Screen Shot 2015-09-01 at 2.09.11 PM

On Monday, The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a statue of Jesus located on top of Whitefish Mountain Resort may remain standing undisturbed after the Freedom From Religion Foundation claimed the statue violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

“The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law ‘respecting an establishment of religion.’ This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another. It also prohibits the government from unduly preferring religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion.”-Cornell Legal Information Institute

The statue, which currently stands on United States Forest Service land, is located on a lease maintained by Whitefish Mountain Resort, a private organization. However, the court ruled that since the statue “did not sprout from the minds of (government) officials and was not funded from (the government’s) coffers,” its existence on leased public land is completely legal according to The Flathead Beacon.

“I see this as a war memorial, some people see this as a historical figure, some people see it as a religious figure, some people see it as just a statue at a nice location where they like to come up and have a picnic…. It’s almost as if this statue has become a citizen of Whitefish, Montana.”- Knights of Columbus Member Ray Leopold

In 1954, a group of World War II veterans built the figure after having seen similar statues dot mountain sides and hill tops across the European Alps. The veterans then placed “Big Mountain Jesus” in its current location to honor veterans and members of the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division who fought and died while serving their country in the Italian Alps.

Currently, the statue remains within the National Register of Historic Places and will continue to be maintained by the Kalispell, Montana chapter of The Knights of Columbus.

Unofficial Networks Newsletter

Get the latest snow and mountain lifestyle news and entertainment delivered to your inbox.

Hidden
Newsletters
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.