Aztec prayers will be removed from the California ethnic studies model curriculum after a group of parents who had sued over its inclusion, alleging it was a sectarian endorsement of religion, secured a legal settlement with the state.
The Thomas More Society, a nonprofit legal group that specializes in religious liberty cases, obtained the settlement last week, which the group touted as a “significant triumph for freedom and equality.”
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The California model curriculum for ethnic studies had included a series of Aztec chants and prayers in its guides and directed school districts to lead students in the prayers following a “lesson that may be emotionally taxing or even when student engagement may appear to be low,” Thomas More Society special counsel Paul Jonna said in a press release.
In a tweet thread, Jonna said that the co-chair of the ethnic studies model curriculum, Tolteka Cuauhtin, had previously written that Christian conquistadors had committed “theocide” against groups such as the Aztecs and that “the response should be to ‘regenerate indigenous spiritual traditions.’”
In fact, the co-chair of California’s ESMC, Tolteka Cuauhtin, wrote that Christians committed “Theocide” to oppress marginalized groups – and the response should be to “regenerate indigenous spiritual traditions.”
— Paul M. Jonna (@PaulJonna) January 15, 2022
Indigenous to modern-day Mexico, the Aztecs were viewed as one of the most advanced civilizations of the pre-colonial New World, with substantial civil infrastructure. Their religious practices often included elaborate human sacrifices that were forcibly ended following the Aztec surrender to the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes in 1521.
In the press release, the Thomas More Society said that the California model curriculum was “deeply rooted in Critical Race Theory and critical pedagogy” and “relies on viewing culture with a race-based lens and an oppressor-victim dichotomy.”
The lawsuit was joined by the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation. Their president, Frank Xu, also praised the settlement as an “important, hard-fought victory.”
“Our state has simply gone too far in attempts to promote fringe ideologies and racial grievance policies, even those that disregard established constitutional principles. Endorsing religious chants in the state curriculum is one glaring example,” Xu said. “To improve California public education, we need more people to stand up against preferential treatment programs and racial spoils. At both the state and local levels, we must work together to re-focus on true education.”
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The California Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.
