One of Lithuania's most famous landmarks is the Hill of Crosses (shown above), a testament to the deep-felt Catholicism here. Crosses in public school classrooms are also not out of the ordinary. Photo by Nathan Greenhalgh.

VILNIUS — The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced its support Wednesday for Italy challenging the European Court of Human Rights on whether crucifixes of Jesus Christ should be displayed in public schools.

The court ruled against the use of crosses in classrooms in November, saying that parents have the right to not have a religion imposed on their children and that the practice violates the right to an education and freedom of thought, conscience and religion articles of the European Convention of Human Rights. The case was brought to the court by an Italian mother.

The court found that “the presence of the crucifix — which it was impossible not to notice in the classrooms — could easily be interpreted by pupils of all ages as a religious sign and they would feel that they were being educated in a school environment bearing the stamp of a given religion. This could be … disturbing for pupils who practiced other religions or were atheists.”

The Italian government has launched an appeal, which Lithuania came out in support Wednesday, living up to its conservative Catholic reputation. Crosses on the walls of public school classrooms are sometimes seen in Lithuania.

Slovakia and Poland have already made similar declarations.

Not a Christian symbol?

Echoing the Italian education minister Mariastella Gelmini, Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that in this case posting an image of Jesus Christ on the cross is not a symbol of Christianity but of Europe’s Christian humanist tradition.

“Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds that the use of crucifixes in public in Catholic countries reflects the European Christian tradition and should not be regarded as a restriction on the freedom of religion,” Ksenija Aleksejeva, a ministry spokeswoman told Baltic Reports.

The Seimas foreign affairs committee also voted 6-4 in favor of supporting Italy’s appeal.

“Lithuania’s position in support of Italy is very important. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that the cross does not breach the freedom of religion,” Šarūnas Adomavičius, a foreign affairs ministry vice minister, said at the committee meeting.

Those against the vote pointed out under the constitution, Lithuania is a secular state. Whether the parliament will vote as a whole in support of the appeal remains to be seen.

The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the court’s decision, accusing it of ignoring the role of Christianity in forming Europe’s identity.