Two church-state rulings reach opposite conclusions

Cleveland Jewish News: “A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that an eight-foot Christian cross on government parkland in California did not violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which prohibits government endorsement of religion. The decision comes on the heels of a Wisconsin federal judge’s ruling that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional because it endorses prayer for its own sake, not to further a secular purpose . . . Two other cases involving crosses are currently in federal courts. One is a 29-foot cross and war memorial on Mt. Soledad in San Diego. The other involves 12-foot crosses that Utah erects on roadside memorials to fallen highway patrol troopers.”