The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s attempts to remove a statue of Jesus from a piece of federal land has been denied by a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The statue, called “Big Mountain Jesus” by local residents, was the target of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.  The group claimed the existence of the statue was the government endorsing Christianity and thus a violation of the Constitution.

Two of the three judges on the panel backed the ruling of U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen who found the secular and irreverent uses of the statue overshadowed any religious use.

Christensen noted that the monument had been a wedding location, covered in ski apparel and even Mardi Gras beads.

“The Court rightly rejected Freedom From Religion Foundation’s radical idea that a privately owned memorial standing in the middle of a ski resort violates the Constitution,” said Eric Baxter, senior counsel with the Becket Fund.

The group says they will appeal the decision to the full 9th Circuit Court.