We turn first to the county's creche display. There is no doubt, of course, that the creche itself is capable of communicating a religious message. Indeed, the creche in this lawsuit uses words, as well as the picture of the nativity scene, to make its religious meaning unmistakably clear. "Glory to God in the Highest!" says the angel in the creche -- Glory to God because of the birth of Jesus. This praise to God in Christian terms is indisputably religious -- indeed sectarian -- just as it is when said in the Gospel or in a church service.
[G]overnment may [not] celebrate Christmas in some manner…that endorses Christian doctrine. Here, Allegheny County has transgressed this line. It has chosen to celebrate Christmas in a way that has the effect of endorsing a patently Christian message: Glory to God for the birth of Jesus Christ. Under
Lynch, and the rest of our cases, nothing more is required to demonstrate a violation of the Establishment Clause. The display of the creche in this context, therefore, must be permanently enjoined.
County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter