ELLWOOD CITY — A Nativity scene that has been displayed on public property annually for decades will be moved to private land next year to avoid a First Amendment lawsuit from an anti-religion group, town officials said.

Ellwood City’s borough council voted 4-2 on Monday to move the display off the grounds of the municipal building after a complaint from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which said the crèche violated the separation between church and state.

Councilman Glenn Jones said he reluctantly supported the relocation to avoid a costly lawsuit that could result in the borough being ordered to move the Nativity display anyway. It has been erected in the same spot for about 50 years.

The foundation had also given officials the option to keep the display while hanging a banner that reads in part, “Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”