Louisiana has become the first state in the United States to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public school classrooms.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed legislation Wednesday requiring a poster-sized display of religious directives in “large, easy-to-read font” in all classrooms, from kindergarten to state-funded colleges.
“If you want to respect the rule of law, you have to start with the original legislator, who was Moses,” said Governor Landry.
It comes during a new era of conservative leadership in Louisiana under Gov. Landry, who replaced two-term Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards in January.
Republicans also have a supermajority in the state legislature, paving the way for the party’s politicians to push a conservative agenda.
However, opponents of the new law, including civil rights groups, have vowed to challenge the legislation in court.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation said in a joint statement that the law prevents students from obtaining an equal education and will cause those who hold different beliefs to feel insecure.
“Even among those who believe in some version of the Ten Commandments, the particular text they adhere to may differ by religious denomination or tradition. The government should not take sides in this theological debate,” the groups said.
Those who support the change say the measure is not only religious, but has historical significance.
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No state funds will be used to implement the signs, which will be paid for through donations and must be up by early 2025.
They will be accompanied by a four-paragraph “context statement” that describes how the commandments “were a prominent part of American public education for nearly three centuries.”
The law also “authorizes” – but does not require – the display of other articles in public schools, including the Mayflower Compact – often called the first US constitution – the Declaration of Independence and the Northwest Ordinance.
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Similar laws requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms have been proposed in other states, including Texas, Oklahoma and Utah.
Louisiana is the only state that managed to sign the bill into law, and other places face threats of legal battles over whether such measures align with the US Constitution.
In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that a similar law in Kentucky was unconstitutional and violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress may “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
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