ybvdadminuser(RNS) — The National Council of Jewish Women and 19 other organizations, representing Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, filed an amicus brief Monday (Jan. 6) opposing a Louisiana law that would require the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in the state.
The Ten Commandments legislation, which passed last year, was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in November. But Louisiana is appealing the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
The organizations’ amicus brief argues that the legislation privileges the Protestant Christian interpretation of the Ten Commandments at the expense of other faiths and pressures schoolchildren to venerate a text that may be distinctly different from that of their own religious communities.
“We’re fighting back against the Christian nationalist notion that the Bible is universal,” said Darcy Hirsh, director of government relations and advocacy for the National Council of Jewish Women. “The arguments that we make in this brief demonstrate that different faith groups view the Ten Commandments differently, and by posting them in state classrooms you’re infringing on the religious freedom rights of the students and families in those classrooms.”
Signing onto the amicus brief were the Interfaith Alliance, Hindus for Human Rights, Muslims for Progressive Values and the Sikh Coalition, as well as numerous Jewish groups.
The Louisiana legislation requires that posters containing the commandments be displayed in each classroom of every public elementary, middle and high school in the state, as well as in classrooms at public colleges. It is the first state to enact such a mandate in more than 40 years.
In June, one week after the law was signed by Gov. Jeff Landry, a lawsuit opposed to the legislation was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State on behalf of nine families with children in Louisiana public schools, among them members of Jewish, Christian and Unitarian Universalist faiths.
On Nov. 12, John W. deGravelles, a U.S. District Court judge, said the law was “coercive” to students and added: “There are any number of ways that the state could advance an alleged interest in educating students about the Ten Commandments that would be less burdensome.” He determined that the law violated the First Amendment’s establishment clause.
RELATED: Federal judge rules that Louisiana shalt not require public schools to post the Ten Commandments
Last week, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill instructed all but five districts to implement the mandate, claiming the judge’s decision applies only to those five specifically named in the suit.
Murrill added that there were “constitutionally sound ways to implement it,” as part of a larger display.
The amicus brief, prepared by the law firm Jenner & Block, makes the case that there is no single, agreed-upon version of the Ten Commandments and that the Hebrew Bible and the Protestant Bible contain different formulations of the First and Second Commandments.
In addition, it points out, the Ten Commandments are not followed by members of many faith traditions.
“ … any display of the Commandments is inherently sectarian, because it must choose a translation, ordering, and numbering system that will favor one or more religions, and therefore disfavor other religions,” the brief says.
Ani Zonneveld, founder and president of Muslims for Progressive Values, which is also a party to the brief, said the Louisiana law was a “slip into theocracy.”
“Seeing it happening in America is very problematic,” Zonneveld said. “And for us, it’s a path to becoming a failed state.”
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for later this month.
RELATED: Why the posting of the Ten Commandments is wrong
