Neon Bible display does religion no favors, BJC argues in friend-of-the-court brief

January 25, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON—On Tuesday in New Orleans, the entire 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in a case involving a Bible display at the entrance to the Harris County Civil Courts Building in Houston.

The display was erected in 1956 by Carlos Morris, then-president of the Star of Hope Mission, in part to honor a prominent Houston businessman and mission supporter. The Bible was displayed inside the glass top of a podium outside the main entrance.

In the years after its dedication, the monument was stolen and replaced several times, including a nearly seven-year period when the top of the monument remained open and empty. In 1995, a state district judge successfully sought to have the monument refurbished as part of a campaign platform to “put Christianity into government.”

In 1995, a ceremony was held to dedicate a refurbished monument replete with a copy of the King James Bible and neon lighting installed to illuminate it.

In 2003, Kay Staley, a local real estate agent and lawyer, challenged the display, and in 2004, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake ruled that the display violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. In August 2006, a 3-member panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Lake’s decision in a 2-1 ruling. But, at the request of the County, the full court agreed to hear Tuesday’s oral arguments in the case.

The Baptist Joint Committee filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, joined by the American Jewish Committee, asking the court en banc to affirm the district court’s ruling.

According to the BJC brief, “the influence neither of religion nor of government is enhanced when the two are mingled.”

“We strongly believe that religion and religious values are not furthered, but are affirmatively degraded and diminished, when government itself takes the pulpit,” the brief states. “When government officials decide which particular religious message is most worthy of dissemination to the community, and how that message should be delivered, religious liberty is denied and religion itself is diminished.”

The brief continues, “The expression of religious faith should be the business of religious people and religious institutions, not the business of government.”

BJC General Counsel K. Hollyn Hollman said the display of the Bible on government grounds is in direct conflict to the government’s position of religious neutrality.

“The government should protect the religious freedom of all its citizens, not promote a particular religion by putting a chosen religious text on a pedestal,” Hollman said. “Here, the county is acting as a sort of high priest, making judgments about religion that are outside its competency.”

Hollman said the government has no business speaking for the people in matters of religion.

“When the government displays a religious text, it necessarily interferes in the religious decisions of individuals and faith communities,” Hollman said. “Government-sponsored religious displays, like the one in this case, necessarily involve religious decisions. They tell us what religious text the government endorses, the translation it deems most authoritative, and the manner in which the text should be displayed. Surely, Christianity does not need this kind of help.”

Last week, Harris County officials removed the monument, citing its removal as part of the renovation of the Civil Courts Building. County officials argue that the move was not related to Tuesday’s hearing.

To read amicus brief in its entirety, click here: StaleyAmicusBrief.pdf