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Exclusive Photo Essay:

God in the Temples of Government

by Carrie Devorah
Posted Nov 24, 2003

On November 13, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary ordered the removal of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore from his post. The decision resulted from Moore’s refusal to obey what he considered a tyrannical order from a federal judge commanding him to remove a stone monument of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the Alabama supreme court building.

The federal court, which was not overruled because the Supreme Court refused to consider Moore’s appeal, insisted that the state of Alabama could not acknowledge God by displaying a religiously-based representation, even though the Alabama constitution says, "We, the people of the State of Alabama, in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution and form of government for the State of Alabama."

HUMAN EVENTS intern and photojournalist Carrie Devorah went to federal government buildings in the District of Columbia and photographed some of the many religious and religiously inspired items in those buildings. In addition, she obtained a picture from the White House of the Adams Prayer Mantel. These pictures are a small sampling of the many religious images scattered throughout government buildings in D.C. and around the country.

Will all of these images eventually be removed by the order of unrestrained federal judges? Will the Alabama state constitution?the current version of which was adopted over 100 years ago, in 1901?have to be revised? More important, will Congress and the President act to restrict federal courts’ jurisdiction over such matters, as the U.S. Constitution explicitly gives them the authority to do, before it is too late?

Moses with the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of the Library of Congress




Moses on the rear facade of the U.S. Supreme Court




Moses with the Ten Commandments inside the Supreme Court's courtroom




"Liberty of Worship" statute resting on the Ten Commandments outside the Ronald Reagan Building




The Ten Commandments in the floor of the National Archives




The Adams Prayer Mantel in the White House
(Photo Courtesy of the White House)




Painting called "Knowledge" in the North Hall of the Library of Congress




An excerpt from Virginia's Statute of Religious Freedom, authored by Thomas Jefferson, on the wall of the Jefferson Memorial




"De Soto's Burial in the Mississippi River" in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol




A stained glass window of George Washington praying, in the chapel in the U.S. Capitol




A phrase from Lord Tennyson in the rotunda of the Library of Congress




A memorial plaque from the Free Press Methodist Episcopal Church inside the Washington Monument




A painting of the Roman goddess of war in the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol




An excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural speech carved into the interior of the Lincoln Memorial



These images are the sort that federal courts have increasingly ruled "unconstitutional" for decades.

If the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or some other plaintiff decides to sue to remove any or all of these images, what would be the result?

If the courts are consistent, these images -- and countless more like them -- could be removed by a judicial elite hostile to all forms of religious expression in public.
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  • God in the Temples of Government: Part II
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    Ms. Devorah is a credentialed investigative photojournalist, who covered international horseracing and local London and Irish news and is interning with HUMAN EVENTS through the National Journalism Center. A native Canadian, she is also an illustrator specializing in the British watercolor technique and is author of a book on the scribal arts.

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