Mark Kwiecienski complains about menorahs in public parks in Basalt ( “Menorahs don’t belong on public land,” Dec. 4, The Aspen Times). He says such religious displays violate the prohibition on “separation of church and state” and the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Kwiecienski is wrong on the facts and law, and his allusions to vandalism are troubling. The U.S. Supreme Court has addressed religious expressions in public places, on public land and at government meetings multiple times. And, they have continued to rule, though not always consistently, that religious symbols, prayers and other exhibitions of religious belief or celebration are permitted to some extent in the “public square.” In Salzar v. Buono, the court held that the Constitution does not require the removal of religious symbols from public land. That case involved a cross honoring war dead placed in 1934 in the Mojave Desert on public land. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in Salazar that “the Constitution does not oblige government to avoid any public acknowledgment of religion’s role in society.” Religious symbols on public property (temporary or otherwise), particularly those placed by private groups, are thus permitted. In Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) the Supreme Court (famous “Lemon […]
