Atheists Sued to Ax Five-Decade Old Nativity Tradition — but the Battle Didn't Quite Go Their Way

A judge has dismissed an atheist-led lawsuit against a nativity scene that has appeared annually for five decades on the Franklin County Courthouse square in Brookville, Indiana, but that hasn't stopped non-believers from ensuring that their message will be heard.

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt tossed out the lawsuit, which had been brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union, claiming in a September 23 ruling that no constitutional violation was shown in light of recent actions taken by Franklin County officials, the Batesville Herald Tribune reported.

"Given the fact that the policies for Courthouse displays were changed upon Franklin County's own volition (albeit under the pressure of the instant litigation), the Court finds that there is no reasonable expectation that the allegedly unconstitutional activity will recur and there is no proof presently which suggests that Franklin County has committed a constitutional violation," Pratt wrote in her decision.

Image source: Freedom From Religion Foundation

The battle over the nativity has been raging since 2010, with Franklin County officials — who are represented by the Thomas More Society, a conservative legal firm — unveiling a plan earlier this year that they believed would stop the legal challenge in its tracks.

A new ordinance was officially drafted to solidify the use of the Franklin County Courthouse square, where the nativity has been placed for decades, allowing for permitted rallies, exhibits and demonstrations on the lawn without precluding these occurrences based on citizens’ viewpoints, the Palladium-Item reported at the time.

This means that any display is welcome, religious or not.

A statement from the Freedom From Religion Foundation states that the battle between Franklin County and the atheist group has been unfolding since 2010, with the organization joining the American Civil Liberties Union in suing the county last December when officials refused to remove the display.

"During the course of litigation, the county decided that rather than stay neutral on religion, it would open a public forum for displays, and passed an ordinance regulating the use of its lawn by community residents and organizations," the statement read. "[The Freedom From Religion Foundation] has asked to put up a display in that new forum."

The Satanic Temple, a group that is essentially secular and does not worship the literal existence of the devil, joined the atheist group in a separate lawsuit earlier this year after claiming that permits were denied for the placement of displays by each group this upcoming December.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation will now be permitted to display its own secular scenes during the holiday season — a Bill of Rights-themed "nativity" and a banner that focuses on the winter solstice in an effort to "counter a nativity scene that has stood alone on public property for 50 years."

Two unnamed plaintiffs were involved in the initial lawsuit to seek the removal of the nativity.