The US state of Louisiana has become the first to force public schools to show the Ten Commandments in all classrooms.
Republican Governor Jeff Landry signed House Bill 71 into law on Wednesday, requiring a poster-sized Ten Commandments display with ‘large, easily readable font’ to be put up in all state-funded classrooms from kindergarten to universities.
They must include a four-paragraph ‘context statement’ explaining how they ‘were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries’.
The Ten Commandments, also known as Decalogue, are 10 rules that God gave to Moses dictating how humans should live, per Judaic and Christian traditions.
Classrooms must comply by the beginning of 2025, and the displays will be funded through donations, not state funds.
State lawmakers approved the bill in May.
Landry as the keynote speaker at a GOP fundraiser in Nashville on Saturday night vowed he was ‘going home to sign a bill that places the Ten Commandments in public classrooms’.
‘I can’t wait to be sued,’ he said at the time.
Shortly after Landry signed the bill, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit.
The organizations added that ‘our public schools are not Sunday schools, and students of all faiths – or no faith – should feel welcome in them’.
‘Even among those who may believe in some version of the Ten Commandments, the particular text that they adhere to can differ by religious denomination or tradition,’ stated the civil rights groups. ‘The government should not be taking sides in this theological debate.’
Landry, who signed it into law at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette, replaced Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards at the start of this year.
Similar bills have been proposed in Oklahoma, Texas and Utah, but have not progressed amid legal threats.
And in 1980, a similar law in Kentucky was struck down by the US Supreme Court, which pointed to the Constitution’s establishment clause states that Congress can ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion’.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE : Dad ‘stabs son dead over dirty dishes in the sink’
MORE : Lawyer who pooped in Pringles can and left it for victim advocates gets reinstated
MORE : Map shows first tropical storm of season heading for US with severe flooding
Get your need-to-know
latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.