This is the article that appeared in the May 2024 edition of Catalyst, our monthly journal. The date that prints out reflects the day that it was uploaded to our website. For a more accurate date of when the article was first published, check out the news release, here.
Prior to Easter, some news stories claimed that the Biden administration said it would not tolerate any reference to the Christian roots of Easter at the annual “egg roll” party on Easter Monday. The White House pushed back saying that its ban on religious symbols and themes was no different than what previous administrations did. Predictably, the media parroted the same line.
The Biden administration was wrong. The media were wrong. The liberal “fact checkers” were wrong. As we proved, they were all guilty of misinformation: Religious Easter Eggs were allowed under President George W. Bush.
We posted online a photo of a religious-themed Easter Egg that was one of 51 that were on display in 2002. It represented the state of New Mexico; no one complained.
This Easter Egg was an image of El Santuario de Chimayo, a small shrine located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Chimayo, New Mexico. It has been a place of worship since 1813, and is one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage centers in the United States.
The New Mexico artist responsible for this submission is Stan Franklin, a resident of Bosque Farms, New Mexico. According to one news story, he “chose a church theme to portray the Land of Enchantment. In pen, ink and acrylic paint, the drawing depicted the destination of the Good Friday Pilgrimage to Chimayo.”
The Biden administration maintained that it was following the rules established by the American Egg Board (AEB), and officials there say they are following rules established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
On Easter Sunday, AEB released a statement saying that this event does not show “preference to any individual religious or political viewpoints as AEB is prohibited from doing….”
It makes sense that AEB cannot show “preference to any individual religious or political viewpoints.” It’s a government agency. But that hardly settles the issue.
As we pointed out, public school teachers cannot show preference to any religion. But they are also banned from stopping students from religious expression. If a student in a music or art class decides to sing a religious hymn or draw a religious symbol, the teacher has no legal right to stop him.
Similarly, it is one thing for AEB not to promote religion; it is quite another for it, or the USDA, to prohibit individuals from depicting a religious theme in a government-sponsored event.
The White House was wrong historically and constitutionally. And the media were just as corrupt for not reporting this story accurately. We are proud that we were the only organization in the nation which got this story right.
