text: Archeologists think the Sphinx was an object of religious worship, not a work of art. You are making the same Western-centric mistake that 20th century writers made of African masks, a mistake (looks like art, must be art) that was corrected by folks such as Leon Underwood.
  
  The Christ statue was not commissioned by government or a "large public donor", it was fueled by private citizen Catholics who wanted to battle falling rates of Christianity in the city, and the donation drives in their churches funded it. It was built by them as a religion-spreading tool, comparable to the motivations of huge cathedrals 500 years ago (and the David statue, built as a cathedral decoration).
  
  Your items do not fall under the category I specified, tax money-bought "preachy, one-note noise of cloying proselytization". There is no cloying proselytization in marking major HISTORICAL events, such as a major war or abolishing slavery or establishing freedom.