What do people think of the American Atheists group's trying to get a cross removed from the 9/11 memorial and museum site?

I find it "petty", myself, and terribly distasteful, to place a symbol of a single religion at a public memorial for a tragic event. And it matters not which one. Do you think all who died on 9/11 were Christians? Certainly not. The cross makes it seem like they matter more than the Jews and Muslims and atheists who also died that day. The memorial should honor all the victims in equal measure.

Ugh. I loathe . . . loathe unbending idealists.  Some of my fellow atheists might disagree and while I love many of my fellow non-religious people, it really frustrates me.  Look, I don't like religion.  I think it's mostly harmful.  But -- as a pragmatist -- I feel the slavish devotion to laws is as dangerous as slavish devotion to a leader or a cult or a religion.  We find the best possible balance in life to achieve good results. The hulabaloo over Christians or Muslims doing something in public land so annoys me.  We have a war to fight to keep science in schools and to keep the US military from forcing religion on service-members.  I don't give a fuck about a cross on a memorial (in NYC) or a hill (in San Diego) or where-the-fuck-ever.  Seriously.  Let's all just calm the fuck down and realize that for better or worse, Americans are Christians.  We include many religious holidays as national holidays NOT to force non-Christians to convert, but for UTILITARIAN reasons that 95% of the country (even non-Christians like me) would simply call off work. Since everybody admits that the USA is mostly Christian.  Christian symbolism permeates our society.  In a more perfect society, I'd happily call myself a "secular-christian-atheist" (lowercase "c"), in the same way that my friend Bethany is a secular Jew:  she is a complete atheist like me, but does all the menora stuff and seder and she (and her wife) have all sorts of Jewish celebrations despite not believing in any of the religious trappings.  So, not only do I not care that it goes there, I'd actually support it being put there.  It ain't hurting anybody.  It's probably making quite a few feel good.  BUT, that being said, should Jews or Muslims or atheists want some kind of a plaque there, not a peep better be uttered about those.

I'm completely indifferent toward it being part of an historical exhibit in a museum. I think the thing that frustrates me about it is that I bet a lot of the same people who are getting so worked up about the mean awful atheists stealing their cross are probably the same people who were pissing and moaning about the Islamic community center (i.e. the "mosque") being opened "near" (translation: several blocks away, nowhere in immediate visible distance -- you'd have to actively go looking for it) Ground Zero, or the people who protested the initial design for the Flight 93 monument because they decided a semi-circle design somehow looked too much like the Islamic crescent. It's a little hypocritical to beat others over the head with the need for religious tolerance when the only religion you really tolerate is your own.

I'm generally not a big supporter of political advocacy groups like American Atheists or PETA  that attract and come under the control of the most radical and reactionary members and their activities become more and more absurd.  The Freedom From Religion Foundation generally aligns with my opinions better. In this specific case I think their challenge is actually very offensive on a number of levels. Most of all, it is disrespectful to the people who risked their lives helping others and working in the aftermath who personally found the cross itself to be meaningful. There's something offensive to me about the fact that they are challenging the presence of a historical artifact in a museum as separation of church and state. This isn't people trying to put the Ten Commandments on the grounds of a courthouse, it's a meaningful piece of the history of the event being preserved so that people have access to it. .

MIsguided, probably. The case can certainly be made that a religious symbol is not irrelevant at a location which is notable for an act of Religious Violence against all people, 'believers' or not. Religious fundamentalism is entirely culpable for this act, and the presence of 'sacred' symbols could serve as a warning of religion's inherent dangers.

A piece of the wreckage in the shape of a cross is being included in the "Finding Meaning at Ground Zero" section of the museum with an explanation of how rescue workers used it as a makeshift shrine. That is not an endorsement of Christianity, it is a description of how some rescue workers coped with the tragedy. So, its inclusion in the museum in no way violates the First Amendment.

OP, why that one religious symbol? Do you honestly believe it represents our heterogeneous culture? Making it out of demolished WTC materials implies a resurrection symbology with strong religious undertones. It will be seen as defiant in the name of Christ. To me, it validates the supposed religious motivation of the attackers, who really attacked America, not one of our religions. We are not a Christian nation. We are a nation with Christians, among many others.

Since people that were not Christians died on 9/11, in those office towers, I'd like it removed. And the 10 Commandments plaque they announced would go on the grounds of our state house. We're a secular country.

I have no problem with the cross even though I'm a nonbeliever, but would vote with those who would like to see symbols of other religious groups since it was not just Christians who died or lost loved ones.