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OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE SCHOOL v. 
MORRISSEY-BERRU 
Opinion of the Court 

Judaism.  As  explained  in  briefs  submitted  by  Jewish  or-
ganizations, the Torah is understood to require Jewish par-
ents  to  ensure  that  their  children  are  instructed  in  the 
faith.17  One brief quotes Maimonides’s statement that reli-
gious instruction “is an obligation of the highest order, en-
‘fear  of 
trusted  only  to  a  schoolteacher  possessing 
Heaven.’ ”18  “The contemporary American Jewish commu-
nity continues to place the education of children in its faith
and rites at the center of its communal efforts.”19 

Religious education is also important in Islam.  “[T]he ac-
quisition of at least rudimentary knowledge of religion and 
its duties [is] mandatory for the Muslim individual.”20  This 
precept  is  traced  to  the  Prophet  Muhammad,  who  pro-
claimed that “ ‘[t]he pursuit of knowledge is incumbent on 
every Muslim.’ ”21  “[T]he development of independent pri-
vate Islamic schools ha[s] become an important part of the
picture of Muslim education in America.”22 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  has  a 
long  tradition  of  religious  education,  with  roots  in  revela-
tions given to Joseph Smith.  See Doctrine and Covenants 
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints §93:36
(2013).  “The  Church  Board  of  Education  has  established 
elementary, middle, or secondary schools in which both sec-
ular and religious instruction is offered.”23 

—————— 

17 See Deuteronomy 6:7, 11:19. 
18 Brief  for  General  Conference  of  Seventh-day  Adventists  et al.  as 
Amici Curiae 7–8 (quoting Maimonides, Mishne Torah, Hilkhot Talmud
Torah 1:2; 2:1, 3). 

19 Brief for Church of God in Christ, Inc., et al. as Amici Curiae 15. 
20 Afsaruddin, Muslim Views on Education: Parameters, Purview, and 

Possibilities, 44 J. Cath. Legal Studies 143, 143–144 (2005). 

21 Id., at 143. 
22 Haddad & Smith, Introduction: The Challenge of Islamic Education 
in North America, in Educating the Muslims of America 3, 6, 11 (Y. Had-
dad, F. Senzai, & J. Smith eds. 2009). 

23 Berrett, Church Educational System (CES) in 1 Encyclopedia of Mor-

monism 274, 275 (D. Ludlow ed. 1992).