Rather than inappropriately trying to require the Ten Commandments to be posted in public schools, states should instead require displaying the Bill of Rights

 by Edward Ulrich, January 8, 2025


Recently the state of Louisiana has been attempting to mandate that the Christian Ten Commandments must be displayed in every public school classroom, (link) being emboldened by recent Supreme Court rulings that nullify previous rulings that required the separation of church and state. (link)

The law has since been put on hold due to a lawsuit that is calling the law “unconstitutional on its face” and “not neutral toward religion.” (link)

National Republicans including President Trump have supported the law, where Trump wrote on social media that “[Posting the Ten Commandments] in public schools, private schools and many other places [could be the] first major step in the revival of religion, which is desperately needed, in our country.”  Other states such as Texas are attempting to do the same as Louisiana is doing.

I think mandating that the Ten Commandments are displayed in public school classrooms should definitely be thought of as being inappropriate due to it being the government forcing religion upon students.

How would people who support that law think about other religions or sects of Christianity that they don’t belong to being imposed upon their kids in a similar manner?

Supporters of allowing religion in public schools point out that the First Amendment of the Constitution does not “prohibit” religion, but rather it does not “impede” it. (link)  The Constitution was written to guarantee people their God-given rights, (link) and it was also written based on Christian values even though Christianity was not specifically mentioned.

Recent Supreme Court rulings that have nullified the previous policy of the separation of church and state are also having consequences that many Christians have not anticipated, such as enabling the establishment of Islamic prayer rooms in schools, (link and link) as well as enabling “after-school Satan clubs” in schools. (link)

While I’m all in favor of the propagation of Christian values, I think the separation of church and state is an essential tenant of a free society.  If people want their religion to be a part of their school they should go to a private school that caters to it.

Is it reasonable to think that the Louisiana politicians really even have “good intentions” with their legislation?  I don’t think so.  I think if they actually meant well they would have mandated that the the Bill of Rights be displayed instead.