The state recently enacted a bill mandating that all public schools within the school district display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
US civil rights groups have sued Louisiana over its “blatantly unconstitutional” new bill mandating that all state-funded schools display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) joined its Louisiana affiliates together with two other organizations, the American United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation, for the suit against the bill, signed on Wednesday by the state rightwing Republican governor, Jeff Landry.
Landry, who took over office from John Bel Edwards, a Democratic governor, in January, made a controversial statement after signing the statute: “I can’t wait to be sued.” The four groups instantly accepted his challenge, saying they would do exactly that.
“We’re suing Louisinia for mandating all public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom,” ACLU posted X (Previous Twitter). “Public Schools are not Sunday schools.”
In a joint statement, the ACLU and its supporters claim that the law HB 71 constituted religious coercion. They also claim that it violates Louisiana state law, historical precedent established by the US Supreme Court, and the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects the separation of church and state.
“The First Amendment guarantees that we all have the right to decide for ourselves what religious beliefs, if any, to uphold and practice, without pressure from the government. “Politicians have no business imposing religious doctrines on students and families in public schools.”
The law mandates that an 11 by 14-inch poster of the Ten Commandments must be publicly displayed in all stated educational institutions from kindergarten to university by 2025. No government funding is being provided to implement this initiative.
A four-paragraph “context statement” outlining how biblical strictures “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries” is to be included beside the Ten Commandments.
Critics point out that the wording of the Ten Commandments varies across different branches of Christianity and is also a fundamental element of Judaism. Even though Louisiana has a Catholic minority comprising about 22% of the state’s population, the bill appears to favor the Protestant phrase.
“Even among those who believe in some version of the Ten Commandments, the particular text to which they hold on can vary by religious dominance or tradition,” the allied groups noted. “The government should not take sides in the theological debate, and it certainly should not be coercing students to submit day in and day out to unavoidable promotions of religious doctrine.”
Similar bills have been introduced in three other states, Texas, Oklahoma, and Utah, but they have yet to be passed into law. A similar law was passed by Kentucky in 1980. The US Supreme Court overturned it because it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which says Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The Court determined that the Kentucky bill had a clear religious purpose.
However, some analysts suggest that Louisiana Republicans, a southern state within the US’s traditional “Bible Belt,” where the state legislature holds a two-thirds supermajority, have been encouraged by the rightwing makeup of the Supreme Court, which has a six-three majority of conservative justices.
