2015 Victories: Stopping Angry Atheists from Tearing Down a War Memorial Statue of Jesus

This is the latest installment in a year-end series looking back at a few of the many victories by the ACLJ in 2015.

When angry atheists demanded a World War II heroes’ memorial be torn down – disgracing the memory of those who sacrificed so much for our nation – we took decisive action and helped secure a major victory.

For nearly four years, we have been fighting to defend a World War II veterans’ memorial statue of Jesus in Montana. Attacked in court by the angry atheists at the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), we defended the religious heritage of our nation and its veterans who fought for freedom around the world during World War II on behalf of over 100,000 concerned Americans and concerned Members of Congress.

In October 2011, the FFRF targeted the statue of Jesus erected on Big Mountain, Montana in the 1950s by World War II veterans who were members of the Knights of Columbus. They wanted to commemorate their fallen comrades with a statue inspired by those they saw in the mountains of Europe during war.

The FFRF responded by calling the statue a “ruse and a sham.” One veteran from the community said removing the statue would be “a slap in the face of the men and women who served their country and built this community.”

We initially sent a legal letter to the Forest Service urging them to do the right thing and respect the constitutionally protected interests of the local veterans and citizens. They responded by allowing the war memorial to remain on Big Mountain. Then, in February 2012, FFRF filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging a number of absurd constitutional violations. We filed a number of critical amicus briefs on behalf of nearly 100,000 Americans and key Members of Congress, in multiple courts, arguing that the frivolous lawsuit should be dismissed and that the statue was constitutional.

We helped win decisive victories at both the federal district court and on appeal.  In September of this year, we helped achieved a final victory when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with us, stating, “There is nothing in the statue's display or setting to suggest government endorsement [of religion].”

Our religious heritage was upheld by the Constitution once again, and the memory of our war heroes continues to be honored.

To help the ACLJ continue to have the resources we need to make these victories possible and continue these fights,please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the ACLJ through our year-end Matching Challenge.  Your gift will be doubled dollar-for-dollar through the end of the year.

You will be able to read more in the ACLJ’s 2015 Victories series here.