National Council of Jewish Women Leads Multi-Faith Amicus Brief Against Ten Commandments Mandate in Louisiana
LOUISIANA –Yesterday, in an amicus brief filed in the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) asserted that the Louisiana law mandating that a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments be permanently hung in every public school classroom violates religious freedom. For over 130 years, NCJW has fought to create a democratic society that works for everyone — regardless of race, immigration status, gender, income, religion, or any other factor — and this means ensuring a strict separation between religion and state and religious freedom for all. Joined by 19 organizations representing diverse faith groups, NCJW argues that the Ten Commandments are by nature a religious text with different meanings, interpretations, and significance across different faiths, and HB 71 puts the government in the position of favoring certain religious traditions over others.
“Requiring religious teaching in public school classrooms is a direct violation of the First Amendment,” said Darcy Hirsh, Director of Government Relations and Advocacy at NCJW. “Separation of religion and state is a founding principle of American democracy, ensuring that religious freedom be used as a shield to protect religious minorities, not a sword to impose beliefs on others.
National Council of Jewish Women is proud to lead this multi-faith effort to push back against religious coercion in the classroom. We will continue to fight to ensure that people of all faiths and no faith are not forced to conform to the beliefs of others.”
Signatories include Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc., Hindus for Human Rights, Interfaith Alliance, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Jewish Women International, Keshet, Men of Reform Judaism, Muslims for Progressive Values, Rabbinical Assembly, Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus, The Sikh Coalition, Society for Humanistic Judaism, Women’s Rabbinic Network, T’ruah, Union for Reform Judaism, Women of Reform Judaism, and Zionness.
You can view the brief here.
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