Big Mountain Jesus Can Stay on Montana Hill, Appeals Court Decides

Flathead National Forest
Flathead National Forest Reserve |

A statue of Jesus Christ at a ski hill in Montana, with a renewable 10-year private permit on US national forest land near Kalispell, is not in violation with the constitution, according to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The statue was erected atop a mountain at the Flathead National Forest by The Knights of Columbus in 1954, as a memorial to WWII soldiers.

The permit for the monument was renewed with the Flathead National Forest every 10 years, but in 2010, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation asked them not to renew the permit. In 2011, the Forest services agreed to remove the statue, but the move was unfavorable with the public, which led them to take back their decision.

In 2012, FFRF filed a lawsuit against the Flathead National Forest, to remove the statue. The statue's placement in a national forest violates the separation of church and state, according to the atheist group.

However, the judges' opinion signed by N. Randy Smith and John Owens said that, "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."

"USFS's decision to renew the statue's permit reflected a primarily secular purpose. 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.'"

An FFRF released a statement that reads, "FFRF's legal complaint notes that the shrine's presence on federal property amounts to governmental endorsement of Christianity in general and Roman Catholicism in particular."

Judge Harry Pregerson disagreed with the other judges, and said that the Jesus statue "situated on a government-leased land cannot realistically be looked upon as being 'predominantly secular in nature.'"

To this argument, the two judges noted that "the statue's plaque communicates that it is privately owned and maintained - "it did not sprout from the minds of [government] officials and was not funded from [the government's] coffers."

"Besides the statue's likeness, there is nothing in the display or setting to suggest a religious message," the two judges added. "The flippant interactions of locals and tourists with the statue suggest secular perceptions and uses: decorating it in mardi gras beads, adorning it in ski gear, taking pictures with it, high-fiving it as they ski by, and posing in Facebook pictures."

The judges' statement continues, "Local residents commonly perceived the statue as a meeting place, local landmark, and important aspect of the mountain's history as a ski area and tourist destination."

Furthermore, Judge NR Smith said that between 1942 and 1998, the Forest Services had issues special permits for a range of permanent monuments, bound by rules stating that the permits may be renewed if being used and maintained for previously authorized purposes.

He added that new permits for similar monuments may not be issued by the Services now, as the rules have undergone a transition during the past few decades.

Senior Counsel of the Becket Fund, Eric Baxter, released a statement, saying that the judges' ruling "rejects the idea that history and the First Amendment ought to be enemies."

"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," he added.

"Does a statue standing alone in the forest establish an official state religion? Today the Ninth Circuit emphatically said no."