Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Atheists Say "9/11 Cross" Is Causing Them "Mental Pain And Anguish"
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 29, 2011
Modified Jul 29, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 29, 2011
Modified Jul 29, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Won't someone think of the poor atheists? With no God to appeal to for mercy, they can only rely on the justice of our imperfect court system, where they're suing to stop the famous September 11 Cross from being included as part of the memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site. Some see the cross, which consists of intersecting steel beams found in the Ground Zero rubble, as a symbol of perseverance and faith. But according to a lawsuit filed by American Atheists, the cross's side effects include "dyspepsia, symptoms of depression, headaches, anxiety, and mental pain and anguish from the knowledge that they are made to feel officially excluded from the ranks of citizens who were directly injured by the 9/11 attack."
The Times turned to legal experts to see if the lawsuit has any merit, and Marc D. Stern, who has long studied church-state issues, says the lawsuit presented "an extra-difficult case... It’s a significant part of the story of the reaction to the attack, and that is a secular piece of history. It’s also very clear from the repeated blessing of the cross, and the way believers speak about the cross, that it has intense present religious meaning to many people. And both of those narratives about this cross are correct."
Asked what symbol atheists would prefer to see in the museum, David Silverman, the president of American Atheists, told the Times, "Perhaps an atom, because we’re all made out of atoms." It's just that when those atoms accidentally arrange themselves in the form of a religious icon on government property, Silverman has problems. And noted atheist Bill Maher agrees; reached for his reaction to the 9/11 cross lawsuit, he told Daily Intel:
The news from Norway reminds us that Christianity is also a religion with a bloody history, and perfectly capable of creating dangerous, violent extremists just as Islam does. Once you buy into the idea of things that are "holy", you're closer to buying into the idea of a "holy war." Anders Breivik was a terrorist calling for a Christian war against Muslims. In this atmosphere, symbols about whose god "rules" are not helpful.
At last, liberals have their own 9/11 to evoke whenever they want to end an argument! Unless the Port Authority wants to be responsible for another Oslo, they'd better do the atheists' bidding.
Tagged
9/11
9/11 cross
atheists
bill maher
ground zero
religion
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Judge temporarily halts overnight construction at NYC’s Chinatown jail
The order comes after Chinatown residents sued the city over noise, health concerns and years of planned after-hours construction.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 26, 2026 at 7:08 p.m. ET
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools
A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Police search for man in Central Park sexual assault
By
Charles Lane
Rockefeller Center's 2026 Christmas tree is a 76-foot spruce from Upstate New York
By
Giulia Heyward
‘A killer cop lives here’: Brooklyn arrests raise questions about limits of free speech
By
Ben Feuerherd
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .