Recent attempts to remove or limit religious displays in public spaces reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the First Amendment, Glenn Jacobs, mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, said Monday on Newsmax.
He said that the Constitution protects religious expression rather than bans it.
Jacobs weighed in on "Newsline" about several high-profile controversies involving nativity scenes and public expressions of faith — including disputes in Massachusetts and South Carolina, where local officials sought to alter or remove Christian displays from public property.
"We also need to respect our neighbors' opinions when they are Christians," Jacobs said. "We have this thing in our country called freedom of religion. What has happened is most atheists have basically pushed their own religion — which is there is no God, there is no higher power — onto the rest of us by saying you cannot have any religious expression anywhere."
But Jacobs, a Republican who has served as Knox County mayor since 2018, insisted "that's not at all the case."
"The First Amendment prohibits Congress, basically, from establishing a state church," he said. "But it doesn’t say anything about religious expression. And I actually think those should be encouraged as much as possible."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.