Lehigh County officials are on notice that they need to redesign the official county seal, which a religious freedom watchdog group says runs afoul of the United States Constitution.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has notified Lehigh County officials that the county seal violates the Constitution because of the inclusion of a Latin cross in the center. The foundation has asked the county to discontinue its use and redesign the seal.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent county Executive Tom Muller a letter in November, indicating the Lehigh County seal violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause by the prominent inclusion of a cross in the center of the seal. As the county uses the seal for official business and features it in county facilities and publications, the use of the cross signals the county's endorsement of Christianity, according to the foundation.
"We urge the county to immediately discontinue using this seal and to develop a new seal that is both constitutional and representative of all citizens," according to the Nov. 5 letter. "We request a written response outlining what steps the county is taking to comply with constitutional dictates."
Patrick Elliott, a staff attorney with the foundation, said he's since sent the county a second letter as there has been no correspondence from county officials. The seal remained on the county website as of Wednesday.
Commissioners' Chairman Brad Osborne said the board was not aware of the Nov. 5 letter until the foundation sent a follow-up letter. Commissioners were notified of the issue on Jan. 28 and held a closed-door session last week to discuss "potential litigation," he said.
Osborne said he hasn't read the original letter but that the county solicitor's office has explained the issue to him and the rest of the board. He declined further comment as it is a pending legal matter.
"The county is taking counsel from the solicitor's office on how and when to respond," Osborne said, adding that it's the board of commissioners that has the authority to change the county seal.
Muller said in an email that he has "no idea what instigated the letter." He said he asked the solicitor's office for an opinion, which he received last month and has since forwarded to Osborne because the seal is the board's responsibility.
A local resident contacted the foundation about the county seal, prompting the initial correspondence with the executive, according to Elliott. The goal is to open communications with the county and resolve the issue "cooperatively, without lengthy costly litigation," he said.
The foundation is, however, prepared to take legal action over the use of religious symbols by a government body, Elliott said.
"As long as they're continuing to use the seal, it remains a liability," he said. "Any person or group could challenge it."
The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation is a nonprofit group that promotes the "constitutional principle of separation of state and church," according to its website. The group has 21 local chapters in 17 states, including Harrisburg and State College in Pennsylvania.
Citing seven separate cases, the foundation's Nov. 5 letter indicates that federal courts have ruled municipal seals and logos similar to Lehigh County's violate the First Amendment. A 1999 case found that a religious fish symbol on the city seal for Republic, Missouri, violated the Establishment Clause and the inclusion of a Latin cross on seals for Zion, Illnois; La Mesa, California; and Edmond, Oklahoma, violated either the Establishment Clause or state constitution, according to the letter.
Elliott said the foundation has not filed a legal challenge over a local government's official seal or insignia, but has challenged the use of other religious symbols on display on public or government property, including two pending legal actions in western Pennsylvania.
In September 2012, the foundation and parents filed a lawsuit against the New Kensington-Arnold School District for displaying a Ten Commandments monument in front of Valley High School and against the Connellsville Area School District for a similar monument outside the junior high school.
Redesigning and adopting a new seal is a local policy issue that will take time and communication between the county and foundation, Elliott said. But the immediate fix is a simple one: stop using the seal, he said.
The goal is represent the entire community, and the fix may be as simple as removing the cross from the county seal, Elliott said.
John Kincaid, a professor of government and public service at Lafayette College, spoke generally on the intersection of religion and local government. He said the outcome of a legal challenge may depend on whether it's filed in state or federal court. Individual state constitutions may hold a stricter interpretation of the separation of church and state, he said.
A federal court, on the other hand, may find that the historic nature of an official seal that dates back more than a century when religious symbolism was more common isn't necessarily a violation, Kincaid said. He pointed to the names of some cities as an example, such as Corpus Christi, Texas, which means "Body of Christ" or Las Cruces, New Mexico, "The City of Crosses."
That's a far cry from a school district or government body deciding today to place the Ten Commandments outside a school building or city hall, he said.