Supreme Court Deliberates Over Ten Commandments Monument

Pleasant Grove could be forced to remove existing monuments, including one of the Ten Commandments, from its parks, or, be forced to accept all donated monuments depending on the outcome of a Utah free-speech case heard on November 12, 2008, by the US Supreme Court.

Justices wrestled with several First Amendment issues in the lawsuit over Pleasant Grove’s decision to reject a monument from Summum, a Salt Lake City based religious group that follows tenets of Gnostic Christianity and ancient Egyptian teachings, including mummification.

In 1971, Pleasant Grove accepted a Ten Commandments monument built by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and after September 11, 2001, the city allowed the Boy Scouts of America to build a monument to the firefighters and police officers who responded to the terrorist attacks. However, in 2003, Summum was denied an attempt to donate a monument bearing the church’s Seven Aphorisms, a set of principles that are central to the Summum religion.

If Pleasant Grove is required to either remove all existing monuments or permit the display of every monument that is donated, city governments across America will lose the ability to make decisions as to what message it wishes to portray. Pleasant Grove is simply recognizing the historical significance of the Ten Commandments as the foundation of our laws and the sacrifice made by civil servants on September 11, 2001.

We are a Christian nation and our government should not be forced into removing all religiously based monuments respecting our Judeo Christian heritage just to avoid displaying all donated monuments regardless of their message or relevance. The Supreme Court’s decision is expected within 90 days.

This information is provided by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit religious law firm dedicated to protecting religious liberty in the courts! To help us in our ongoing battle for religious freedom, click here to donate to Advocates.