A cross-shaped beam found in the wreckage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks can be displayed at the Ground Zero museum without violating the Establishment Clause because the artifact helps tell the story of the attacks without endorsing religion in any way, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on Monday.
The judges rejected a challenge by American Atheists, an organization which objected to displaying the relic and then demanded public recognition that nonbelievers were among victims and rescue workers.
