Louisiana has sparked a national controversy with a novel law with the requirement that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public classrooms.
Civil rights groups have sharply criticized the law signed by the state’s Republican governor, saying it violates the rights of students and blatantly ignores the separation of church and state.
The issue will soon be brought to court, and organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) say: They plan to sue the state and Governor Jeff Landry swear to defend the law.
There are also signs that it is becoming entangled in the national political campaign: former President Trump acknowledged the law in a post for Truth Social.
“I LOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND MANY OTHER PLACES TOO. READ THEM – HOW CAN WE AS A NATION GET IT WRONG???” Trump said.
“THIS COULD ACTUALLY BE THE FIRST BIG STEP TOWARDS THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION, WHICH IS URGENTLY NEEDED IN OUR COUNTRY,” he added.
Bible posters in Louisiana classrooms must be in “large, legible type” by early next year. The posters will also include three paragraphs explaining the significance of the Ten Commandments in American educational history.
“We are very pleased that Governor Landry has signed this bill. We believe it brings us closer to the original intent of our Founding Fathers,” said Matt Krause, attorney for the First Liberty Institute.
Since the 1980s, Krause said, “the Ten Commandments have been allowed to be displayed on school walls. So we’ve experienced a much larger portion of our country’s history with the opportunity to do that than without. We think this is a good step forward in reintroducing some of these founding principles of our country, especially to our students, and we think it’s a great thing.”
But the ACLU, its Louisiana chapter, the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation announced immediately after the law was passed that they would take the measure to court. They say the measure violates the First Amendment, constitutes “unconstitutional religious coercion of students,” and makes students who are not Christians feel unwelcome.
“It is a prime example of how Christian nationalism is on the rise in this country. It would force children of all religions in public schools to read and worship the state’s preferred form of Christianity. This is a complete violation of the separation of church and state,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
The crux of the argument may lie in the Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate the Lemon test as early as 2022. The standard first appeared in 1971 in Lemon v. Kurtzman, when the justices ruled that the government could not provide funding to non-secular schools without violating the Establishment Clause.
In 1980, the Supreme Court heard Stone v. Graham and ruled, based on the Lemon test, that a Kentucky state law requiring observance of the Ten Commandments in schools was unconstitutional.
But in the 2022 case Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a football coach who was fired for praying after games. The school based its decision on the fact that the coach had violated the Establishment Clause.
In the court’s decision, the judges said: “[i]Instead of Lemon and the “endorsement test,” the judicial system must now interpret the Establishment Clause by “reference to historical practices and beliefs.”
Krause said, “It would be difficult for anyone to argue that the Ten Commandments are not a historically traditional part of the American educational system and American culture, and therefore they would in all likelihood withstand any kind of constitutional scrutiny.”
“There really is no other document, religious or otherwise, that is more pervasive in American history,” he said, pointing to references to the text in the Supreme Court and the Capitol. He added that it would be good for Louisiana students to ask for the posters in classrooms so that teachers have an “opportunity to go back into the history of the founding of America.”
But opponents of the law claim that the Founding Fathers are actually on their side.
“It is clear from all of these sources that the Establishment Clause was intended to prevent any kind of religious coercion or favoritism by the government or the taking of government positions on religious issues,” Laser said.
Other Republican states may soon try to follow in Louisiana’s footsteps. Neighboring Texas had already considered making the Ten Commandments mandatory in public classrooms, but ran out of time in its legislative session.
“Texas WOULD and SHOULD be the first state in the country to reinstate the 10 Commandments in our schools,” Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said Thursday.
“I will re-introduce the Ten Commandments bill in the next Senate session,” Patrick added.
Laser pointed to other cases in Republican-run states where she believes there is a worrying trend toward mixing religion in tax-funded schools. For example, school psychologists are replacing school counselors, coaches are praying with students, and there are efforts to create religious charter schools.
“We don’t need states turning public schools into Sunday schools. We need a national recommitment to the separation of church and state. That protects the freedom of all to live as they want and believe what they want, as long as they do not harm others,” she added.
