If Christians post the Ten Commandments at the state Capitol, instructing Arkansans to honor "the LORD thy God," then atheists say they want to erect a monument declaring "There are no gods."

Photo by Danny Johnston / AP

Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow

Photo by Bobby Ampezzan

Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton

Photo by Rick McFarland

LeeWood Thomas

Photo by Steve Keesee

Sen. David Sanders, R-Little Rock

Patrick Elliot, a staff attorney for the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, says the group is serious about putting up a stone monument disputing the existence of an Almighty.

“We absolutely would go through with it if this Ten Commandments monument is going to be placed. There’s no reason to exclude other statements on religion if that’s the case, but I think the ultimate solution is to not place any of these on the Capitol grounds.” Patrick Elliot, a staff attorney for the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation

If the Capitol lawn becomes a religious forum, atheists say they will claim their space on it.

"We absolutely would go through with it if this Ten Commandments monument is going to be placed," Elliot said. "There's no reason to exclude other statements on religion if that's the case, but I think the ultimate solution is to not place any of these on the Capitol grounds."

According to a letter from the organization to Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Secretary of State Mark Martin, the monument would read in part: "There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

The monument, the letter says, would honor "the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

Elliot said the group firmly believes in separation of church and state. The group's phone system plays a modified version of "Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho" to callers put on hold.

"We've got to fight the battle of church and state ... or the wall will come a tumbling down," the singer says.

The letter comes as state Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, who wrote The Ten Commandments Monument Display Act, says he's finalizing paperwork to create the American History and Heritage Foundation, an Arkansas nonprofit that will collect donations to erect the Old Testament monument. He said he will sit on the foundation's board.

The Ten Commandments Monument Display Act, passed during this year's legislative session, authorizes placing a privately funded monument at the state Capitol. The legislation passed in the House 72-7 and in the Senate 27-3.

"This is what we voted on and decided that we wanted to honor the historical foundation of law," Rapert said. "People can disagree, but there are people who burn the United States flag, and I think that's wrong."

The law has prompted various non-Christian organizations to apply to erect monuments of their own.

Leaders of the New York-based Satanic Temple said they are interested in placing a 1.5-ton, 8.5-foot-tall bronze tribute to Baphomet at the Arkansas Capitol. Baphomet, a goat-faced, winged creature, is often associated with paganism or the occult.

The Nevada-based Universal Society of Hinduism wants to put up a statue in honor of Hindu deity Hanuman, a monkey-faced god known for his strength and exceptional grammar.

Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, a primary sponsor of the Ten Commandments act, said those groups should not be allowed to put monuments on the Capitol grounds.

He said the Ten Commandments will be presented in a historical context and would not make a religious statement.

Opponents of the Ten Commandments monument scoff at the notion that the memorial wouldn't make a religious statement.

The Ten Commandments monument would quote the Bible and include the words "I am the LORD thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

Hammer, a Baptist pastor, is skeptical that Arkansans would approve of the religious skeptics' displays.

"If the atheists show they have made any significant contribution to or had any presence during the founding of this country and they can show how they've made positive contributions throughout our nation's history, then they might stand a chance of getting it considered," he said.

Lawmakers also would need to pass legislation to allow another monument at the Capitol.

"Quite honestly, I don't see that happening," Hammer said. "It sure won't happen by me or with my vote."

LeeWood Thomas, a spokesman for the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers, said it's "silly" to claim that the Ten Commandments are merely historical.

"It's only history if you're a Christian," Thomas said. "Apparently, they don't understand the concept of separation of church and state."

Thomas said he supports the Freedom From Religion Foundation's monument and his group is considering funding a monument of its own.

He said he wouldn't be surprised if the matter ends up in court.

"Maybe they're just trying to empty out Arkansas' coffers," he said. "It's a waste of taxpayer money, and it's sad."

Sen. David Sanders, R-Little Rock, said he didn't know if the issue would end up in the courts or what the outcome would be if it did.

Sanders was one of about 40 co-sponsors of the legislation that authorized the Ten Commandments monument.

"I think it's an easy piece of legislation to support," he said. "As a historical symbol, I do think it's important. It does inform our history."

Elliot said the basis for a legal challenge would lie in McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union, a case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a 5-4 decision, the high court held in 2005 that Ten Commandments displays needed to be removed from two Kentucky courthouses because they were erected along with other religious passages and the religious motivations were clear.

But the same day, the court issued a separate 5-4 ruling in Van Orden v. Perry holding that the Texas state Capitol could keep its decades-old Ten Commandments monument because it conveyed historic and social meaning, and was merely one of several historical displays.

"Our position is that there shouldn't be any religious or nonreligious monuments on public property," Elliot said. "If the state is going to go down the road and add religious monuments, there's no harm adding a nonreligious monument alongside it."

Rapert said the Freedom From Religion Foundation should stay out of the state.

"This is an organization that does nothing but threaten and intimidate with lawsuits against individuals that are not bothering them whatsoever," he said. "I think that they need to stay in Wisconsin and mind their own business."

Chris Powell, a spokesman for the Arkansas secretary of state, said the foundation had properly submitted its request and it would be considered by the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission.

He said a date for a meeting on it had not been set.

A request by the Universal Society of Hinduism to place a statue of a Hindu deity at the Capitol was rejected last week because it failed to comply with the commission's procedures for submissions, Powell said.

Metro on 08/27/2015