The 10-foot-tall sign, which was posted Saturday in the downtown park just outside Town Hall, pictures the World Trade Center with a caption from the John Lennon song "Imagine No Religion."
The World Trade Center towers collapsed after Muslim extremists flew two passenger-loaded jets into them on Sept. 11, 2001.
The three-sided sign also promotes on one panel the coming winter solstice, a celebration rooted in pagan religions.
"People used to believe that gods moved the sun across the sky," the message reads. "Today we know that there are no gods, and that the sun moves by natural causes, and we celebrate not only the movement of the sun but our ability to understand that movement."
The Connecticut Valley Atheists erected the sign on the afternoon of the town's annual Dickens' Day and tree lighting celebration, which takes place in and around Center Park.
"Traditionally there has only been a Christian display there," members wrote on a posting to a national atheist website under a photo of the four local men who erected the sign. "We would prefer no displays, but if they're going to get one, so are we."
Town Hall officials say they fielded a significant number of phone calls on the sign Monday, with some calling to complain while others merely wanted to know why it was the only symbol out there.
For generations the only holiday display in Center Park was a large-scale Christian Christmas nativity.
Last year the town received a complaint from Bolton Road resident Dennis Paul Himes, the state director of the American Atheists, who threatened legal action, saying the town had violated the constitutional provision of separation of church and state by allowing the Christian crèche to be displayed on town property.
When the park underwent renovations the nativity was moved to the front of St. Bernard Church for the 2006 holiday season. That caused a stir among Republican Town Committee members, however, who passed a unanimous resolution requesting it be returned to its traditional spot in Center Park for 2007.
Former Mayor Ellen L. Marmer began meeting with local religious groups and crafted a policy that went into effect last August granting equal space for any group who wanted to set up traditional displays or symbolic messages during the holiday season.
Only three organizations applied: the atheists who put up the sign; Temple B'nai Israel, which plans to erect a Jewish Menorah for Hanukkah; and the Vernon Christian Churches organization, which is having a new nativity scene constructed for the site in time for Christmas.
The Rev. Cynthia Carr, associate pastor at First Congregational Church in Vernon, says the new nativity consists of a stable and three life-size figures depicting "the Holy Family of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus." It should be finished and installed at Center Park around Dec. 12, Carr added.
The older, circa-World War II crèche scene needed to be refurbished and restored, Carr said. Because of its fragility and age, the much-loved scene will continue to be displayed at St. Bernard Church for safety reasons, Carr said.
As for the atheist display, it went up on the first allowable day under the new policy and will remain standing until sometime in January, depending on the weather, Himes said.
Reaction so far has been mixed, he said, adding that some people made both negative and positive comments while the sign was going up, and later by e-mail.
Some took exception with using the tragedy of the World Trade Center to get their message across, he said.
"But we wanted something explicit that showed atheist beliefs and not just something about the winter solstice," Himes said.
Himes said he was not concerned about offending Muslims or survivors of the tragedy "because if atheist beliefs were widespread, the towers would still be standing."
Mayor Jason L. McCoy, a Republican, could not be reached today for comment on this story.
Local area churches are conducting a fundraiser to help pay for the new nativity. Those wanting to donate can contribute to the fund through St. Bernard Church, 25 St. Bernard Terrace, Vernon, CT, 06066, or to the First Congregational Church in Vernon, UCC, 695 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon, CT, 06066. Indicate in a note that the donation is for the nativity fund.
For more information about Connecticut Valley Atheists, go to their website at
www.cvatheists.org.