The California Department of Education agreed last week to remove two religious chants from a state-approved curriculum following a lawsuit filed by the Equal Rights Foundation, individual taxpayers and concerned parents.
The disputed program required students to pray to Aztec gods.
Attorneys with the Thomas More Society announced Thursday that the CDE will issue a public notice to all California school districts, charter schools and county offices of education and the State Board of Education (SBE), agreeing not to promote use of the chants in California public schools.
CBN News previously reported that the curriculum reportedly features its own “ethnic studies community chant” and recommends teachers lead students in a series of indigenous songs, chants and affirmations, including the “In Lak Ech Affirmation,” which appeals directly to the Aztec gods.
In addition, the curriculum includes the Ashe Prayer from the Yoruba religion. Yoruba is an ancient spiritual concept that is the root of many pagan religions, including Santeria and Haitian Vodou or Voodoo.
“We filed the lawsuit after we discovered that California’s Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, a resource guide for local school districts, included prayer to Aztec gods—the same deities that were invoked when the Aztecs worshipped with human sacrifices,” said Paul Jonna, partner at LiMandri & Jonna LLP and Thomas More Society Special Counsel.
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Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright © 2022 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
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