AG to aid ECU with its chapel complaint
ADA — Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter is defending East Central University’s right to retain religious icons on a campus chapel.
Hunter notified officials at ECU and the Regional University System of Oklahoma to refer all questions regarding architectural features of the chapel to his office after learning about a “demand letter” from an advocacy group seeking to have crosses, Bibles and an altar removed.
Hunter said the letter is an implicit threat to take legal action and should be directed to the attorney general as the state’s chief legal officer.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent the letter to ECU President Katricia Pierson last month seeking the removal of religious
items inside and outside of the Kathryn P. Boswell Memorial Chapel, including the cross atop the steeple.
“The cross displays and the various other religious displays in the chapel plainly violate the law. Please remove them,” the letter stated.
Ian Smith, staff attorney for Americans United, said the organization received a complaint from a member of the Ada community.
Pierson said she would convene a committee of students, faculty and community members to study the issue.
Hunter said the matter should be handled by the attorney general’s office instead, because any decision made by the committee could impact other entities in Oklahoma that are in a similar situation.
“The United States Constitution does not require Oklahoma’s public universities to efface building features or remove other items simply because they are connected to religious expression or heritage,” Hunter wrote in a July 5 letter to Mark Stansberry, chairman of the board of regents that governs the regional university system.
“My office stands ready to defend the religious freedom of Oklahomans from misleading tactics such as the ones employed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State.”
Hunter said the group’s letter quotes many cases from legal jurisdictions not involving the state and “omits any mention of cases from courts with jurisdiction covering Oklahoma that have allowed crosses to remain in public displays.”
Stansberry and Pierson issued statements Thursday supporting the attorney general.
“We welcome the AG’s involvement in this matter and offer our complete cooperation,” Pierson said. ECU will not form a committee on the matter, she said.
“I support President Pierson’s decision to refer this matter to the attorney general. The outcome of this issue has a significant impact on other universities and Oklahoma,” Stansberry said.
The chapel, opened in 1957, was a gift to ECU from S.C. Boswell in memory of his wife. It has been used by various religious groups and clubs on campus, as well as for weddings, concerts and events.