The first freedom mentioned in the Bill of Rights is the freedom of religion. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” First Liberty is a public interest law firm based in Texas that helps people live out that freedom. I had the opportunity to sit down with Jeremy Dys (@JeremyDys) to talk about a recent landmark decision that First Liberty won at the United States Supreme Court.

The case is often referred to as the Bladensburg Cross case, but its formal style is American Legion v. American Humanist Association. You can read the official opinion here.

The basic facts are that there is a large cross in Maryland, in the county adjacent to Washington, DC. The cross is a memorial to soldiers who fought and died in World War I. It is now part of a larger set of memorials that is maintained by the government. The American Humanist Association decided that the government maintaining a war memorial with a cross means that the government has established a religion.

First Liberty stepped in and took on the fight. It went all the way to the Supreme Court. Listen as Jeremy Dys tells the story behind the case, discusses some of the legal doctrines, and tells how First Liberty fights for religious freedom for all religions–not just Christianity.