American Atheists, Inc. v. Port Authority
936 F.Supp.2d 321, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45496, 2013 WL 1285321 (2013)
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Rule of Law:
The display of a religious artifact in a government-funded museum does not violate the Establishment Clause if it has a secular, historical purpose, and its context negates any message of religious endorsement from the perspective of a reasonable observer.
Facts:
- After the September 11, 2001 attacks, recovery workers found steel beams in the shape of a seventeen-foot-tall cross in the debris.
- The workers erected the cross at the rescue site, where it was regarded by many as a source of comfort and was used in religious services.
- In 2006, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a bi-state agency, moved the cross to Saint Peter’s Church.
- In 2011, the Port Authority donated the cross and transferred legal title to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum Foundation, a public charity responsible for operating the museum.
- The Foundation planned to display the cross within the museum's Historical Exhibition in a section titled “Finding Meaning at Ground Zero.”
- The planned display was to be accompanied by text panels explaining the artifact's historical significance to the recovery effort.
- The exhibit was also slated to include other objects of historical significance, such as secular artifacts and steel cut into other religious and non-religious symbols, including a Star of David.
Procedural Posture:
- American Atheists, Inc. and several individuals sued the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum Foundation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
- The complaint alleged that the planned display of a cross in the museum violated the Establishment and Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. Constitution, as well as various state laws.
- Both the Port Authority and the Foundation filed separate Motions for Summary Judgment, asking the court to dismiss the case without a full trial.
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Issue:
Does the inclusion of a large cross-shaped artifact, found in the debris of the World Trade Center, in a historical exhibit at the National September 11 Museum violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?
Opinions:
Majority - Batts, J.
No, the inclusion of the cross-shaped artifact in the National September 11 Museum does not violate the Establishment Clause. Applying the Lemon test, the court determined that the display satisfies all three prongs. First, the cross has a genuine secular and historical purpose: to tell the story of how some people coped with the devastation at Ground Zero. Second, its primary effect does not endorse religion, as a reasonable observer would understand its historical context within a museum setting, surrounded by other secular artifacts and explanatory placards. The court reasoned that the museum context negates any message of endorsement, similar to how religious paintings are displayed in art museums. Finally, the display does not foster excessive government entanglement with religion, as the museum, not a religious entity, is the beneficiary, and there is no ongoing relationship between the government and religious authorities regarding the exhibit.
Analysis:
This decision reinforces the legal principle that context is paramount in Establishment Clause jurisprudence. It affirms that a powerful religious symbol can be constitutionally displayed by a state actor if its context effectively secularizes its meaning, shifting it from an object of veneration to one of historical or educational significance. The ruling provides a clear framework for government-funded museums to display historically important religious artifacts without being seen as endorsing a particular faith. It demonstrates that the 'reasonable observer' standard takes into account the entire setting, including educational materials and the presence of other secular objects, to determine the government's message.
