An unauthorized Latin cross suddenly appearing at Camp Pendleton in California must come down, FFRF said in a Nov. 28 letter to Commanding Officer Col. Nicholas Marano. A military chaplain and several other people erected the cross Nov. 11 on a hill in the Camp Horno area.
“No court of final resort has ever upheld the government’s permanent display of a Latin cross on public land as constitutional,” wrote FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor, who added that “the Latin cross stands for Christianity and the overall display promotes Christianity.”
The cross “conveys the message to the 24% of the U.S. population who are not Christians that they are not ‘favored members of the political community,’” noted Gaylor.
Up to 23.4% of military personnel identified as atheist, agnostic or have no religious preference, according to a 2010 Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers study.
