Appeals Court Determines 'Big Mountain Jesus' Can Stay in Montana

An appeals court ruled this week that a decades-old Jesus statue in Flathead National Forest in Montana is constitutional and will stay despite objections from an atheist group.

The three-judge appeals panel ruled that the statue, which was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus in 1953 to honor U.S. veterans, shall remain on the mountaintop.

"The government identified secular rationales for its continued authorization including the statue's cultural and historical significance for veterans, Montanans, and tourists; the statue's inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places; and the government's intent to preserve the site 'as a historic part of the resort,'" the appeals' court decision ruled.

"Although the dissent focuses on the monument's appearance, that the statue is of a religious figure, and that some of the initial impetus for the statue's placement was religiously motivated, does not end the matter," the statement added.

Eric Baxter, senior counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the group defending the statue, said in a statement that the court's ruling was a victory for common sense.

"Today's decision rejects the idea that history and the First Amendment ought to be enemies," Baxter said in a statement, according to the Daily Caller.

"Freedom From Religion Foundation wanted to use the First Amendment to erase Big Mountain Jesus from memory, even though it is, as the Court recognized, a crucial part of the history of Montana. Thank goodness for common sense," Baxter added.