A Tennessee man has sued his county for promoting Christianity, claiming officials rejected his request to post a display on church-state separation in the same courthouse where a Ten Commandments plaque has been displayed for years.

The suit claims Johnson County commissioners in June rejected Ralph Stewart's bid to hang two posters at the Mountain City courthouse's "public forum" area, one titled "The Ten Commandments Are Not the Foundation of American Law."

The plaque is part of a history of law exhibit.

The suit was filed Thursday for Stewart by Americans United for Separation of Church and State in U.S. District Court in Greeneville.