Satanic Temple Temporary Display At Michigan Capitol OK'd As Nativity Scene Plans Falter

Under rules of the Michigan State Capitol Commission (full text), temporary displays, which may not remain over night, may be scheduled on the Capitol grounds.  The Detroit Free Press reports that the Commission has approved a request from the Detroit chapter of the Satanic Temple for a display from Dec. 21-23. The display will consist of a snake wrapped around the Satanic cross presenting a book as a holiday gift. John Truscott, a member of the State Capitol Commission, said the Commission could not discriminate in approving applications, but added: "Personally, I think this is absolutely repulsive and I'm very frustrated by it. I don't appreciate a group trying to hijack a Christian holiday."

Meanwhile an already-approved request to place a Nativity Scene on the Capitol grounds is not moving ahead because the out-of-stater who requested it has been unable to find someone to remove the display each evening as required by state rules.  All of this takes place as the Michigan legislature is debating a controversial religious freedom bill. HB 5958, the Michigan Religious Freedom Restoration Act, has been approved by the House and is now under consideration by the state Senate.

French Court Says Local Council's Nativity Scene Violates Principle of Secularism

On Tuesday in France, the Nantes administrative court ruled that the traditional nativity scene that for years has been placed at the entrance to the Vendee government's council building in La Roche-sur-Yon must be removed. As reported by The Local, the court held that the display is inconsistent with the principle of secularism (laicitie) embodied in France's 1905 Law on Separation of Churches and State. The ruling came in a case filed by the local Free Thinking Association, and shortly after a Belgian activist group tore down a nativity scene in Brussels.

County Votes For Disclaimer On Courthouse Nativity Scene

In Baxter County, Arkansas, the Quorum Court (the equivalent of a county council) voted unanimously yesterday to add a sign containing a disclaimer to the Nativity Scene that traditionally goes up on the county courthouse lawn.  According to the Baxter Bulletin, the creche is put up and taken down by a private family on a portion of the lawn that is leased to the Chamber of Commerce for the display.  Reacting to last Christmas season's complaint from the Appignani Humanist Legal Center, the county approved the following disclaimer:

During the Holiday Season, the County of Baxter salutes liberty. Let these festive lights and times remind us that we are keepers of the flame of liberty and our legacy of freedom. Whatever your religion or beliefs, enjoy the holidays. This display is owned and erected by private citizens of Baxter County.

Massachusetts City Votes To Move Nativity Scene Back To City Hall

In Lowell, Massachusetts, the issue of December holiday displays has arisen early this year.   Today's Lowell Sun reports that City Council voted unanimously yesterday to approve a motion requesting that the Nativity scene which last year was moved to church property be returned this December to its traditional location at the plaza next to City Hall.  The motion also calls for the city to study how the display can be expanded to honor other traditions and cultures.  The display was moved last year after complaints and a legal review which concluded that the display posed constitutional problemss. Council member Rita Mercier who sponsored the motion to bring the display back to City Hall said yesterday: "I don't worry about what other people think. I worry about who that figure laying in the manger represents. I fear what he thinks."

Service Members Object To Chrechès At Guantanamo

The Navy Times reports this week that 18 active duty service members stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are complaining about two Nativity scenes that have been placed in on-base galleys.  They want them moved to the on-base chapel. In an e-mailto the Military Religious Freedom Foundation asking for help, the objecting service members wrote:

Our local military family encompasses many faiths and beliefs to include Muslim, Jewish, Wiccan, Buddhist, Agnostic and other denominations. By placing these displays in prominent common areas, the impression is that one faith is better than others, and that the military institution singularly promotes Christianity.

[Thanks to Dawinder Sidhu via Religionlaw for the lead.]