(The Lion)–Louisiana defended its law requiring displays of the Ten Commandments in school classrooms, arguing religious symbols have long been a fixture of American public life.
The law, the first of its kind in recent decades, has sparked similar legislative efforts across the country as states argue the commandments are an important part of educating students about Western civilization and history. The statute requires a context statement appear alongside the commandments to explain the religious text’s history in American public education and includes the option of displaying other historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Mayflower Compact.
Civil liberties groups sued over the law, arguing it violates the separation of church and state and coerces students into religion. A three-person panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals initially struck down Louisiana’s law, but the court announced in October that it would reconsider the law with all of the judges present.
Oral arguments on Tuesday included debate over the establishment clause, and judges questioned whether displaying the commandments was any different than reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, which states “one nation under God.”
The groups suing, including the American Civil Liberties Union, said the displays would make schools less inclusive and welcoming to students of other faith backgrounds.
“Public schools are meant to educate, not evangelize,” an ACLU director on religious freedom, Daniel Mach, said after arguments. “When the government mandates the display of a specific religious text in every classroom, it crosses a constitutional line by pressuring students and families to conform to the state’s preferred religious doctrine.”
Louisiana, represented by Becket Fund, the state’s attorney general and solicitor general, said the commandments would be displayed “in context, reflecting their role in American laws and history.”
“At today’s hearing, many of the judges were asking exactly the right question: whether passive religious displays were among the hallmarks of an established religion at the Founding. The answer to that question is no,” Becket said in a statement following the hearing. “Religious symbols have been a fixture of American public life since before the Founding.”
Initial drafts for a national seal included a proposal with “imagery drawn directly from the Hebrew Bible,” the group noted. “Over the centuries, many state and local governments have followed the Founders’ lead by including religious elements in their flags, seals, and buildings to commemorate history and culture and to acknowledge the beliefs of their citizens.”
The Supreme Court even prominently displays the Ten Commandments, Becket added.
“The idea that a small, passive display of the Ten Commandments is so dangerous that no one can be near it is patently absurd,” Becket senior counsel Joseph Davis said. “America has a long tradition of recognizing faith in the public square, and Louisiana is simply trying to continue that tradition.”
A decision is expected in the fall, and the case could ultimately land at the Supreme Court.
