Christian Cross in Texas Park Needs to Come Down, Says Atheist Group

This is the Christian cross you’ll see if you visit the Port Neches RiverFront Park in Texas.

It’s by itself. There are no other religious symbols in the area. And it’s been there for nearly five decades. But as we’ve said many times before on this site, time doesn’t cure something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

This week, after hearing from a local resident, the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the Mayor:

“The government’s permanent display of a Latin cross on public land is unconstitutional. The inherent religious significance of the Latin cross is undeniable and is not disguisable,” according to the letter signed by Rebecca S. Markert, staff attorney for FFRF. “No secular purpose, no matter how sincere, will detract from the overall message that the Latin cross stands for Christianity and that display promotes Christianity. The display of this patently religious symbol on public property confers government endorsement of Christianity, a blatant violation of the Establishment Clause.”

A group of Christians who don’t understand how the law works plan to hold a prayer vigil at the cross this Sunday. I guess that’s one way to show how secular the cross is…

(Image via Facebook. Thanks to Amber for the link)