County of Allegheny v. ACLU

The Supreme Court found that Allegheny County violated the Establishment Clause by displaying a creche in the county courthouse because it had the unconstitutional effect of conveying government-endorsed Christianity. However, the menorah, which was displayed in the City-County Building along with a Christmas tree, was permissible because it was displayed in such a way as to be viewed as a secular symbol, given "its particular, physical setting." This decision established that the main factor in determining the constitutionality of public holiday decorations is the context in which they are displayed.

During every Christmas holiday season since 1981, a creche donated by the Holy Name Society, a Roman Catholic organization, had been on display in front of the grand staircase inside the Allegheny County Courthouse. The creche bore a plaque attributing its donation to the Holy Name Society. Along with figures of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, animals, and wise men, the creche depicted an angel bearing a banner that said, "Gloria in Excelsis Deo!" which translates as "Glory to God in the highest." The creche stood alone in front of the staircase as the main element on display, surrounded by poinsettias and two evergreen trees, as placed there by the county. Santa Claus figures and other Christmas decorations were arranged around the courthouse, but no other secular decorations were displayed near the staircase.

The county used the creche as the setting for its Christmas carol program, which also included other songs. From 3 December to 23 December 1986, high school choirs and other musical groups performed a two-hour program each weekday at lunchtime. The county issued a press release identifying the program as a county-sponsored event and connected the program to the creche.

A block away from the courthouse, another holiday display involving a Christmas tree and menorah was placed in front of the City-County Building, a building owned jointly by the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The 45 foot tree was erected and decorated by city employees in keeping with a long-standing tradition. Next to the tree was an 18-foot menorah. The menorah was owned by Chabad, a Jewish organization, but since 1982, it had been stored, displayed, and removed by the city each year. At the tree's base was a sign that bore the mayor's name and the message: "During this holiday season, the city of Pittsburgh salutes liberty. Let these festive lights remind us that we are the keepers of the flame of liberty and our legacy of freedom." The tree was up from 17 December 1986 to 13 January 1987 and the menorah from 22 December 1986 to 13 January 1987.

On 10 December 1986 the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and seven local residents filed suit in Federal District Court to enjoin Allegheny County from displaying the creche and the city of Pittsburgh from displaying the menorah. The ACLU claimed that displays such as the creche and the menorah violate the Establishment of Religion Clause of the First Amendment.

On 8 May 1987 the district court denied the ACLU's claim. Citing Lynch v. Donnelly (1984), a landmark Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional mandate for religious accommodation, the court held that the creche and the menorah did not violate the Establishment Clause. The court concluded that the displays had a secular purpose and did not create an excessive entanglement of government with religion.

The ACLU filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals. A divided panel of the court of appeals reversed the district court's decision. The court stated that despite being located near secular decorations, "neither the creche nor the menorah can reasonably be deemed to have been subsumed by a larger display of non-religious items." The displays, the court found, had the impermissible effect of endorsing religion, and thus, violated the Establishment of Religion Clause of the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court decided the case on 3 July 1989. By different majorities the Court found that the menorah did not advance religion in such a way as to violate the Establishment of Religion Clause, but the creche did violate the Establishment Clause because the county, in associating with the display, was not merely acknowledging Christmas as a cultural phenomenon, but celebrating and promoting a holiday with a blatant Christian message.

Justice Blackmun, writing for the majority, said that the menorah was displayed in such a way as not to endorse religion but was used to create a secular winter holiday setting, of which Christmas and Chanukah are both part. Chanukah--for which the menorah is the primary symbol--has both religious and secular connotations. Although the menorah is a symbol with religious meaning, Chanukah does not have a preeminently secular symbolic equivalent, as Christmas has with Santa Claus and reindeer. Blackmun said, "[I]t would be a form of discrimination against Jews to allow Pittsburgh to celebrate Christmas as a cultural tradition while simultaneously disallowing the city's acknowledgment of Chanukah as a contemporaneous cultural tradition."

In her opinion, Justice O'Connor expressed the view that the creche display was different than the one in Lynch v. Donnelly. In Lynch the creche was on private property and included traditional secular holiday symbols, while the Allegheny creche had the unconstitutional effect of conveying government-endorsed Christianity. She further concluded that the menorah, in its "particular physical setting" did not have the effect of endorsing religion, regardless of whether the menorah is considered a religious or secular symbol. She argued that the display conveyed "a message of pluralism and freedom to choose one's own beliefs."

Justice Kennedy, along with Justices White and Scalia and Chief Justice Rehnquist, dissented on the creche decision. Kennedy wrote: "This view of the Establishment Clause reflects an unjustified hostility toward religion, a hostility inconsistent with our history and our precedents . . . The creche display is constitutional, and, for the same reasons, the display of a menorah by the city of Pittsburgh is permissible as well."