193 Missouri Faith Leaders Call on General Assembly to Support Religious Freedom by Rejecting Ten Commandments Displays in Public School Classrooms

Jefferson City, MO – A group of 193 Missouri faith leaders are calling on the Missouri General Assembly to vote against SB 594, SB 643, HB 34, and any other bill that would require every K-12 public school to display a government-selected version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. 

The Missouri Senate Education Committee is expected to vote on this problematic legislation tomorrow. The letter from faith leaders was organized by Baptist minister Rev. Dr. Brian Kaylor in partnership with Interfaith Alliance, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, The Sikh Coalition, and National Council of Jewish Women.

The faith leaders represent diverse traditions, including: Reform and Conservative Jewish, Cooperative Baptist, United Church of Christ, Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Presbyterian Church (USA), Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Conservative Judaism, United Methodist Church, African Methodist Episcopal, Unitarian Universalist, American Baptist, Non-denominational, Metropolitan Community Church, and Sikh. 

“The U.S. and Missouri Constitutions guarantee our right, and the right of all Missourians, to religious freedom,” the letter states. “That freedom involves respecting the rights of individuals, parents, and faith communities to make decisions about the teaching of sacred texts that inform our religious understandings and practices. Bills mandating the display of the Ten Commandments demean that freedom… We do not need to — and indeed should not — turn public schools into Sunday schools.”

“This bill mandates language for the displays of the Ten Commandments, but you will not find the wording in any version of the Bible. We do not need to create a Revised General Assembly Version of the Bible,” said Rev. Dr. Brian Kaylor, president of the Missouri-based Christian nonprofit Word&Way. “The bill also takes sides in a deeply theological debate over how to order the Ten Commandments. But the state should not pick winners and losers when it comes to religion.”

“Every student should feel welcome and safe in school," said Amy Kuo Hammerman, Missouri State Policy Advocate with the National Council of Jewish Women. "Their sense of belonging shouldn't depend on conforming to government-approved religious dictates. However, that is exactly what will happen if Missouri requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. 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. We believe that every person has the right to come to their own religious beliefs with the assistance of their family and faith communities, not by government mandate in public schools."

“When the state writes a cliff’s notes version of a religious text and mandates its use, we all lose,” said Rev. Jennifer Hawks, Director of Advocacy at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. “The state should not waste time trying to usurp our religious institutions. Leave religious instruction to us and don’t turn public schools into Sunday Schools.”

"Our public schools must remain neutral when it comes to religion," said Harmeet Kaur Kamboj, Sikh Coalition Senior State Policy Manager. "Members of religious minority groups—myself included, as a member of the Sikh faith—understand the value of teaching about religion: including instruction about all faith traditions ensures our children receive a well-rounded social studies education. But schools should never move to teach religion itself, or position one faith above all others within the classroom. Unfortunately, that is precisely what bills mandating the display of the Christian Ten Commandments in classrooms do."

"Religious freedom is a cornerstone of our democracy, and our faith communities thrive when the government respects their autonomy,” said Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, Interfaith Alliance Vice President of Programs and Strategy. “These bills not only overstep the boundaries between church and state but also risk alienating students and families whose beliefs differ from the state’s mandated religious display.”

“Faith isn’t something the government can force on kids in a classroom,” said Amanda Tyler, Executive Director of BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty). “And in America, we don’t need the government playing preacher. Missouri lawmakers need to do the right thing and leave faith where it belongs: with the people.” 

St. Mark Hope and Peace Lutheran Church in Kansas City and Eliot Unitarian Chapel in Kirkwood also signed the letter as houses of worship. 

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