SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE:
Municipalities' use of religion in their seals
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Results of a court case:
Republic MO: Marilyn
Schexsnayder won a public competition to design a new city seal in 1990. She
included an ichthus - a fish symbol - believing that
it was a generally accepted icon that represented all religions. It is not. It
was originally a Pagan fertility symbol. Later, it widely used among early Christians in the Roman Empire. They noted that
ichthus (Greek for "fish") is a Greek acronym for "Jesus
Christ, Son of God." It is still commonly utilized by Christians. Jean
Webb, a Wiccan, wrote an opinion piece in the local
newspaper in which she opposed the symbol; she felt that the city was implying
that her Neopagan religion was not welcome. She received hate mail and harassing
phone calls. Her children were ostracized. The Republic Board of Aldermen
refused to remove the symbol voluntarily. With the help of the ACLU, Webb sued
the city in 1998-JUL, even though she had previously moved out of the area to
avoid the harassment. The city's lawyers argued that the religious nature of the ichthus is in dispute. On 1999-JUL-9, U.S. District Judge Russell Clark decided
in favor of Webb. In his ruling, he wrote: "Webb brings
overwhelming evidence before the Court to show that only one conclusion is
possible: when viewing the fish on Republic’s flag, a reasonable observer
would conclude that it is a Christian religious symbol...Almost all other courts
examining the inclusion of a religious symbol within a city seal have found them
in contravention of the principles of separation of church and state...While the
citizens of Republic may have intended that its seal send only a message of
moral values or promote ‘a universal symbol of religion,’ an applaudable
motive cannot save the city seal from a violation of the Establishment
Clause...While the purpose of placing the fish symbol on the city seal may not
have been to endorse Christianity, the effect of the seal is to do so...The
portrayal of the fish impermissibly excludes other religious beliefs or
non-beliefs and -– intended or not -– depicts Christianity as the religion
recognized and endorsed by the residents of Republic. The Republic city seal
pervasively invades the daily lives of non-Christians and sends a message that
they are outsiders. The Constitution forbids such a result. The Supreme Court
has unambiguously concluded that...the First Amendment embraces the right to
select any religious faith or none at all."
Jean Webb did not ask for monetary damages and was granted none. A citizens'
committee raised thousands of dollars to fund an appeal. On 1999-JUL-19, the
city voted to remove the Christian fish symbol from its seal. 1
The mayor had to break a 4-4 tie. Although an appeal was supported by the vast
majority of the approximately 200 people who attended the council meeting, the
city leaders were concerned about having to pay the ACLU legal costs if they
lost the appeal.
Steve Fitschen is president of the National Legal Foundation of Virginia
Beach. They supported the city in its court case. He pointed out that an
appeal might be winnable since the original plaintiff was no longer living in
the city, and thus did not have legal standing. (She had been driven from the
city by continual harassment). Ray Bennett, a deacon at First Baptist Church
of Republic saw at least one positive outcome from the court case: countless
Americans now know what the fish symbol stands
for.
Conflict resolved outside the court system:
Los Angeles County, CA: The city
seal was redesigned by the former Supervisor Kenneth Hahn circa 1957 to
include a small cross. It is seen grouped with two stars and a depiction
of the Hollywood Bowl -- a symbol of culture -- at the 3 o'clock
position on the seal.
The two stars represent the movie and television
industries. Some people in the county read about the Redlands case
described elsewhere, and complained to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
about the Los Angeles County seal. The ACLU sent a letter to county
officials noting that the seal "prominently depicts a Latin cross, a
sectarian religious symbol that represents the beliefs of one segment of
the county's diverse population" [and is an] impermissible endorsement
of Christianity." Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich responded with a
letter referring to the Roman Catholic
missionaries who established missions in what is now Los Angeles County.
He wrote: "The cross on our county seal reflects these historical
facts. It does not mean that we are all Roman
Catholics or that everyone who resides in our county is
a Christian - it only reflects our historical roots."
Supervisor Don Knabe introduced a motion during the week of 2004-MAY-23 to
"begin preparations to protect and defend the county seal if such
frivolous litigation is brought against the county." The motion
was voted upon on JUN-01, and did not pass.
Instead, the Board of Supervisors decided by a 3 to 2 vote to remove the
cross symbol. Ironically, by far the largest image is at the center of the seal. It
represents Pomona, the Roman Pagan Goddess of
fruits and trees. She represents the county's agriculture industry. No one seems
to have complained about the presence of a Pagan symbol. Of course, it
is probably not obvious to the casual observer that Pomona is anyone
other than an ordinary woman carrying agricultural products. 2
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
-
Baptist Press, "Town removes Christian symbol from seal,"
1999-JUL-22. On line at: http://www.mcjonline.com/
-
John Antczak, "ACLU demands removal of cross from Los Angeles County
seal," Associated Press, 2004-MAY-25, at:
http://www.sacbee.com
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