Updated 4:13 p.m.
The Department of Natural Resources has decided to place a wooden sculpture that includes a cross in a state park near the Indiana/Ohio border, despite being warned by a secular group that doing so is unconstitutional.
After being contacted by a local member, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, recently sent the DNR a letter, asking it not to allow the sculpture because it would be an endorsement of religion.
But the DNR today decided it would allow the sculpture, and, in a statement, Gov. Mike Pence said he supports that decision.
"The freedom of religion does not require freedom from religion," Pence said. "The Constitutions of our state and nation more than allow the placement of this Hoosier artist's sculpture on public land. So long as I am Governor, I will defend the right of Hoosiers to display this sculpture in Whitewater Memorial State Park as a lasting tribute to the service and sacrifice of all who have worn the uniform of the United States."
DNR spokesman Phil Bloom says department officials understand there is a possibility that the Freedom From Religion Foundation could file a lawsuit, but they decided to proceed with their normal process for accepting a gift or donation.
"In this particular instance the statue was deemed appropriate when you consider the fact that Whitewater Memorial State Park was established back in the 1940s as a tribute to World War II servicemen and women," Bloom says.
The DNR has sent a letter to the Union County Development Corporation, which commissioned the sculpture, laying out the stipulations for providing a gift. Those include specifications such as where the sculpture can be located.
If the Union County Development Corporation accepts the terms, the sculpture will be moved into the park.
Original Story:
The 8-foot sculpture that currently sits in the parking lot at Whitewater Memorial State Park is meant to honor veterans.
Its centerpiece is a large eagle, with an U.S. flag, an Indiana flag, two soldiers and about a foot-tall white cross at its base.
Sculptor Dayle Lewis says he created the piece after someone from the Union County Development Corporation asked him to design something for the Fourth of July parade in Liberty, Ind.
After the parade, Lewis says officials at Whitewater Memorial State Park said the statue could be moved there.
It has since been in the parking lot while Lewis puts on some finishing touches.
He says he designed it with a lot of input from the local community.
He didn't imagine the cross that represents a soldier's grave would stir up as much controversy as it has, and he hopes the conflict is resolved soon.
"I would like to see placed somewhere that a lot of people could see it. I would hate to see it put in a back alley somewhere," Lewis says.
But Freedom From Religion Foundation staff attorney Rebecca Markert says that location shouldn't be a public place.
She says even though the sculpture is depicting a grave, a grave is an individual memorial and not a public one, and, in the past, courts have determined that public memorials cannot have religious imagery.
"They have been striking them down as unconstitutional because it's such a powerful sectarian symbol and it demonstrates the government preference for religious over nonreligious and specifically Christianity over all other sects," she says.
Markert says her group hasn't decided whether legal action will be necessary, but they have filed lawsuits in similar situations before.
A Facebook group, though, is petitioning that the sculpture be allowed in the state park.
The group called "Keep the Cross on the Carving at Whitewater Memorial State Park" has nearly 1,000 members as of Tuesday afternoon, which is up from around 800 Tuesday morning.
Comments on the page largely support the statue.
"It's beautiful and a wonderful tribute to our soldiers. I can't understand how anyone could not see the beauty in this piece," one commenter writes.
"It is absolutely ridiculous that the population can be bullied by a mean-spirited and selfish individual who is "offended" by a cross," reads another.
The group is also planning a rally this weekend to support the work.
