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Christian Group Complains About Ganesh Statue At Calgary Zoo

By Howard M. Friedman

In Canada, the publicly funded Calgary Zoo some two years ago put up a statue of the Hindu deity Ganesh-- a figure with an elephant head-- near the zoo's elephant display. An anonymous donor supplied funds for the statue in memory of her late father who worked and travelled extensively in Asia. According to yesterday's Calgary Herald, Concerned Christians Canada wrote the zoo this week complaining about the statue. The letter (full text) said: "The zoo is not a place of religious indoctrination, it is supposed to be a safe family environment free of religious icons and selective religious partiality." A zoo spokesman, however, says that the statue is a cultural symbol that shows the tie between the elephants and Asian culture. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Full post as published by Religion Clause on September 26, 2009 (boomark / email).