For the past year, atheists and Christians have been battling over the presence of nativity displays in public parks in Santa Monica, California. In an effort to temper the bickering, the city inevitably implemented a ban on all religious speech
in local parks, thus ending a nearly-60-year tradition of having a
display in Palisades Park. Just when all hope for Christians who wished
to see the nativity tradition continued was lost, local believers found a
loophole — one that will allow them to, once again, host a nativity.
According to a press release, Santa Monica’s atheist-inspired ban on
nativity displays only applies to those which are “unattended.” This
essentially means that displays which are not “live” and involve
figurines may not be utilized, however there is no provision or ban on
religious displays that are “attended” (displays that involve human
beings).
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition posted a press release
in which he announced that a faith coalition in Santa Monica applied
for a live nativity display — a request that was granted by the city.
The news release calls the development in a case that seemed all but
hopeless for local believers “a major victory for religious freedom, the
First Amendment and the public display of nativity scenes.”
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