Last month, officials in Lehigh County (Pennsylvania) discussed what to do about their seal:

There was a Christian cross right in the middle of it and the Freedom From Religion Foundation was sending them a warning about the illegal promotion of religion. At the time, they held a closed-door meeting to discuss potential litigation, but that was the last we heard about the issue.

Were they going to redesign it? It would be a relatively easy thing to do…

Nope. They announced last night that they would tell FFRF to shove it:

Commissioners voted 9-0 to direct the county solicitor to send a strongly worded response to the foundation stating their intention not to remove the cross from the seal. “It is the position of Lehigh County that the presence of the cross on the seal among all the other items of historical significance has the secular purpose of recognizing the history of the county,” the response stated. “As such it does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Accordingly, the county is not planning on removing the cross from the seal.”

Yeah, the giant cross at the center of the symbol has nothing to do with religion. It’s all about “history”… the history of the Christian majority that was around in 1944:

According to Lehigh County Historical Society records, county Commissioner Harry D. Hertzog designed the seal, which was adopted in 1944. An undated Call-Chronicle story about the seal says the cross in the center of the shield represents “Christians who settled in Lehigh County.”

Whether FFRF will file a lawsuit is up in the air. But one thing is clear: The commissioners unanimously sent a message that they don’t give a damn about non-Christians in their community.

(Thanks to Brian for the link)



