News

Committee working on holiday policy proposal

By Patrick Adrian [email protected]
CLAREMONT — A long-discussed policy proposal for displaying Christmas-themed symbols on public property expects to reach the Claremont City Council for consideration in November, according to the Claremont Policy Committee.

The Claremont Policy Committee said they plan to finalize their policy draft by the end of the month, in hope to get a policy approved and in place for the city’s annual holiday display, which officially runs from the day after Thanksgiving until Jan. 1, 2021.

The committee initially began discussing the policy in January 2019, in the wake of protests by Claremont resident Sam Killay, whose criticism had drawn press attention and support of legal groups like Freedom from Religion. Killay, who describes himself as an atheist, has argued against the city’s annual tradition of placing a Nativity scene and menorah in Broad Street Park as part of its holiday display, saying that the city government should be neutral in regards to religion.

The policy in development will still permit the city to display the Nativity scene and menorah, though the city may only display the items if temporarily donated by a private institution, such as a church, according to City Manager Ed Morris. The city is not allowed to own or maintain religious symbols nor store between the seasons.

“The city does recognize that the holiday season maintains a historical connection to certain religious events, stories or parables,” the policy states. “These religious beliefs and practices have become intertwined and universally recognized as a part of this nation’s holiday celebration during this part of the year.”

The policy language adheres closely to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the 1984 case, Lynch v. Donnelly, where the court ruled, 5-4, that inclusion of religious symbols was lawful if their purpose is relevant to the larger, secular holiday display. In respects to Claremont, the display of a Nativity scene or menorah are lawful if blended into the larger display, rather than placed to emphasize a particular faith.

As the overseer of the annual holiday displays, the city manager would have the right to accept or deny holiday donations. Though Morris explained that those decisions must apply equally and fairly to every donation according to their qualifications as symbols of the holiday season.

Yet while this standard might allow the city to exclude, say, a Satanic cross, there are many symbols that the city might need to permit even if many residents believe they do not belong, Morris said.

Morris pointed to the example of Green Bay, Wisconsin, where in 2007 the city had to accept and display a pagan Yule wreath with a Wiccan gold pentacle in its center.

Morris also said the city would still need to place the Founding Fathers cutout from last year’s park display.

Last December, Killay donated a cutout of founding fathers Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, accompanied by the Statue of Liberty, all huddling reverently around the Bill of Rights. The Freedom from Religion Foundation, an advocacy group for the constitutional separation of church and state, distributes the display — known as its winter solstice display — to activists in at least 14 states, with intent to provide a counter-message to the inclusion of religious symbols on public property during the Christmas season.

“Their organization was really smart in how they put that together, by tying the season to the birth of the Bill of Rights,” Morris said.

A sign that accompanies the display explains that the installation recognizes two major events of December: the winter solstice and the anniversary of the Bill of Rights, which was adopted by the states on Dec. 15, 1791.

While the proposed policy may not resolve future protests or difficult decisions, the document aims to build a criteria and parameters into the city’s widely popular tradition.

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