Monuments to atheism and Christianity, now side-by-side at northern Florida courthouse

TALLAHASSEE —

Christians and nonbelievers alike are calling a monument erected recently outside the Bradford County Courthouse a victory.

The New Jersey-based American Atheists say their bench — etched with quotations from Founding Fathers, the nation’s most best-known atheist, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, and biblical punishments for breaking the Ten Commandments — is believed to be the first permanent atheist monument on government grounds in the country.

Many Christians, including an attorney representing Bradford County, believe that the bench — along with their neighboring Ten Commandments monument — will help them spread the word of God.

But the installation of the marble bench on June 29 has raised questions about whether the North Florida county’s use of a “free-speech zone” has opened the door for other local governments to create similar venues for religious expression and whether, taxpayer-sponsored or not, the monuments belong on government soil.

“My advice to communities all over the country is, if you don’t want to go through this kind of battle, keep it for its public purpose. Let people play Frisbee on it. Let people walk through it. We’ve gotten to a point where this has become clutter,” said Barry Lynn, executive director of Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

County officials in 2011 designated the space in front of the courthouse a “free-speech” zone, more commonly carved out on a temporary basis during Christmas and during large events such as national conventions, to pave the way for a Ten Commandments monument and attempt to avoid lawsuits over the statue.

It didn’t work. The American Atheists sued the county after the monument was erected. County officials then asked the Community Men’s Fellowship, which paid for the monument, to remove it. But the Christian men’s group refused and threatened to take the county to court.

A federal judge in March ordered the atheists, the Christians and the county into mediation. The result: unlikely allies, both seemingly satisfied and a possible landmark solution paving the way for other communities, especially in the South, to avert lengthy and expensive lawsuits over constitutional prohibitions against keeping religious dogma in the public realm.

Communities throughout Florida are grappling with similar First Amendment issues.

The American Civil Liberties Union won a preliminary lawsuit against Dixie County, where another Ten Commandments monument has stood since 2006. The civil rights group dropped the case after it reached federal appeals court, after plaintiff “John Doe” decided not to move into the community.

“Local politicians, probably throughout rural Florida in many places, that have been resistant to the whole notion of the separation of church and state are going to try to find any way they can to get around the requirement that government not be involved in the endorsement of religion,” said ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon. “But I think they’re going to trip over themselves if they do inept things like the placement of the free-speech zone in front of the county courthouse.”

To be truly neutral, the statues must be clearly marked that they are not government-sponsored and preferably located somewhere other than in front of the courthouse, Simon said.

“The danger is making people feel like outsiders and second-class citizens even in their own community because of their religion,” he said.

Because the Ten Commandments statue is prominently displayed in front of the courthouse and overshadows the bench, visitors may be confused about whether the monument reflects an official government position on religion, Simon said.

But Bradford County lawyer Terence Brown, who participated in negotiations on the settlement allowing the atheist monument to go up, called the result the best of both worlds.

“I know the atheists have tried to create a lot of publicity over this. That’s fine. As a believer, we’re commanded to spread the gospel. That’s what we’re supposed to do. And rather than having to search out nonbelievers, they’re coming to us. So when you think about it, it’s a good situation,” Brown said.

Visitors to the site will unavoidably have to see the twin tablets. “It dwarfs what they do,” he said.

Ken Weaver, president of the Community Men’s Fellowship, said that the tablets are an expression of the group’s faith, upon which the country was founded.

“As Christians, we understand our relationship to God as a matter of faith. … It’s not our intention to force people to be Christians. That’s not even close to being true with our faith,” Weaver said. “We believe those commandments were foundational in establishing the rules that govern our nation today. Too many times today, Christians are put under the microscope and scrutiny of other groups, and as a result end up giving up our rights or having our rights removed from us.”

In an ideal world, visitors to the courthouse would not be confronted by either monument, said American Atheists President David Silverman.

“We have a strong preference for no monuments,” he said. “We are not thrilled with this. We’re thrilled with having a monument, with taking our stand. But our preference is the city land is clean of religion and religious opinion. If they take down the Ten Commandments, we will take down the bench at our own cost.” PalmBeachPost