is so refreshing about being stuck in Japan during Christmas—after a few years—and for the occasions one cannot make it back "home". It is almost like the clock has been refreshingly and...

Christians should not show timidity in cultural disputes over traditional Christmas songs, displays and Nativity scenes, the head of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights says. He charges such disputes are contrived by a small set of “mean-spirited people” who wrongly insinuate that many non-Christians are offended by Christmas. Many reports surface each year regarding local governments putting restrictions on traditional Christmas displays, and Christmas 2009 is no exception. A life-sized crèche was displayed for about 50 years in the public square of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. However, this year the display has been banned because one man said he...

Arguments are scheduled Monday in the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia on a school district's decision to censor Christmas carols – even holiday melodies without words. Attorneys with the Thomas More Law Center say they will argue to reverse a lower court ruling affirming a policy in the South Orange-Maplewood School District that banned the music after someone complained. The law firm says the school's ban was specifically aimed at preventing Christmas music, including simple instrumentals without words, during holiday concernts. The district had allowed the performance of traditional Christmas music for more than 60 years but...