Judge Blocks ‘Overtly Religious’ Louisiana Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Public Schools

A federal judge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is taking aim at a state law mandating posters of the Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms.

The judge temporarily blocked the law requiring the Ten Commandments, which are found in the Bible, to be displayed by January 1, the Associated Press (AP) reported Tuesday.

The article continued:

U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles in Baton Rouge said the law had an “overtly religious” purpose, and rejected state officials’ claims that the government can mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments because they hold historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law. His opinion noted that no other foundational documents — including the Constitution or the Bill of Rights — must be posted.

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In granting a preliminary injunction, DeGravelles said opponents of the law are likely to win their ongoing lawsuit against the law. The lawsuit argues that the law violates the First Amendment’s provisions forbidding the government from establishing a religion or blocking the free exercise of religion. They had argued that the poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments would isolate students, especially those who are not Christian.

The bill requiring a poster-sized copy of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in the Louisiana classrooms was signed into law in June, Breitbart News reported.

“Louisiana is the first state to successfully pass legislation requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, including state-funded universities, since the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to banish the tenets from America’s classrooms in 1980,” the outlet said.

At the signing, Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) said, “If you want to respect the law you’ve got to start from the original law-giver which was Moses”:

Not long after the bill was signed, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced it would sue Louisiana over the move.

According to the recent AP article, “Proponents say that the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law.”

In June, the state of Oklahoma began requiring schools to teach the Bible, including the Ten Commandments, to students in grades five through 12, Breitbart News reported.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters made the announcement about the directive in a memo to every school district.

The memo said, “The Bible is one of the most historically significant books and a cornerstone of Western civilization, along with the Ten Commandments. They will be referenced as an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like, as well as for their substantial influence on our nation’s founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution.”

“This is not merely an educational directive but a crucial step in ensuring our students grasp the core values and historical context of our country,” it noted.