It will be interesting to see what the ACLU’s opinion on this matter will be. The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have banned decorations in any HUD housing complexes which mention Jesus or represent religion for the Christmas season. To be clear, we are not talking about HUD no longer sponsoring a Christmas party for residents of these housing complexes, this issue is about HUD actually telling residents they can no longer place an angel on their own door, or have a resident sponsored Christmas party. HUD is clearly prohibiting the free exercise of religion among residents of these complexes.

We’ll see if the ACLU gets involved in this matter, although I highly doubt it.

The issue arose at the Plant City Living Center in Plant City, Fla., where 85-year-old Mrs. Arnold was told that federal law now prohibits her from displaying anything that references religion – words, decorations and the like – in the common area of her apartment building, a HUD facility.

The grandmother told AFA she was instructed that even an angel decoration would be disallowed by the ban, which makes her think of the restrictions in Germany during World War II.

According to the center, HUD has issued a directive banning “any religious symbols or religious words associated with Christmas,” which effectively prevents Mrs. Arnold from placing a small Christmas tree outside her door if it contains any religious symbols or words – “even an angel,” AFA said in a special alert asking for e-mails.

A spokeswoman at the center who preferred not to give her name told WND the rules now prevent displays “like a manger, like a Christ child, any religious symbols.”

“We used to have a sign outside that said, ‘Jesus is the reason for the season,’ but we can’t anymore,” she told WND. “We’re all very unhappy about that.”

In prior cases the ACLU has argued repeatedly that schools cannot have the Ten Commandments in their halls, or a manger on their property because it would represent an ‘establishment of religion’. The Supreme Court in many of these cases has agreed, stating that public schools are government run facilities therefore the ‘establishment clause’ applies to them. The same should then hold true for the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development with respect to their prohibiting religious expression.

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ACLU, Constitution, First Amendment, Religion