Atheists sue to remove Jesus statue from Big Mountain

Atheists sue to remove Jesus statue from Big Mountain

Atheists sue to remove Jesus statue from Big Mountain
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Missoulianmissoulian.com |

Posted: Thursday, February 9, 2012 5:30 am | (53) Comments


LINDA THOMPSON/Missoulian
Lyle Burke of Alberta, Canada, poses with a statue of Jesus Christ near the top of Chair 2 at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Sunday afternoon. Passersby have visited and had their photos taken with the statue since it was first installed in 1955 as a tribute to war veterans.






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WHITEFISH - A national organization of atheists and agnostics filed a lawsuit Wednesday demanding that a statue of Jesus be removed from a small parcel of federal land on the Whitefish Mountain Resort ski area.
The group, Freedom From Religion Foundation, filed the legal action in U.S. District Court in Missoula. The lawsuit follows on the heels of a Jan. 31 decision by top Flathead National Forest officials to let the statue stay, and elevates the controversial issue to new heights.
The suit names as defendants the U.S. Forest Service and Flathead National Forest Supervisor Chip Weber, who issued the decision to reauthorize a special use permit for the Knights of Columbus Council No. 1328, whose members maintain the statue and lease the site. The permit lasts 10 years.
"I understand the statue has been a longstanding object in the community since 1955, and I recognize that the statue is important to the community for its historical heritage based on its association with the early development of the ski area on Big Mountain," Weber told the Missoulian at the time. The statue's historic value and its eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places are both related to its location on the mountain, he said.
The Jesus statue has stood near the upper reaches of Chair Two since 1955. Last August, FFRF challenged the Forest Service permit, arguing it was an unconstitutional state endorsement of religion. The Forest Service initially opted to deny the permit and remove the statue, but suspended that decision for a public review.
The Forest Service subsequently received almost 95,000 public comments on the statue's fate. The comments didn't point out any substantive environmental concerns about its placement, Weber said.
The decision did little to quell opposition from FFRF, which is based out of Wisconsin and claims to have 17,500 members, including more than 100 in Montana "who have had direct and unwanted exposure to the shrine," according to the group's news release announcing the suit.
Local support for the statue has been overwhelming, however, and in November proponents staged a mountaintop demonstration called "Occupy Big Mountain." The principal organizers of the rally also launched a Facebook page that grew quickly in popularity.
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A small faction of local opponents have also made their voices heard, saying the statue is offensive to non-Christians and violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Ian Cameron, president of the Flathead Area Secular Humanist Association, said the statue is plainly a religious symbol and dismissed its widely-cited history as a memorial to World War II veterans - members of the Army's 10th Mountain Division who were early founders of the ski area on Big Mountain.
Cameron pointed to a 1954 Whitefish Pilot article about the statue's dedication ceremony as evidence of its unabashed religious symbolism. The article refers to the statue as a "shrine" whose placement on the mountain came at the behest of Catholic skiers participating in the National Ski Championships, which were held at Big Mountain in 1949 and 1951.
"Several of the world's leading skiers are Catholics and they asked why a shrine had not been placed," according to the article. Those skiers included early pioneers of the Big Mountain ski area like Toni Matt, former U.S. downhill champion who served as a lieutenant in the 10th Mountain Division.
Still, Cameron said the religious connotations cannot be ignored.
"That contradicts all of the previous reports," Cameron said. "We are not militant atheists out to stamp out religion. We are fighting to make sure that everyone has a seat at the table."
Cameron said he formed the Flathead Area Secular Humanist Association last September, just as news of the statue's uncertain fate was reported. Until then, he never knew the statue existed, and to his knowledge none of the association's roughly two dozen members had complained.
"I'm not a skier so I hadn't seen it, but now that I know it's out there looking down on the valley, I am offended," Cameron said. "It bothers me that it's up there and that it's on government land."
U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., a vocal supporter of the statue from the beginning, pledged to continue his support of the statue.
"The Whitefish community and the Forest Service did not ask for this fight, but we're going to do whatever is necessary to win it," he said Wednesday in an email responding to the lawsuit. "In this case, the Forest Service made the right decision to extend the permit and let the monument stand. They have the overwhelming support of the local community and the American people in their stand against litigious bullies who want to force their narrow beliefs on the rest of us."
The civil case was assigned to newly appointed U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen, who in December left his Flathead Valley law practice for the federal judgeship in Missoula.
Reporter Tristan Scott can be reached at (406) 730-1067 or attscott@missoulian.com.





Relatated previous posts on this issue.

http://www.alipac.us/f19/montana-whi...6/#post1255870