## Facts

- Allegheny County permitted a crèche (Nativity scene) to be displayed on the Grand Staircase of the county courthouse, a prominent and highly public interior location.
- The crèche included an angel bearing the banner “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” and a sign identifying it as donated by a Roman Catholic organization.
- The City of Pittsburgh displayed, outside the City-County Building, an 18-foot menorah (owned by a Jewish organization but erected and maintained by the city), a 45-foot decorated Christmas tree, and a sign with the mayor’s name stating a “Salute to Liberty.”
- The American Civil Liberties Union and local residents challenged both displays as violations of the Establishment Clause.
- The district court upheld both displays; the Third Circuit held both unconstitutional; the Supreme Court granted certiorari.

## Issues

1. Whether the county’s placement of a crèche on the Grand Staircase of the county courthouse violates the Establishment Clause.
2. Whether the city’s outdoor display of a menorah alongside a Christmas tree and a “Salute to Liberty” sign violates the Establishment Clause.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
- The courthouse crèche was held unconstitutional because, in context, it conveyed government endorsement of Christianity.
- The outdoor menorah-Christmas tree-“Salute to Liberty” display was held constitutional because, in context, it communicated a permissible seasonal and civic message rather than endorsement of Judaism or Christianity.

## Legal Principles

- Government action affecting religion is evaluated under the Establishment Clause using the Lemon framework, including whether the principal or primary effect advances or inhibits religion.
- Endorsement analysis asks whether a reasonable observer would perceive government as favoring or preferring religion or a particular faith.
- Religious symbols on government property must be evaluated in their full physical and institutional context; context can determine whether a display communicates endorsement.
- A stand-alone sectarian display placed in a central governmental setting may communicate official approval of that faith and violate the Establishment Clause.
- A religious symbol included within a broader holiday display containing secular and civic elements may be permissible when the overall message to a reasonable observer is seasonal recognition and inclusion, not governmental preference for a religion.

## Conclusion

The Court held that a solitary crèche displayed in a prominent courthouse location conveyed an impermissible message of official support for Christianity, but that an outdoor menorah displayed with a Christmas tree and a civic “Salute to Liberty” sign conveyed a contextual seasonal and civic message that did not amount to unconstitutional governmental endorsement of religion.


County of Allegheny v. Am. Civil Liberties Union, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, 492 U.S. 573 (1989)