Louisiana Launches National Struggle with Ten Commandments Mandate

Louisiana sparked national controversy with a new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public classrooms.

The law signed by the state’s Republican governor has been criticized by civil liberties groups, who argue it infringes on students’ rights and blatantly ignores the separation of church and state .

The case will soon go to court, with organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announcing plans to sue the state, and Governor Jeff Landry pledging to defend the law.

It also shows signs of involvement in national political races, with former President Trump endorsing the law in an article on Truth Social.

“I LOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PUBLIC, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND MANY OTHER PLACES, FORWARD. READ IT – HOW CAN WE AS A NATION MAKE YOU WRONG??? » Trump said.

“IT COULD BE, IN FACT, THE FIRST MAJOR STEP IN THE RENAISSANCE OF RELIGION, WHICH IS DESPERATELY NECESSARY, IN OUR COUNTRY,” he added.

Bible posters in Louisiana classrooms must be in “large, easily readable print” by early next year. The exhibits will also include three paragraphs explaining the significance of the Ten Commandments in the history of American education.

“We are pleased to see that Governor Landry has signed this bill. We believe this brings us closer to the original intent of our founding fathers,” said Matt Krause, attorney for the First Liberty Institute.

Since the 1980s, Krause says, “the Ten Commandments were allowed on school walls. So we’ve lived through much more of our country’s history with the ability to do that than we haven’t. We think it’s a good step forward to reintroduce, especially to our students, some of these founding principles of our country, and we think that’s a good thing.

But the ACLU, its Louisiana branch, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation announced immediately after the law was signed that they would go to court over the bill. measure, which they say violates the First Amendment, creating “unconstitutional religious coercion against students” and making students feel unwelcome if they are not Christian.

“This is a great example of how Christian nationalism is on the march across this country. It would require public school students of all religions to read and worship the state’s preferred type 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 overturn the Lemon test in 2022. The standard first appeared in Lemon v. Kurtzman’s 1971, when judges ruled that the government could not fund non-secular schools without violating the establishment. Clause.

In 1980, the high court took up Stone v. Graham, in which it ruled, based on the Lemon test, that a Kentucky law requiring the Ten Commandments in schools was unconstitutional.

But in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District 2022 Supreme Court ruled in favor of a football coach who was fired for praying after games. The school justified its decision by claiming that the coach violated the establishment clause.

In the court’s ruling, the justices said that “in place of Lemon and the Approval Test,” the judiciary must now interpret the Establishment Clause by “reference to historical practices and understandings.”

Krause said that “it would be difficult for anyone to argue that the Ten Commandments are not part of the traditional history of the American educational system, of American culture, and that is why, in all likelihood, they will survive any type of constitutional review. »

“There is really no other document, religious or otherwise, that is omnipresent in American history,” he said, pointing to the text’s references to the Supreme Court and the Capitol, and adding that it Would be good if Louisiana students asked questions about the posters. into classrooms so that teachers have “a chance to step back into the story of America’s founding.”

But opponents of the law say the founding fathers would actually be on their side.

“All of these sources make it clear that the Establishment Clause was intended to prevent any sort of religious coercion or preference by the government or the government taking a position on religious issues,” Laser said.

Other red states may soon try to follow in Louisiana’s footsteps. Neighboring Texas had already considered imposing the Ten Commandments in public classrooms, but ran out of time during its legislative session.

“Texas would have been and should have been the first state in the country to put the 10 commandments back in our schools,” GOP Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Thursday.

“I will pass the 10 Commandments bill through the Senate again next session,” Patrick added.

Laser pointed to other cases in Republican-led states where she said there is a worrying trend of mixing religion with taxpayer-funded schools, including chaplains replacing school counselors, coaches praying with students and the push for religious charter schools.

“We don’t need states to turn public schools into Sunday schools. We need a national recommitment to the separation of church and state. This is what protects everyone’s freedom to live as themselves and believe as they please, as long as they do not harm others,” she added.