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  • 2003-09-11 (xsd:date)
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  • Do American Atheists Oppose the Ground Zero Cross? (en)
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  • The discovery of a 17-foot steel-beam cross in the rubble of the World Trade Center towers two days after the 2001 terrorist attacks on America provided a tangible symbol of comfort and faith to many of those horrified by the events of September 11. Some of those who had access to the WTC site at that time made pilgrimages to pray before the cross and leave behind written messages such as God Bless Our Fallen Brothers. A few weeks later the cross (since dubbed the Ground Zero Cross) was hoisted atop a 40-foot-high mound of debris on what was formerly a pedestrian walkway so that it could be viewed by a wider audience, and a religious service was held, during which the Rev. Brian Jordan sprinkled the cross with holy water and declared: Behold the glory of the cross at ground zero. This is our symbol of hope, our symbol of faith, our symbol of healing: Countless other ceremonies and prayer vigils were held at the site of WTC cross in the weeks and months that followed. Two years later, the cross remained in place along Church Street on the eastern border of the 16-acre WTC site. After the unearthing of the steel-beam cross from the WTC rubble, a number of groups supported the idea of incorporating the steel cross into the design of a future September 11 memorial display at the site. The American Atheists organization opposed such plans for reasons expressed by their president, Ellen Johnson, at least as far back as June 2002: Ms. Johnson reiterated American Atheists' position in the 8 September 2003 edition of The Trentonian: Many people who died on September 11 weren't Christian. There were Jews, Muslims, and atheists who died. This is a Christian religious advertisement, and allowing it to stay there is an insult to everyone who doesn't believe in that particular religion. This position brought opposing campaigns from those who favored incorporating the cross into a permanent 9/11 memorial: Plans called for the 17-foot World Trade Center crossbeam to be on display at the museum portion of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum when that facility opened. In 2011 American Atheists filed a lawsuit to prevent that display, contending that the museum would be violating the Constitution's establishment clause and New York state civil-rights law by exhibiting a religious symbol. In August 2012, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum filed court papers seeking a dismissal of the lawsuit on the grounds that the museum is operated by an independent non-profit corporation and its decisions about what to display are therefore not state actions subject to constitutional protection, that the crossbeam is being exhibited as a relic of the 9/11 attacks and not as a religious symbol, and that the museum's merely displaying an object with religious significance does not amount to an endorsement or promotion of a particular religion. In July 2014, a the three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court denied the American Atheists' appeal and ruled that the Ground Zero cross could remain in the museum, holding that it served more as a genuine historical artifact than as a symbol of Christianity: (en)
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