Louisiana orders schools to post Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments on the wall of a church — Louisiana's legislation is "part of a broader campaign by conservative Christian groups"

(Image credit: Geography Photos / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

What happened

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed a law Wednesday requiring all public school classrooms, from kindergarten to public universities, to display a prescribed text of the Ten Commandments in "large, easily readable font." Louisiana is the first state to mandate Ten Commandments displays in schools since the Supreme Court struck down a similar Kentucky law in 1980, ruling it violated the First Amendment's establishment clause.

Who said what

"If you want to respect the rule of law, you gotta start from the original law given, which was Moses," Landry said. "He got his commandments from God." At a June 15 Republican fundraiser in Tennessee, Landry said he "can't wait to be sued" over the law.

A coalition of civil liberties groups, including the ACLU, said they will take him up and challenge the "unconstitutional religious coercion of students." Some religious groups also opposed the law, The Times-Picayune said. One petition signed by more than 100 Christian pastors called it a "hodgepodge of holy scripture" and said the government "has no business choosing an official version of the Ten Commandments."

What next?

Louisiana's legislation is "part of a broader campaign by conservative Christian groups" to "provoke lawsuits that could reach the Supreme Court, where they expect a friendlier reception than in years past," The New York Times said. Similar laws have stalled in Texas, Oklahoma and other GOP-led states.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.