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The federal lawsuit filed in Columbia, S.C., alleged the Legislature's approval of the plate "improperly advances and endorses religion", discriminates against faiths other than Christianity and violates freedom of speech, The State, a Columbia newspaper, reported.

The plate has the words "I Believe" and a cross on a stained-glass window background. The bill authorizing the plates became law without Gov. Mark Sanford's signature, The Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston, S.C., reported.

"The South Carolina Legislature's decision to align itself with a single religion -- Christianity -- runs afoul of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution", the lawsuit said.

The state's Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who drafted the legislation, said in a statement, "For those who say this violates the Constitution by giving preference to Christianity, I think this lawsuit clearly discriminates against persons of faith."

One plaintiff, the Rev. Neal Jones, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbia, told The State, "As a citizen, I resent the fact that our Legislature is acting in a way that favors one group of citizens."

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