LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This article talks about the approval of a measure in the Mississippi state house requiring the posting of The Ten Commandments and other religious materials:

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour indicated Wednesday he was inclined to sign a bill that would require all public buildings to have postings of the Ten Commandments, "In God We Trust" and excerpts from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

The Mississippi House overwhelmingly approved the measure on a 97-15 vote with little debate Wednesday. The Senate approved it Tuesday on a 40-4 vote, but not before one lawmaker tried to kill the bill.

Barbour spokesman Pete Smith said "the governor is inclined to sign" the bill into law.

Democratic Sen. Johnnie Walls unsuccessfully tried to kill the bill Tuesday.

"What we're attempting to do here is proselytize our religion," he said. "We're setting ourselves up for a lot of ridicule. Again, Mississippi will look less than progressive."

Rabbi Debra Kassoff called the bill a "flagrant and vain use of God's name for political gain."

"I am offended by the Legislature's disregard for separation of church and state, a principle that has allowed religious minorities of every creed to live and flourish in this country for over 200 years, largely without fear," Kassoff wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press.

Under the bill, the Decalogue, the Beatitudes and "In God We Trust," can be posted in public buildings. Since 2001, Mississippi has had a law requiring the motto "In God We Trust" to be posted in every public school classroom.