The separation of church and state is not up to date in Louisiana. This conservative state in the south of the United States decided on Wednesday to make it compulsory to display the “Ten Commandments” in all classrooms.
The Republican governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, has promulgated a bill which provides for this display in all public schools – from kindergarten to universities – financed by the state, starting next year. “If we want to respect the rule of law, then we must start from the original law, that of Moses,” he explained during a signing ceremony.
A large organization defending freedoms dissatisfied
The law provides that the “Ten Commandments” be displayed on posters or in a sufficiently “large frame and with a font adapted to be readable”.
The large American organization for the defense of freedoms ACLU immediately indicated that it would take the matter to court. “The law violates the separation of church and state and is clearly unconstitutional,” she said.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the establishment of a national religion or the preference of one religion over another. Other conservative states in the southern “Bible Belt” have attempted to adopt similar measures, but this is the first time a state has written it into law.