It’s the holidays, a busy time for Santa and shoppers.<\/p>\n
And lawyers.<\/p>\n
Attorneys who specialize in religious expression say they get a spike in calls in November and December, with people calling about everything from public school choirs singing religious songs to Nativity scenes on government property. Some are for, some are against, and some are public officials trying to find out how to avoid being sued.<\/p>\n
While the Supreme Court has handed down multiple rulings about religious expression, including several about holiday displays, each case turns on the details, which means fertile ground for competing legal opinions and disagreement.<\/p>\n
Exactly how prominent was the Nativity scene on the town green? Was it the only holiday display there? Were the students handing out Christmas cards at school standing where other students couldn’t avoid passing?<\/p>\n
The questions are endless, and so are the tensions.<\/p>\n
In tiny Exmore, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, officials are ignoring a demand that they remove or alter a plastic Nativity scene in front of Town Hall.<\/p>\n
“Spines have stiffened,” said Herbert Gilsdorf, town manager in Exmore, population 1,500.<\/p>\n