A painting known as “Christ on the Water” at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in King’s Point, New York, has been completely covered up after a secular group demanded its removal. The memorial is in a room that was formerly the academy’s interfaith chapel but has been used for official business.
According to CBN News, The anti-religion Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) complained, suggesting the painting in the Elliot See Room in the academy’s main administration building sent an improper message of preferred faith in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
The MRFF claims they made the request on behalf of 26 clients. In a statement, the group said they had originally demanded the religious painting be moved to a more constitutionally appropriate location such as the USMMA Mariners Chapel.
The 10-foot by 19-foot painting, also known as “Jesus and Lifeboat,” was painted in 1944 by noted marine artist Lt. Hunter Wood, USMS, to hang in the chapel built at the USMMA Basic School in San Mateo, California. The painting depicts an image of Jesus and merchant seamen adrift in a lifeboat, presumably after being torpedoed in the Indian Ocean during World War II.
The painting was done to commemorate over 9,000 merchant marines who lost their lives in 1942. USMMA Superintendent Vice Admiral Joanna Nunan responded to the MRFF’s demand by having the painting covered with a white curtain while plans were made on how to move it due to it being an alleged religious endorsement. But academy alumni and members of Congress responded to Superintendent Nunan’s move, demanding that the Jesus painting be uncovered for viewing.
First, four House Republicans who attended the U.S. military academies, U.S. Reps. Mike Garcia (R-CA), Mark Green (R-TN), August Pfluger (R-TX), and Warren Davidson (R-OH), wrote a letter to Nunan arguing the painting hanging in a public room is constitutional. They cited Van Orden v. Perry, a 2005 decision allowing the display of the Ten Commandments on government property.
U.S. Rep. James Banks (R-IN) also sent his own letter to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, urging him to “immediately correct” the USMMA decision to cover the painting.
Late last month, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also told Vice Admiral Nunan in a letter that the painting is perfectly in keeping with the Establishment Clause.
“The relevant constitutional question is whether the Academy’s display of the painting meets the requirements of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. As a longstanding display that is consistent with the history and tradition of the United States and its Maritime Service, it clearly does,” the Texas senator wrote.
