Religion in the USA
Ten Commandments in the classroom: Louisiana law causes outrage
People carry a cross during a religious procession across the Brooklyn Bridge in the USA
© Yuki Iwamura / AP / DPA
A new law in the USA is causing heated debates. In the state of Louisiana, the Ten Commandments are to be displayed in schools and universities. Is this still education or is it already coercion?
The law came into force on Wednesday. It requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in “large, easy-to-read font” in classrooms, as well as in the rooms of state-run kindergartens. Civil rights groups consider the law unconstitutional and have announced that they will file a lawsuit.
The law was drafted by representatives of the Republican Party, who have a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Louisiana legislature. The text of the law emphasizes the historical component of the Ten Commandments: It is an important document for the founding of the USA and the creation of the state, it says. The posters will be accompanied by the addition that the Ten Commandments “have been an important part of public education in America for nearly three centuries.” The posters are to be financed through donations. No state funds will be used for this.
Constitution prohibits religious preference in the USA
The move is likely to further fuel the debate about the separation of church and state in the USA. The First Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits the establishment of a state religion or the preference of one religion over another. Louisiana is the first and so far only state with such a law. Similar considerations have also been made in Texas, Oklahoma and Utah. However, they have not yet been implemented there, partly due to fears of lawsuits.
Opponents speak of “religious coercion of students.” The constitution guarantees everyone the right to decide for themselves what religious beliefs they have and practice. There is religious and ideological diversity at educational institutions in Louisiana, where everyone should feel safe and welcome.
The civil rights organization ACLU has already announced that it intends to take legal action against the law, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional.” “We will not allow the Louisiana legislature to undermine these rights to religious freedom,” it said in a statement published jointly by several groups. They will take legal action against the law.