{"id":4344,"date":"2024-07-06T13:04:43","date_gmt":"2024-07-06T17:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/?p=4344"},"modified":"2024-07-06T13:04:43","modified_gmt":"2024-07-06T17:04:43","slug":"might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/","title":{"rendered":"Might the Supreme Court OK school Ten Commandments displays?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/a>
3,000+ years ago: Moses with the Ten Commandments \/ pixabay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
THE RELIGION GUY\u2019S ANSWER:<\/p>\n
A controversial new law in Louisiana requires all public school classrooms \u2013 from kindergartens through universities \u2013 to display the Ten Commandments. That defies a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against posting this revered biblical text from 3,000-plus years ago. Similar bills have been proposed in other states, and Oklahoma\u2019s education chief just mandated school Bible instruction that specifically includes the Commandments.<\/p>\n
Nine Louisiana families immediately filed a federal lawsuit protesting that displays violate the Constitution\u2019s ban on \u201cestablishment of religion\u201d by government. Some Christians and many Jews oppose government-sponsored religious displays and want strict \u201cseparation of church and state,\u201d alongside \u00a0adherents of other world religions, the non-religious, and the anti-religious.<\/p>\n
Years ago, prominent scholar Douglas Laycock at the University of Virginia filed a brief objecting that with such displays government \u201cdesacralizes sacred texts, distorting and undermining the text\u2019s religious meaning in its effort to demonstrate secular meanings.\u201d Jews are offended when summarized language on displays omits the preamble about liberation from \u201cbondage\u201d in Egypt.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs also note that Louisiana uses a Protestant text rather than Catholic or Jewish renditions. But the central complaint is that the Commandments are profoundly religious. Yes, they cover honor for parents, homicide, adultery, theft, lying, and envy toward a neighbor\u2019s wife or possessions. But the emphatic opening words command worship and respect toward the one true God and denounce pagan idolatry<\/p>\n
Nominal acknowledgment<\/h3>\n
Many Americans believe it\u2019s proper, and perhaps helpful, for schools and other public locales to acknowledge, at least nominally, the Commandments and Bible within the nation\u2019s legal and cultural heritage. Michael Sean Winters, writing in the liberal National Catholic Reporter<\/em>, said \u201cthe republic can withstand, and might even benefit from, calling more attention to the role the Ten Commandments played in the development of Western civilization generally and American self-identity in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scholars speak of non-sectarian acknowledgments as \u201ccivil religion\u201d or \u201cceremonial deism.\u201d The Declaration of Independence, commemorated this past week, evokes \u201cNature\u2019s God,\u201d human rights endowed by the \u201cCreator,\u201d and revolutionaries relying upon \u201cthe Supreme Judge of the world\u201d and \u201cthe protection of divine Providence.\u201d The Commandments are depicted at the U.S. Supreme Court building, U.S. House chamber, Library of Congress, National Archives, Department of Justice, and Washington\u2019s federal court building.<\/p>\n
Before two key Supreme Court rulings in 2005 (see below), Pew Research polling showed 72% of Americans deemed government displays \u201cproper,\u201d while Gallup found 77% support. In 2005, pro-display briefs were filed by 24 of the 50 states (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming).<\/p>\n
Some history<\/h3>\n
In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s Lemon<\/em> decision said to be legal \u00a0government actions must pass three tests: have a \u201csecular\u201d purpose, neither advance nor inhibit religion, and avoid \u201cexcessive\u201d state entanglement with religion. Over subsequent decades, the Court often avoided this test and applied other theories.<\/p>\n
In the 1950s a secular men\u2019s lodge, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, began donating stone Commandments monuments for public display, hoping to help juveniles become law-abiding citizens. By the mid-1980s there were reportedly up to 200 displays around the nation.<\/p>\n
In the first constitutional challenge, the Anderson<\/em> case, Utah\u2019s federal district court outlawed a five-foot Commandments monolith at the Salt Lake City courthouse. But in 1973, the 10th<\/sup> Circuit appeals court decided this display passed the Lemon<\/em> tests as \u201cpassive,\u201d \u201cprimarily secular,\u201d without \u201ccompulsion,\u201d and showing government \u201cneutrality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then came the 1980 Stone v. Graham<\/em> decision, now challenged by Louisiana\u2019s law, as the Supreme Court outlawed Kentucky\u2019s mandatory public school Commandments displays. More on Stone<\/em> below.<\/p>\n
In 2001, Alabama\u2019s Chief Justice Roy Moore installed a large granite Commandments carving at the state Supreme Court. In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a federal appeals court decision outlawing the monument. A special tribunal expelled Moore from office for ignoring a federal court order to remove his display.<\/p>\n
Two rulings the same day<\/h3>\n
