THE WAR ON STATE
Reviewing the 5th Circuit's decision on displaying the Ten Commandments in school.
Just last week, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s judgment that barred public schools from posting the Ten Commandments on display in classrooms. This case arose in Texas, but a nearly identical case snaked its way through Louisiana as well. Both were blocked by the district court’s ruling. The side against posting the Ten Commandments in public schools was represented by the ACLU of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The side in favor of erecting the Ten Commandments in front of kids at school was a group of over a dozen multifaith families with children in the subject schools.
What does this controversial law require? Texas law SB 10 demands schools display the Ten Commandments in every class in a “conspicuous place.” It requires text that affirmatively states something to the effect of “I AM the LORD thy God.” Schools must also include warnings against killing, stealing, lying, and other sins. They do not need to expend funds to create and place these posters. On the other hand, they do need to accept and present posters donated from private parties that meet the requirements. The law went into effect on the first day of September last year.
Opponents of the bill criticize several key components of Texas’ SB 10 and similar laws circulating around other Southern states. They complain that it tears down the protections guaranteed in the First Amendment and removes the barrier separating church and state. Opponents argue that it actually requires the marriage of church and state. Further, they contend in court that this erases parents’ rights to raise their kids free of religion, or of a different religion, by requiring them to view the Ten Commandments.
At this point, it may be helpful to consult the text at controversy in this dispute. The First Amendment to the Constitution reads exactly as follows:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The implicated part of this passage appears to be “no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Critics of SB 10 state unequivocally that it is a law respecting an establishment of religion.
Advocates disagree. They argue that the Ten Commandments is wrapped up in the history and culture of the United States. Presenting it in the classroom, they continue, is not pushing religion onto kids but introducing them to the American past. Also, proponents do not see anything wrong with introducing religious objects into the public, in a classroom or other room for that matter. They focus on the educational value of such artifacts as well as the broad moral guidance they offer, which is not tied to any religion in their opinion.
The court agreed with the fans of SB 10. It ruled that the law does not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution because it does not formally codify and embed religious principles into the laws and institutions of the state. The court pointed out that nothing in SB 10 allows states to tell religious groups what to do or punish those who disobey such mandates. Following this logic, it held that merely presenting information, such as the Ten Commandments, does not equal unconstitutional coercion because there are no penalties to children or teachers who do not practice or teach what the religious materials teach. In that way, the court continued, it cannot be said that these laws or similar ones interfere with the guarantee of Free Exercise also found in the First Amendment. Schools are still prohibited from inputting religious doctrine into their curriculum and disciplining students who choose to ignore such doctrines. In this way, the 5th Circuit held that SB 10 did not go astray from the commands of the Constitution.
However, one must have lost every nickel and dime of their common sense to miss some enormous blind spots with this decision. Cannot one simply make the case that presenting information about one religion but withholding information about another religion is an implicit endorsement of one over the other? Also, when students (especially in Texas) are graduating from these schools with abysmally low levels of math, science, reading, and other abilities, why are schools so focused on making sure they know the Ten Commandments? In a world where America needs all the technical and practical knowledge it can muster from its citizens, is this the best use of our resources or of our children’s time and attention? Where are our priorities when whole segments of the country would rather engage in religious wars like the Crusades of old in our very classrooms than focus kids on the skills they will need to succeed in the competitive, global, modern world? Certainly not in the 5th Circuit of Texas, to be sure.