COMMENTARY: European Court Must Reverse Its Ruling That Crucifixes Violate Freedom

The European Court of Human Rights -- based in Strasbourg, France -- ruled in November 2009 that crucifixes in Italian schools violated religious and education freedoms.

This case dates back to 2002, when an Italian secular mother by the name of Soile Lautsi began to complain about crucifixes in classrooms. Lautsi, whose sons attended a state school in northern Italy at that time, took the case to Italian courts and eventually to the European Court of Human Rights, after school officials refused to take down the crosses.

On June 30, 2010, Italy began its appeal case to keep crucifixes in Italian classrooms. The outcome of the appeal -- which is expected before the end of 2010 -- could affect all 47 member states of the Council of Europe.

Although the European Court ruled that the crucifixes in Italian schools violate religious and educational freedoms, I believe this ruling is illogical. The fact is that crucifixes in classrooms have nothing to do with religious and educational freedoms of students, but rather are symbols representing Christ and His crucifixion.

Crucifixes, then, do not deny students in classrooms the freedom to worship as they please -- or not to worship at all if they are atheists -- but rather serve as a symbol of the predominant religion in Italy and most of Europe.

Moreover, for the European Court to rule in favor of one disgruntled woman -- and to disregard the priorities and values of the vast majority of parents and students -- is an insult to democracy and everything it represents.

In short, the European Court must rule in favor of Italy in its appeal to retain its crucifixes in its school classrooms.