A federal appeals court upheld a ruling Wednesday that a Ten Commandments monument must be removed from a city park in Plattsmouth.
The American Center for Law and Justice, a group that focuses on family and religious issues, had asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review an earlier ruling by a federal judge.
U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of Lincoln had rejected the city's argument that the monument is protected by the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom.
The lawsuit in which Kopf ruled was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a Plattsmouth resident who says he is an atheist. It alleged that the monument fails to maintain a proper separation between church and state.
The monument lists the Ten Commandments and is emblazoned with two Stars of David, which are symbols of the Jewish faith.
Kopf said the monument "conveys a message that Christianity and Judaism are favored religions."
The Plattsmouth chapter of the Fraternal Order of Eagles donated the marker in 1965. The Eagles donated many such markers nationwide as part of an evangelical campaign inspired by the 1956 movie "The Ten Commandments."