Opinion ID: 2995195
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Historical Practices

Text: Even if the proposed monument was found not to satisfy the requirements of Lemon, which I am convinced it does, I still would dissent from the majority’s opinion. Where a religious symbol has a landmark foundation and meaning in the history of our country the Supreme Court has side-stepped the strictures of Lemon to avoid a result con- trary to the clear intent of the Framers of the Constitution. Then-Justice Rehnquist discussed at length the history and intent of the Framers who crafted the First Amendment in Wallace, 472 U.S. at 95-114 (Rehnquist, J., dissenting). I share in the view that the First Amendment was never intended to be read in a wholly secular fashion, as if its objective were to remove all religious expression from the public square and to prefer irreligion over religion. Our Nation’s history is replete with religious symbols linked in some way to the government. Indeed, George Washington, at the request of the Congress that passed the Bill of Rights, pro- claimed, Thanksgiving to be a day of prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God. See id., 472 U.S. at 113. Washington further declared Thanksgiving to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficial author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be . . . [and] that we may all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people of this country . . . and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us . . . and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions . . . to promote the knowledge and practice of true reli- gion and virtue . . . and to grant all mankind a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows best. George Washington, Proclamation: A National Thanksgiving (reprinted in 5 Founders’ Constitution 94). Similarly, Thomas Jefferson signed treaties with Indian tribes that provided annual cash support in order for a Roman Catholic priest to provide services for the tribes. Wallace, 472 U.S. at 103. Washington’s and Jefferson’s examples have been followed as the practice of Congressional prayer has continued uninterrupted since the very first Congress. Moreover, each Congress elects (and pays a salary to) a Chaplain to preside over this practice. See Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783, 788-89 & n.10 (1982). The Supreme Court (and this court) open their sessions with an declaration that states God save the United States and this Honorable Court. Marsh, 463 U.S. at 786; Zorach v. Clausen, 343 U.S. 306, 312-13 (1952). Numerous other governmental practices pay homage to our religious heritage, including national holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, military chaplains, the motto, and the Pledge of Alle- giance. See Lynch, 465 U.S. at 674-75. Our cur- rency bears the motto In God We Trust. Because of their history and ubiquity, those practices are not understood as conveying government ap- proval of particular religious beliefs, id. at 693, but instead as part of the richness of the very fabric of our Judeo-Christian heritage which comprises an integral part of our Nation’s histo- ry and culture./2 The proposed monument’s reference to the Ten Commandments is much like other references (that have been deemed not to violate the Constitution) to God as set forth in the Christian history of our country--not an endorsement of religion, but merely an acknowledgment of the historical fact that the Ten Commandments served as an integral part of the foundation for our country’s legal system. Because of the Ten Commandments’ history and ubiquity, I believe that even if the monument would somehow fail the strictures of Lemon, Indiana’s proposed monument as determined herein does not violate the Establishment Clause.