Atheist Holiday Display Spawns Controversy in Connecticut

At the end of 2007, a small group of atheists in the Hartford, Connecticut, area gained notoriety for a holiday display erected on the front lawn of the Vernon Town Hall. A single sign, legally posted by the group, struck at the heart of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which, in just one, short sentence, protects our most valued freedoms in the U.S., and creates the basis for the separation of church and state:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

On December 12, 2007, The Journal Inquirer, which bills itself as "North-Central Connecticut's Hometown Newspaper," commented that, "Ever since the sign was installed Dec. 1 e-mails and letters from across the country have flooded into the Journal Inquirer, as well as Vernon Town Hall, with comments being split fairly evenly-people either love it or hate it."

If you aren't familiar with the story, here is what happened: Connecticut Valley Atheists (CVA) had been protesting a nativity display that, every December, without fail, graced the front lawn of the town hall. Just to be clear, nativities on private property-such as in front of a home or church or even in a storefront window-are not illegal or un-Constitutional, and are not contested by CVA in this case; but the First Amendment has been interpreted, historically, by U.S. courts to prohibit such displays on government land if they appear to promote particular religious views.