Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, talks Monday, Dec. 1, 2008, about the sign his organization helped place near a Christian nativity scene at the Capitol in Olympia.

OLYMPIA -- There will be no new displays put up at the state Capitol, at least for now.

On Friday the Department of General Administration declared a moratorium for exhibits and displays in the Legislative Building.

As a result, all pending applications - including one for a Festivus pole - an homage to the made-up holiday featured in the comedy series "Seinfeld" - have been put on hold until the department completes a review of the current policy for exhibits and displays in the Legislative Building.

In a statement the department said it made the decision after receiving more applications than anticipated and can be "reasonably accommodated" in the building's display area.

The Capitol holiday display, which this year includes an atheist sign that disparages religion and claims there is no God, has been at the center of controversy in the past few weeks.

State officials had allowed the anti-religion placard to be displayed during the holidays at the Capitol, along with a Christian nativity scene and a decorated Christmas tree, in response to a lawsuit filed over seasonal religious displays on state property.

The atheist sign - a "winter solstice" sign sponsored by the atheistic Freedom from Religion Foundation - calls religion "myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

In the days since it was posted, the sign has sparked a national firestorm of protest in the midst of the holiday season. An estimated crowd of several hundred people flocked to the state Capitol last Sunday to protest the sign's presence.

"It wasn't just a statement of atheist sentiment that there was no God," says rally organizer Steve Wilson. "It went on to say that religion hardens hearts and enslaves their minds, which is actually an insult of people of religious faith."

But no one brought the issue more attention than conservative Fox News TV commentator Bill O'Reilly, who called the display "political correctness gone mad" and urged viewers to call Gov. Chris Gregoire's office to complain.

Gregoire spokesman Pearse Edwards said the office received about 200 calls an hour, as well as e-mails, in the days following O'Reilly's rant.

The Capitol has had a holiday tree, provided by the Association of Washington Business, for 19 years. In 2006, it was joined by a menorah sponsored by a Seattle Jewish group.

That prompted a lawmaker from Spokane to stage a protest at the Capitol, demanding the holiday tree be called a "Christmas tree." It also led a local real estate agent to sue the state to allow the nativity display depicting the birth of Jesus.