| Well, I was discussing general principle. The idea that First Amendment law does not apply to a state's expression is bogus. Under such law, the answer is: it depends. Basically, if the manifestation amounts to favoritism and promotion of a particular religion, even something broad (e.g. Christianity as opposed to Roman Catholicism), then it is ruled out of bounds. If the manifestation is rendered innocuous, for example, by contextualization (the example I gave of showing various law- givers in the Supreme Court frieze), then it is ruled in bounds. In this case, remove the statue from a position of honor, putting it into a side room, may suffice to meet the federal court's concerns. I more or less agree with this, even though I think that the federal courts have been more stringent than need be in many cases in the last 25 years. |
