Arizona State Law (A.R.S. §15-717) allows schools to post and quote religious statements such as:
- “In God We Trust”
- The State Motto “Ditat Deus” and its translation “God Enriches”
- “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance
- The State Constitution Preamble that claims that we are “grateful to Almighty God for our liberties.”
The same law can be used to post quotes promoting the separation of church and state.
A.R.S. §15-717 permits one to post writings, speeches, documents, and proclamations of the founding fathers and the presidents of the United States and published decisions of the United States Supreme Court.
We have a few suggestions… which you can print up right now for your classroom.
"Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine our civil rights.
Moreover, state support of an established religion tends to make the clergy unresponsive to their own people and leads to corruption with religion itself. Erecting the wall of separation between church and state, therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society."
- Thomas Jefferson
"We establish no religion in this country. We command no worship. We mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are and must remain separate."
-Ronald Reagan
"The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach."
-Hugo L. Black, Supreme Court Justice