When were the Ten Commandments taken out of US schools and why?

The recent move by Louisiana to become the first state to require the display of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms has reignited a long-standing debate over the role of religion in public education.

In 1980, the US Supreme Court ruled in Stone v. Graham that a Kentucky statute requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms was unconstitutional, as it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by promoting religion.

The constant legal battles over religion in schools

In 2005, the court ruled in a 5-4 decision that displays of the Ten Commandments on government property, such as in Texas’ state Capitol and Kentucky courthouses, were constitutional, as long as they had a legitimate secular purpose. With the court’s current 6-3 conservative majority, the constitutionality of such displays may be viewed differently.

The debate over the Ten Commandments in public schools has sparked political turmoil in other states as well. In 2003, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore was removed from the bench twice for defying court orders to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state Supreme Court building. Voters in Alabama later approved a constitutional amendment allowing the display of the Ten Commandments in schools and public buildings, as long as it complied with constitutional requirements.

Louisiana’s new law, which also requires the display of other historical documents like the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence, is part of a broader trend of Republican-led states attempting to incorporate Christianity, into public education. Similar bills have been proposed in other states, such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Utah, though none have been enacted into law until now.