GROUP DEMANDS REMOVAL OF FAYETTE COUNTY COURTHOUSE NATIVITY SCENE

  

A group is calling for the removal of a nativity scene at the Fayette County Courthouse.

The American Humanist Association (AHA) has called the display an “unconstitutional endorsement for Christianity”.

The nativity display was purchased by the county three years ago and has made an appearance during the holiday season ever since. The AHA claims the display was bought with tax payer money and is an endorsement for Christianity.

Roy Speckhardt, the executive director of the American Humanist Association, told KXAN that the county “is wasting taxpayers’ money to maintain an unconstitutional Christian display that signals to non-Christians that they are unwelcome in their own community.”

In a letter to Fayette County, the association cites several cases of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that nativity scenes at courthouses are a violation of the separation of church and state. In 2015, the AHA won a lawsuit against Baxter County, Arkansas for a Christian display at a courthouse.

Fayette County has not responded to the letter as of this (Tuesday) morning.

Read the full letter to Fayette County here.