The Big Mountain Jesus statue will be the focus of a congressional committee hearing scheduled on Friday by Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg.

Rehberg, a Republican, is proposing legislation that would allow a land exchange between the Whitefish Mountain Resort and the Flathead National Forest centered on the 625-square-foot parcel of federal land near the top of Chair 2. The exchange would allow the statue to remain at that location.

“We all hope that the Forest Service will do the right thing and listen to the overwhelming public support for keeping the memorial where it is,” Rehberg said.

The hearing before the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands will be held at 9 a.m. eastern time on Capitol Hill. Rehberg will testify, as will Charlie Harball, speaking on behalf of the Kalispell Knights of Columbus, the Catholic fraternal organization that erected the statue in 1954 and has maintained it ever since.

Rehberg and the Knights of Columbus contend the statue is a World War II memorial and a historic monument on the mountain, but a Wisconsin-based group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation and a local group called the Flathead Area Secular Humanist Association disagree.

They contend it is a religious statue that violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution because of its presence on federal lands.

Ian Cameron, a spokesperson for the Flathead Area Secular Humanist Association, cites a 1954 Whitefish Pilot article that repeatedly refers to the statue as a shrine and does not refer to it as a World War II Memorial at all.

But it has come to be perceived as a memorial for veterans over the last six decades.

“This memorial to World War II veterans has brought people together across Northwest Montana and across America,” Rehberg said. “And I’m going to fight hard to protect it because of what it means to the local community and those who served our country. If the Forest Service doesn’t make the right decision, this hearing means my legislation will be ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.