EXCLUSIVE — A Connecticut religious liberty group is challenging a state policy that barred it from displaying a Nativity scene inside the Capitol, arguing officials violated the First Amendment by prohibiting holiday displays solely because they were religious.

On Monday, First Liberty Institute sent a demand letter to Connecticut’s Joint Committee on Legislative Management on behalf of the Family Institute of Connecticut (FIC) after the organization was barred from exhibiting a small Nativity in the state Capitol building in December.

First Liberty Institute maintains that the Committee’s policy permits displays in the Capitol unless they are “religious in nature,” and, in their letter with Jones Day, asks the Committee to remove the provision from its policy and allow the Nativity display this Christmas season.

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According to First Liberty Institute, the Family Institute of Connecticut applied in December to display a small Nativity scene in a public area of the state Capitol.

The group says the Joint Committee on Legislative Management rejected the request, explaining that its policy prohibits religious displays by outside organizations because a standalone Nativity scene could be viewed as government endorsement of Christianity.

“The Committee’s position is legally incorrect, and the Committee itself has violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by maintaining a facially unlawful policy and denying FIC’s application,” the letter reads. “As summarized below, the Establishment Clause certainly does not forbid the display of a Nativity scene at the State Capitol, and the Committee’s denial of FIC’s request based on its religious nature is viewpoint discrimination in violation of the Free Speech Clause.”

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A church in Boston sparked controversy over their nativity scene. (WFXT)

Roger Byron, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital that the Connecticut’s Joint Committee on Legislative Management’s policy infringes on First Amendment rights.

“The ‘no religious display’ policy is such a blatant violation of the First Amendment that it must have been an oversight,” Byron said. “The law is clear that barring a religious viewpoint from a public forum like this violates the Free Speech Clause. Hopefully the Committee changes its policy and makes further legal action unnecessary.”

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A church’s nativity scene featuring Jesus in a cage that sparked controversy in Boston. (WFXT)

Andrew Lelling, partner at Jones Day and lead counsel for the FIC, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital, “The FIC is just asking for equal treatment. No one should be censored or denied access because his viewpoint is a religious one.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Connecticut’s Joint Committee on Legislative Management for comment.

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