Listen to this articleNEW ORLEANS — A bill signed this week would make Louisiana the only state to require the Ten Commandments to be posted in every classroom in public schools and universities, reigniting a long-running debate about the role of religion in government institutions.
The new law will require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in poster-sized, “large, easily readable font” in all public elementary, middle, and high school classrooms and at state universities next year.
Civil rights groups are planning a lawsuit to block the law, signed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, arguing it unconstitutionally infringes on government-enforced protections for religion.
Chris Dyer, who was named Louisiana Teacher of the Year in 2020, said Thursday that he worried the sign requirement would send a message “that teachers, schools, communities and the state favor one religion over another” and could make some students “feel deeply isolated.”
State officials are highlighting the history of the Ten Commandments, which the bill calls “a foundational document of state and national government.”
“The Ten Commandments are so simple (don’t murder, steal or cheat on your wife) yet so fundamental to the foundation of our nation,” Attorney General Liz Murray, a Republican who is an ally of Landry’s and has defended the law in court, said in a social media statement.
Similar bills requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms have been proposed in other state legislatures, including Texas, Oklahoma and Utah.
Previous Ten Commandments Controversies
In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law violated the Church and State Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states that Congress “shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.” The Court found that the law served no secular purpose, but rather a clearly religious one.
In more recent cases regarding the display of the Ten Commandments, the Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that such displays in two Kentucky courthouses were unconstitutional. At the same time, the Supreme Court upheld a Ten Commandments sign on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol in Austin. These were 5-4 decisions, but the composition of the Supreme Court has changed and it now has a 6-3 conservative majority.
The issue has at times roiled politics in other states as well.
In Alabama, Roy Moore was removed from his position as chief justice in 2003 after he disobeyed a court order and removed a Ten Commandments monument from the courthouse building. He was re-elected to the Supreme Court but was suspended in 2016 after the Judicial Disciplinary Commission ruled that Moore had encouraged probate judges to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a charge Moore denied.
Voters approved an amendment to the Alabama Constitution in 2018 allowing the Ten Commandments to be displayed in schools and public buildings as long as it is done in a manner that “complies with constitutional requirements,” such as by incorporating them with historical documents.
Other religions and government battles
Louisiana has played a key role in legal battles between church and state. In 1987, the Supreme Court struck down a 1981 Louisiana law that required the teaching of evolution to be accompanied by teaching of “creation science.” The Court found that the law had no explicit secular purpose and that “it is clear that the Louisiana Legislature’s primary purpose is to advance the religious view that a supernatural being created human beings.”
Mississippi has required “In God We Trust” signs in schools since 2001. Louisiana passed a similar mandate, which became law last year.
The latest push to post the Ten Commandments comes in the wake of a major victory for the Religious Right in 2022, when the Supreme Court ruled that a Washington state high school football coach was constitutionally protected after kneeling and praying on the field after a game.
The Ten Commandments Perspective
Jews and Christians believe that the Ten Commandments were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, according to the biblical account. Not all Christian traditions use the same Ten Commandments; the order varies, as does the wording, depending on which Bible translation is used. The Ten Commandments in the Signed Laws of Louisiana are listed in an order common to some Protestant and Orthodox traditions.
Kevin McGill reports for The Associated Press.
___ Reporters Sarah Klein in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mark Sherman in Washington, Holly Meyer in Nashville, Tennessee, Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi and Peter Smith in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.
