Baptist church to remove statue deemed "too Catholic"

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COLUMBIA, S.C. 

A Baptist church in South Carolina says it will give the hand-carved statue of Jesus Christ that the congregation deemed too Catholic to another church.

The 7-foot (2-meter) statue and accompanying reliefs depicting scenes from Christ's life have been displayed outside Red Bank Baptist Church in Lexington for a decade.

But the Rev. Jeff Wright wouldn't tell The Associated Press when the statue will be taken down.

Wright says church members meant no harm in the decision, and the attention has turned a church issue unfairly into a social justice issue.

Furman University religion professor David Fink says he doesn't see any features on the statue that made it appear Catholic.

However, he says it resembles the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, whose population is majority Roman Catholic.

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