In the most-watched church-state case of the year, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a cross-shaped war memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland, to remain on public lands and be maintained with public funds. Writing for the court on American Legion v. American Humanist Association, Justice Samuel Alito said the cross is not a purely religious symbol but, in the context of veterans’ graves and memorials, “became a symbol of their sacrifice.” Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented, emphasizing that “the Latin cross is the foremost symbol of the Christian faith” and that public funds cannot be used to maintain the monument.
