Holly Hollman is general counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, which submitted an amicus brief in support of the respondents in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association . When the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in the Bladensburg cross case , many church-state separationists feared a sweeping decision that would fundamentally alter the court’s religious liberty law in harmful ways. The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) was particularly concerned about arguments that would desacralize the pre-eminent symbol of Christianity in order to justify its display on government land. In a brief written by church-state scholar Douglas Laycock and joined by Christian and Jewish organizations, BJC urged the court to reject the radical arguments of the government and its allies. Simply put, “The cross is not a secular symbol, and neither the Commission nor the Court can make it so.” After briefing and oral argument, it seemed the court might take a narrower path — one that would retain this particular decades-old cross without clearing a constitutional path for similar government monuments today. That is exactly what the court did in a splintered 7-2 decision that reflects sharp divisions on the court about the […]
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