Tony Leys

tleys@dmreg.com

A national Catholic organization plans to set up a nativity scene, including a model of the baby Jesus, inside Iowa’s Statehouse on Monday morning.

The display will bring scrutiny from civil-rights activists, who want to ensure there is no unconstitutional government favoritism of one religion over another.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad plans to attend the event, along with Des Moines Bishop Richard Pates, organizers said.

Martin Cannon, who is helping organize the display, said it will be done tastefully.

“We’re not trying to create a ruckus,” he said. “…It’s not like we’re on some crusade to get in people’s faces and say, ‘This is a Christian nation and you all shall bow down.’”

Cannon, a lawyer from the western Iowa town of Crescent, is a member of the Thomas More Society. The Catholic legal group works on issues such as the public display of religious symbols and opposition to abortion.

Cannon said the display will measure about 5 feet by 9 feet and will stay up through Christmas. His group has set similar displays up in 12 other state capitols and hopes to do so in every state. Cannon said they chose capitols because the buildings are beautiful and busy versions of “the public square.”

Such displays can spark controversy, because the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars government "establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Rita Bettis, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said her group wouldn't necessarily object to the Statehouse Christmas display, so long as any other group could put up a similar display in the same spot.

"It violates the First Amendment for the government to favor one religion over another or over no religion," Bettis wrote in an email to the Register on Friday evening. "We understand that an outside group is being allowed to display the nativity scene and has entered into a contract with (the Department of Administrative Services) to be able to do so; it’s important that the state of Iowa allow any other religion as well as non-religious groups to be able to access the same space on the same terms. That means now that the door has been opened, that Jewish, Muslim, and any other religious as well as non-religious holiday displays must be given the same preferential treatment, and no less, in establishing their own displays."

Bettis said her group defends people's right to express their faiths.

"The promotion of their religion is the role of ... religious leaders, parents, and individuals — not government offices or bureaucrats," she wrote. "Religious organizations, families, and individuals should be free to express their religious beliefs and to erect religious displays in many places, including in front yards and on the property of churches, synagogues, and mosques. We want a country where people are free to express their religious viewpoints, without government offices deciding which beliefs should be endorsed and which should be opposed."

Cannon said he would support the right of other groups to put up tasteful displays of faith at the Capitol. That could even hypothetically include a celebration of Satanism, if someone really wanted to do put one up in a responsible way, he said.

He added that his group signed a contract with the state Department of Administrative Services, spelling out how the display will be handled. In addition, he said, his group purchased an insurance policy to protect the state from expenses, such as if someone trips over the model.

A spokesman for Branstad, who is a Republican and a Catholic, downplayed the significance of his planned attendance at the event, which is set for 10 a.m. Monday.

"The governor is simply stopping by to say 'hi' to constituents who are setting up decorations. We were invited to say 'hi,'" said the spokesman, Ben Hammes. He said any other questions about the event should be directed to state administrators overseeing the Capitol complex.