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A splintered Supreme Court displayed its deep divisions over the separation of church and state Wednesday, with the court's prevailing conservatives signaling a broader openness to the idea that the Constitution does not require the removal of religious symbols from public land.

A 5 to 4 decision by the court overturns a federal judge's objection to a white cross erected more than 75 years ago on a stretch of the Mojave Desert to honor the dead of World War I.

Six justices explained their reasoning in writing, often using stirring rhetoric or emotional images of sacrifice and faith to describe how religion can both honor the nation's dead and divide a pluralistic nation.

The bottom line, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote, is that "the Constitution does not oblige government to avoid any public acknowledgment of religion's role in society." Although joined in full only by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Kennedy's opinion will be closely parsed as courts across the country consider challenges to religious displays in public settings.

-Article continued off site, courtesy Washington Post.

A federal district court ruled today* that a special Christian license plate mandated by the South Carolina legislature violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie held that the plate, which was to feature a large yellow cross, a stained-glass window and the words “I Believe,” clearly gives favored government treatment to one faith. In a summary judgment ruling, she ordered state officials not to issue the plate.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which served as counsel in the case, praised the decision.

“This is great news,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “Government must never be allowed to express favored treatment for one faith over others. That’s unconstitutional and un-American.

“Some officials seem to want to use religion as a political football,” Lynn said. “That’s an appalling misuse of governmental authority, and I am thrilled that the judge put a stop to it.”

Article continues off site, courtesy Americans United. *PDF Download link.

Reporting from Washington - A Supreme Court argument Wednesday over a cross in the Mojave National Preserve sparked a sharp dispute over whether the Latin cross stands as a symbol of all fallen soldiers, including Jews and Muslims.

In a discussion over whether the display within a public preserve violated the 1st Amendment ban on "establishment of religion," a Los Angeles lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union said a cross "is the predominant symbol of Christianity.

"It signifies that Jesus is the son of God and died to redeem mankind for our sins," Peter Eliasberg told the justices. But because of its special religious significance, he said, it should not stand alone as a prominent symbol in a national park.

Justice Antonin Scalia sharply disagreed. "It's erected as a war memorial. I assume it is erected in honor of all the war dead."

-Article continues off site, courtesy LATimes.

WASHINGTON — Protests by conservative lawmakers led architects to promise to add "In God We Trust" as the national motto and to engrave the Pledge of Allegiance in the new $621 million Capitol Visitor Center.

Sen. Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, had threatened to delay Tuesday's opening of the marble-and-stone center that took seven years to build at triple the original cost.

The estimated 3 million people who tour the U.S. Capitol each year will now assemble in a grand monument-like building likely to become a tourist stop on its own.

After taking a tour of the visitor center in September with Steven Ayers, the architect of the Capitol who oversaw its completion, DeMint correctly noted that it had erroneously described "E. Pluribus Unum" -- Latin for "from many, one" -- as the national motto rather than "In God We Trust."

-Article continues off site, courtesy McClatchy Newspapers.

Under state law, God is Kentucky's first line of defense against terrorism.

The 2006 law organizing the state Office of Homeland Security lists its initial duty as "stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth."

Specifically, Homeland Security is ordered to publicize God's benevolent protection in its reports, and it must post a plaque at the entrance to the state Emergency Operations Center with an 88-word statement that begins, "The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God."

State Rep. Tom Riner, a Southern Baptist minister, tucked the God provision into Homeland Security legislation as a floor amendment that lawmakers overwhelmingly approved two years ago.

-Article continues off site, courtesy the Lexington Herald Leader.

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