RUPERT, Idaho (AP) — A window painting of a Nativity scene has been removed from a southeastern Idaho city's post office after a national watchdog group said it violated the separation between church and state.
The Times-News reports that the Freedom From Religion Foundation lodged a complaint against the Rupert Post Office, saying the life-size window painting was a religious symbol and therefore didn't belong on public property.
The painting was recreated last week across the street on the windows of a privately owned building. The post office's windows now have the phrase "Peace on Earth Good Will toward Men" and a wreath painted on them.
Some Rupert residents say the removal went too far, and see it as an attempt to quash Christmas.
