Oklahoma's Supreme Court orders removal of Ten Commandments from state Capitol

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published 30 June 2015

Oklahoma's high court ruled Tuesday that the Ten Commandments monument in place at the state's Capitol indirectly benefits the Jewish and Christian faiths, and thus must be taken down, the The Associated Press reports.

Though it was funded with private money, the 6-foot monument violates the state's Constitution, which prohibits the use of public property for religious benefit.

In defense of the display, Attorney General Scott Pruitt cited a nearly identical monument in Texas, which the U.S. Supreme Court found to be constitutional. Other lawmakers have argued it serves a historical, as opposed to religious, purpose. That argument, however, led other groups — including Satanists and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster — to advocate for permission to erect displays at the Capitol marking their own historical events.