On June 19, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill making Louisiana the first state to require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public classrooms, which will be enforced starting Jan. 1, 2025. The bill states that there must be a four-paragraph “context statement,” which states, among other things, that the Ten Commandments “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.”
This claim misrepresents the history of religious freedom, which is a cornerstone of the United States Constitution and the many Supreme Court decisions regarding the place of religion in government-funded public schools. In keeping with the original values of this country and the many precedents set since then, the Ten Commandments have no place in public school classrooms.
The values set forth in the Ten Commandments, which are accepted by the Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, include the condemnation of theft, lying and murder. They emphasize respect for parents and fidelity to spouses. Many, including myself, would agree that these values should be taught to young children and young adults in a religious context. But, instilling the Ten Commandments, which is a religious document, in classrooms violates the First Amendment, which guarantees religious freedom.
In elementary schools across the country, students are taught the “Golden Rule”: treat others as you wish to be treated. Public and private schools implement anti-bullying programs nationwide, with ethical and moral violations leading to real consequences.
Schools across the country worked to instill such values in America’s children, who will become our next leaders and pioneers. This has been done without the presence of religious documents mandated by the government.
It is imperative that we raise our younger generations with values of compassion, responsibility, acceptance and kindness. It is also imperative that we do so without infringing on freedom of religion, and freedom from religion. Every student who shows up to school should feel welcome and accepted regardless of their or their family’s religious background.
Instilling ethical and moral values in our students and maintaining a separation of church and state are not mutually exclusive. Both have been done in conjunction for nearly 200 years since Massachusetts passed the U.S.’s first compulsory education law in 1852. The Supreme Court asserts repeatedly that government-funded public schools cannot endorse any particular religion or force religious practices on students.
In the landmark case Engel v. Vitale,1962, the Supreme Court ruled that the state of New York was violating the Constitution by requiring public school teachers to start the day with a prayer composed by the state legislature addressed to “Almighty God.” Although students could choose not to participate in the prayer, it was still found to be a violation of students’ rights. This ruling is used as a precedent for other cases involving religion in public schools.
Religious tolerance and free speech are some of the most important liberties that our nation and Constitution were founded upon. According to the United States Department of Justice, religious liberty means that “no one should be forced to choose between living out his or her faith and complying with the law.” This concept is enshrined in the First Amendment’s free exercise clause, which says it is a fundamental right to practice religion freely without government interference.
While the free exercise clause is often what people first think of when they consider religious freedom, the establishment clause of the First Amendment is what really comes into play here. The establishment clause says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” This means that our government cannot favor or disfavor any particular religion, coerce Americans to follow one or advocate a particular religious point of view.
The free exercise and establishment clauses protect our right to religious freedom in this country. If our government guarantees the right to exercise Abrahamic religions, it also must guarantee the right to practice Buddhism, Hinduism, atheism, traditional African religions, Chinese folk religions and any other belief that makes up the beautiful spiritual diversity of our world. This diversity is an inextricable part of the United States—the supposed land of liberty and free speech, and a melting pot of various cultures. Even before the U.S. came into existence, the founding colonies were a religious refuge for those fleeing persecution in Europe.
In addition, families have the option to send their kids to private religious schools, or to Sunday school programs where students can develop their religious beliefs in an environment designed for that purpose. The First Amendment protects students’ rights to practice religion at school in their own time, including praying or creating religious clubs. There are countless ways to participate in religious communities.
Religious practices mandated by public schools, or the government, have no place in our country. If a violation of Constitutional rights as blatant as Louisiana’s Ten Commandments bill is allowed to stand, we may be heading down a slippery slope of the deterioration of the separation of church and state, the protection of religious liberties and other fundamental freedoms that we take for granted.
Protection for some but not for all is becoming a concerning trend in recent legislation and Supreme Court decisions, and it is crucial that we keep such alarming rights violations in check. Failing to do so could undo the many decades of blood, sweat and tears put into securing the rights of all citizens regardless of their religion, ethnicity, race or sex.
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