In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed Commandments displays in Kentucky courtrooms in the McCreary County<\/em>\u00a0decision, yet the same day its\u00a0Van Orden<\/em>\u00a0decision allowed the Eagles monument at the Texas Capitol grounds, among items conveying the \u201cpeople, ideals and events that compose Texas identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both decisions were by 5-4, with multiple opinions. Justice Stephen Breyer opposed courtroom displays but favored the Texas monument, saying \u201cthe Establishment Clause does not compel the government to purge from the public sphere all that in any way partakes of the religious. Such absolutism is not only inconsistent with our national traditions but would also tend to promote the kind of social conflict the Establishment Clause seeks to avoid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither the Texas nor the Kentucky display required anyone to heed or read the words or do anything else. For Breyer, the Texas site \u201csuggests little or nothing of the sacred.\u201d Texas acted \u201cprimarily to reflect, historically, the secular impact of a religiously inspired document\u201d and thus serve \u201ca mixed but primarily nonreligious purpose\u201d reflecting \u201ca cultural heritage.\u201d But Breyer said Kentucky\u2019s legislative history showed an intent to promote religion.<\/p>\n
To respond to the above headline, what might the Supreme Court do if it reviews the Louisiana dispute? Its Stone<\/em> decision was by a narrow 5-4 vote. The justices simply applied the recent Lemon<\/em> tests in an unusual unsigned order without the briefs and oral argument that are customary with substantive church-and-state disputes. A thorough examination this time might reach different conclusions. And the current Supreme Court is generally more accommodating toward religious interests than the justices of 44 years ago.<\/p>\n
Incidentally, it\u2019s not surprising that U.S. Islam has not organized against displays of the Jewish and Christian Commandments. The faith believes the Bible became corrupted so God later provided the Quran to be authoritative Scripture. But the Quran teaches that God revealed his law to Moses (2:83-84, 7:143-145). The fiqh<\/em> (jurisprudence) feature at IslamOnline.net states that the Quran affirms each tenet of the Commandments except for Judaism\u2019s Sabbath observance, although not as a single unit.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE RELIGION GUY\u2019S ANSWER: A controversial new law in Louisiana requires all public school classrooms \u2013 from kindergartens through universities \u2013 to display the Ten Commandments. That defies a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against posting this revered biblical text from 3,000-plus years ago. Similar bills have been proposed in other states, and Oklahoma\u2019s education […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1275,"featured_media":4368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[459,465,468,462,456,164],"class_list":["post-4344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-church-and-state","tag-culture-war","tag-louisiana-law","tag-religion-in-schools","tag-supreme-court","tag-ten-commandments"],"yoast_head":"\nMight the Supreme Court OK school Ten Commandments displays?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"THE RELIGION GUY'S ANSWER: A controversial new law in Louisiana requires all public school classrooms \u2013 from kindergartens through universities \u2013 to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Might the Supreme Court OK school Ten Commandments displays?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THE RELIGION GUY'S ANSWER: A controversial new law in Louisiana requires all public school classrooms \u2013 from kindergartens through universities \u2013 to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Q & A\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-06T17:04:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/304\/2024\/07\/Moses-on-Sinai.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard Ostling\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Richard Ostling\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/\",\"name\":\"Might the Supreme Court OK school Ten Commandments displays?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-06T17:04:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-06T17:04:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/#\/schema\/person\/3185166e28ea37f37d990cca42029af7\"},\"description\":\"THE RELIGION GUY'S ANSWER: A controversial new law in Louisiana requires all public school classrooms \u2013 from kindergartens through universities \u2013 to\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Might the Supreme Court OK school Ten Commandments displays?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Q & A\",\"description\":\"The Ridgewood Religion Guy answers your questions\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/#\/schema\/person\/3185166e28ea37f37d990cca42029af7\",\"name\":\"Richard Ostling\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/07dee17eaf5d4d7bd229ace9c6cf1c74?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/07dee17eaf5d4d7bd229ace9c6cf1c74?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Richard Ostling\"},\"description\":\"Richard N. Ostling was a longtime religion writer with The Associated Press and with Time\u00a0magazine, where he produced 23 cover stories, as well as a Time\u00a0senior correspondent providing field reportage for dozens of major articles. He has interviewed personalities such as Billy Graham, the Dalai Lama, the late Mother Teresa, and the late Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI); ranking rabbis and Muslim leaders; and authorities on other faiths, as well as numerous ordinary believers. Ostling was the first correspondent regularly covering religion for a network TV newscast, working part-time with the PBS NewsHour\u00a0and airing CBS Radio religion reports for two decades. He and his late wife Joan coauthored Mormon America: The Power and the Promise (1999, revised 2007, HarperOne), which The New York Times Book Review praised as \\\"eminently fair\\\" and \\\"well-researched.