A Louisiana law requiring the 10 commandments to be posted in every school isn’t dead, yet, but it should be.
On October 6th the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit agreed to rehear the case en banc, vacating a prior ruling that deemed the law unconstitutional. As this legal battle drags on, it’s time to call this measure what it is: an unconstitutional overreach that erodes the separation of church and state, alienates diverse families, and serves no real educational purpose.
Louisiana should abandon this divisive law before it inflicts further harm on its students and taxpayers.
Proponents claim the displays promote historical and moral values, framing them as secular nods to America’s foundations. We don’t see it that way: this is a thinly veiled endorsement of a specific religious viewpoint. The law specifies a Protestant version from the King James Bible, complete with a context statement about its role in early education.
If Louisiana requires the 10 commandments to be posted, which set of ten will we post? Not all Christians use the King James list of commandments. For instance, Catholics traditionally list only nine distinct commandments in their version of the commandments, the second Protestant commandment—prohibiting graven images—is omitted or folded into the first. To force the protestant commandment list on Catholics is just as bad as forcing Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or atheist students to learn the same.
It’s a good law only if you are a protestant Christian, but 26% of Louisiana residents are Catholic. Protestants are the majority, but they have scores of splintered denominations, some of which disagree on whether to teach the 10 Commandments or Jesus’ one commandment: “Love.”
They say the word “Love” posted on every wall in classrooms across the state would offend no one and is taught by every religion in the world.
Governor Jeff Landry says all those who don’t like the signs don’t have to look at them.
The law is a glaring hypocrisy because no church in Louisiana—or anywhere, for that matter—plasters the Ten Commandments on every wall and classroom of its own facilities. Sunday schools and parish halls might reference them selectively, but they aren’t ubiquitous mandates. If religious institutions themselves don’t deem such constant exposure necessary for moral instruction, why thrust it upon public schools, where children are a captive audience?
This isn’t about faith; it’s about cultural dominance. Lawmakers have dismissed concerns from non-Christians, revealing the law’s true intent: to signal that one faith reigns supreme in taxpayer-funded spaces.
The courts have rightly scrutinized this under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. Precedents like Stone v. Graham (1980) struck down similar Kentucky efforts for lacking secular value, and Louisiana’s version fares no better. The ACLU and others have challenged the law on behalf of parents and educators. In classrooms meant for learning math, science, and history, not doctrine, these posters could spark division, bullying, or discomfort for religious minority students.
Ultimately, true morality isn’t mandated by wall art; it’s nurtured through inclusive education and family values. The full appeals court will review the law, but the state should scrap it.
Let faith flourish in homes and houses of worship, not be weaponized in schools.
Our children deserve better than state-enforced religious instruction from only one point of view.
