‘Unconstitutional on its face’: Judge blocks Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms

A small victory was achieved against the religious conservative agenda to erode the separation of church and state with a recent legal decision.

In Louisiana, a federal judge blocked a law passed earlier this year requiring the state’s public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The decision comes as a relief to those who are passionate about upholding the constitution and preventing the concerning push from Republicans to reshape the country with a Christian agenda.

In the ruling, released on Tuesday, Judge John W. DeGravelle determined that Louisiana’s new law violates the First Amendment of the constitution and goes against previous Supreme Court precedent. The First Amendment is quite clear that there should be “no law respecting an establishment of religion,” leading  Judge DeGravelle to reject this legislation as “unconstitutional on its face.” The ruling holds that displaying the Ten Commandments in schools would make students a “captive audience” subjected to religious doctrine “nearly every hour of the school day.”

The now blocked law was passed in June this year, marking Louisiana as the first state to require the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms. It specified the poster-sized Ten Commandments display was to be present in all public school classrooms, from kindergarten through university, and printed in “large, easily readable font.” The display was also required to include a four-paragraph “context statement” claiming the Ten Commandments “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.”

Set to take effect next year, the legislation was immediately opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union, who filed the lawsuit that got the law overturned. “This ruling should serve as a reality check for Louisiana lawmakers who want to use public schools to convert children to their preferred brand of Christianity,” said Heather L. Weaver, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Public schools are not Sunday schools,” Weaver asserted.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of five Louisiana school boards, leaving 67 other school boards subject to the Ten Commandments requirement. However, Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill, in opposition, argued that the recent ruling would have a “chilling effect” on other school boards’ efforts to enforce the law. “I think it’s plain intent was to create confusion,” Murrill commented, regarding the other school boards that may hesitate to comply with the law in light of the court’s latest decision.

While it is encouraging to see this Louisiana law overturned, it’s part of a larger effort by religious conservatives to advance a Christian agenda. In 2024 alone there have been 91 bills proposed in 29 states to promote religion (specifically Christianity) in schools, including several other states’ attempts to require the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms.

Republicans aren’t being shy about their desire to make conservative Christian values the law of the land. It’s pretty clear based on their attacks on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights that conservatives want to turn the U.S. into a Christian nation, regardless of the millions of citizens who don’t hold those beliefs. But it’s especially concerning to see children and public schools become the focus of this unconstitutional effort.  As the religious right seeks to erode the separation of church and state, it’s more important than ever to push back and fight to uphold religious freedom (and freedom from religion) for all citizens. Though conservatives try to puff out their chests and proclaim themselves patriots, it’s hard to believe them when they so vehemently oppose the values that the founding fathers actually stood for.