\\\" Professional distinctions include a Pulitzer Prize nomination; \u00a0the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Religion Newswriters Association (for specialists in the general media), and religion writing honors from the American Academy of Religion, Episcopal Church, and Religion Communicators Council. In one MediaGuide edition, Ostling was the only Time staff member ranked among the nation's \\\"highest rated journalists.\\\" He is listed in Who's Who in America. Ostling earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan (With High Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa), an M.A. in religion from George Washington University, and an M.S.J. from Northwestern University's School of Journalism, which named him a charter member of its Alumni Hall of Achievement.\u00a0 The father of two adult daughters, he lives and works in northern New Jersey and is an active lay member of Ramapo Reformed Church.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/author\/religionqanda\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Might the Supreme Court OK school Ten Commandments displays?","description":"THE RELIGION GUY'S ANSWER: A controversial new law in Louisiana requires all public school classrooms \u2013 from kindergartens through universities \u2013 to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Might the Supreme Court OK school Ten Commandments displays?","og_description":"THE RELIGION GUY'S ANSWER: A controversial new law in Louisiana requires all public school classrooms \u2013 from kindergartens through universities \u2013 to","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/","og_site_name":"Religion Q & A","article_published_time":"2024-07-06T17:04:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":853,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/304\/2024\/07\/Moses-on-Sinai.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Richard Ostling","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Richard Ostling","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/","name":"Might the Supreme Court OK school Ten Commandments displays?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-07-06T17:04:43+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-06T17:04:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/#\/schema\/person\/3185166e28ea37f37d990cca42029af7"},"description":"THE RELIGION GUY'S ANSWER: A controversial new law in Louisiana requires all public school classrooms \u2013 from kindergartens through universities \u2013 to","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/2024\/07\/might-the-supreme-court-ok-school-ten-commandments-displays\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Might the Supreme Court OK school Ten Commandments displays?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/","name":"Religion Q & A","description":"The Ridgewood Religion Guy answers your questions","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/#\/schema\/person\/3185166e28ea37f37d990cca42029af7","name":"Richard Ostling","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/07dee17eaf5d4d7bd229ace9c6cf1c74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/07dee17eaf5d4d7bd229ace9c6cf1c74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Richard Ostling"},"description":"Richard N. Ostling was a longtime religion writer with The Associated Press and with Time\u00a0magazine, where he produced 23 cover stories, as well as a Time\u00a0senior correspondent providing field reportage for dozens of major articles. He has interviewed personalities such as Billy Graham, the Dalai Lama, the late Mother Teresa, and the late Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI); ranking rabbis and Muslim leaders; and authorities on other faiths, as well as numerous ordinary believers. Ostling was the first correspondent regularly covering religion for a network TV newscast, working part-time with the PBS NewsHour\u00a0and airing CBS Radio religion reports for two decades. He and his late wife Joan coauthored Mormon America: The Power and the Promise (1999, revised 2007, HarperOne), which The New York Times Book Review praised as \"eminently fair\" and \"well-researched.\" Professional distinctions include a Pulitzer Prize nomination; \u00a0the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Religion Newswriters Association (for specialists in the general media), and religion writing honors from the American Academy of Religion, Episcopal Church, and Religion Communicators Council. In one MediaGuide edition, Ostling was the only Time staff member ranked among the nation's \"highest rated journalists.\" He is listed in Who's Who in America. Ostling earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan (With High Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa), an M.A. in religion from George Washington University, and an M.S.J. from Northwestern University's School of Journalism, which named him a charter member of its Alumni Hall of Achievement.\u00a0 The father of two adult daughters, he lives and works in northern New Jersey and is an active lay member of Ramapo Reformed Church.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/author\/religionqanda\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionqanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}