By Jeff Huett
One hundred fifteen Louisiana pastors and church-goers from about 10 Christian denominations have signed a petition sent to Louisiana’s governor asking him to veto legislation that would turn “public schools into Sunday schools,” requiring elementary, secondary and post-secondary public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Louisiana is poised to become the first state to require every public-school classroom to display a poster with the text of a state-approved version of the Ten Commandments.
The pastors and church members signing the May 31 letter to Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry say they “value the right of all families to determine the religious education of their children and are appalled to see public officials claiming that right for themselves.”
They argue that the bill, H.B. 71, violates the religious freedom of every student, staff member and community volunteer in our public schools, no matter their religious beliefs.
The “responsibility of religious education belongs to families, churches and other religious institutions, not the government,” the letter states.
“Different faith traditions treat the scripture in which the Ten Commandments appear differently,” the letter continues. “In attempting to reconcile and cobble together these varying interpretations, the text of the display mandated by H.B. 71 manages to produce a hodgepodge of holy scripture that includes twelve, not ten, commandments and fails to respect the beliefs of many Christians. Nor does this state-dictated language honor or reflect the beliefs of our Jewish brothers and sisters.”
The full text of the letter is available here.
Shane McNary, coordinator of ministry for the Great Rivers Fellowship, said the state encroaching “upon the rights of families and the church to provide religious instruction to our children runs counter to historic Baptist convictions of a free church in a free state.”
Great Rivers Fellowship is the regional organization of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship that connects individuals and churches from across Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi for collaborative mission and ministry.
“We appreciate and encourage the state to take seriously its role to provide adequate funding for public schools in order to educate; we draw the line when the state attempts to use public schools to indoctrinate,” McNary said. “For the state to rip a religious text from its context in Holy Scripture and manipulate it for the state’s secular purpose is poor public policy and distasteful theology. Let the state take care of potholes, water systems and providing public schools where students can learn reading, writing and algebra. Instruction in matters of faith belongs with the family and the church they freely choose to attend.”
Marc Boswell, senior pastor of St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, La., said “as a faith leader in Louisiana, I firmly hold the importance of instilling religious values in our children, and I also firmly hold that this instruction is best placed with families and religious communities. Families should have the freedom to choose who provides this instruction, just as public-school teachers should not be forced by the state to share religious values against their will. Leave religious instruction to religious communities.”
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CBF is a Christian network that helps people put their faith to practice through ministry efforts, global missions and a broad community of support. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.