WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 25: Former Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy takes a knee in front of the U.S. Supreme Court after his legal case, Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District, was argued before the court on April 25, 2022 in Washington, DC. Kennedy was terminated from his job by Bremerton public school officials in 2015 after refusing to stop his on-field prayers after football games. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Testing constitutional limits, Republicans in at least 15 states have introduced legislation this year that would require the Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms.
GOP lawmakers are attempting to follow Louisiana, which last year became the first state in the country to have such a requirement in the modern era. That law is currently blocked in five public school districts as a lawsuit makes its way through the courts; other districts are expected to comply with the law.
The federal lawsuit argues that the law violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The case is likely heading to the U.S. Supreme Court. In December, 18 Republican state attorneys general filed a brief supporting Louisiana’s law to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is currently hearing the case.
Republican state lawmakers also have introduced bills that would require prayer, Bible reading or chaplains in public schools.
The Ten Commandments are the basis of Judeo-Christian doctrine. In Jewish and Christian theology, God gave the commandments directly to the Prophet Moses, as described in the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament of the Bible.
“It is now a new day for religious freedom in America.”
– Montana Sen. Bob Phalen (R)
Supportive state legislators say the commandments are a historical example of law and not purely religious in nature. But while there are commandments that prohibit murder and stealing, some declare that there are no other gods above God, and that people must observe the Sabbath.
So far this year, no state has enacted legislation requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in public schools. Measures in Mississippi and Oklahoma died in committee. In Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, they failed after passing out of one legislative chamber. Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed similar GOP-led legislation last year.
Although Republicans dominate the legislature in each of those states, the bills have been a hard sell for Christian lawmakers who say they also value the Constitution.
“So, if we put the Ten Commandments up, which are Christian commandments, then we’re actually violating the plain language of our Constitution in our First Amendment,” Montana state Sen. Jason Ellsworth, a Republican, said earlier this month, as reported in the Daily Montanan.
Eight Republicans joined every Democrat in the Montana Senate to defeat the measure.
‘A new day for religious freedom’
In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Kentucky’s law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools was unconstitutional.
However, 45 years later, supporters of these measures believe there’s a new legal pathway considering the makeup of the nation’s high court. The Supreme Court now has a 6-3 conservative majority, with three of its members appointed by President Donald Trump in his first term.
“It is now a new day for religious freedom in America,” Republican state Sen. Bob Phalen, who sponsored the Montana bill, said during a committee hearing last month. “The Supreme Court’s approach on religious displays has evolved over time.”
Indeed, in 2022, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled in favor of a Washington state public school football coach who prayed with his team on the 50-yard line. Images of Moses and the Ten Commandments also appear in many U.S. government buildings, including the Supreme Court and the Capitol.
Bills requiring the display of the Ten Commandments are just one example of Republican state lawmakers attempting to insert religious doctrine into the school day.
On Tuesday, the Republican majority in the Kentucky Senate passed a bill that would require schools to have a moment of silence at the beginning of each day, lasting at least one minute. It now heads to the state House. School staff would be prohibited from telling students how to use the time, but critics — including the ACLU and some members of the state’s Jewish community — say students might feel pressure to pray.
In Texas, Republican senators this session introduced legislation that would allow school districts to require every campus “to provide students and employees with an opportunity to participate in a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text” each day. That bill is sitting in committee.
In Idaho, a bill that would require Bible readings in schools is also in committee.
In Oklahoma, the state’s top education official last year announced that the Bible would be incorporated into school curricula. The ACLU in October sued Oklahoma over the proposal. The suit is ongoing.
And in Nebraska, legislation that would allow local public school boards to hire chaplains is sitting in committee.
The U.S. Supreme Court banned school-sponsored prayer and Bible readings in 1963.
How it looks in Louisiana
Meanwhile, in Louisiana, Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill last month issued guidance to public schools, colleges and universities for how to comply with the novel law, which took effect in the new year.
The guidance came with four example posters — one including images of Moses and Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents a Louisiana district.
Requirements include that the posters of the Ten Commandments must be at least 11 inches by 14 inches and must be donated to schools; there is no legal penalty for not displaying the canonical edict.
Murrill also advised that the posters be included next to other historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence.
Murrill said the law was “plainly constitutional.” A federal district court judge disagreed last year when he blocked the law, which he called “unconstitutional on its face” and “overtly religious.” It seems likely the U.S. Supreme Court will decide which side prevails.
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