A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Louisiana statute requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms in the state is unconstitutional.
The judgment by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, who deemed the statute “discriminatory and coercive,” is a temporary setback for conservative groups seeking to increase the prominence of religious expression in society.
In the United States, public schools are frequently battlegrounds where the exercise of religious liberties clashes with the desire not to allow state and municipal officials to prefer one religion over another.
Republican President-elect Donald Trump has advocated for “bringing back prayer to our schools.”
Louisiana schools would have had to comply with the state statute by January 1. Democratic President Barack Obama named DeGravelles to the bench.
The state’s Republican attorney general, Liz Murrill, issued a statement saying, “We strongly disagree with the court’s decision and will immediately appeal.”
The 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, often regarded as one of the most conservative federal appeals courts, would hear the appeal.
In his 177-page judgment, deGravelles stated that Louisiana’s statute conflicted with a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned a similar law in Kentucky and infringed the religious liberties of those who opposed the displays.
He further said that the measure will compel youngsters in public schools to follow Louisiana’s favored religious teachings while attending school at least 177 days a year.
“Each of the plaintiffs’ minor children will be forced in every practical sense, through Louisiana’s required attendance policy, to be a ‘captive audience,'” the Baton Rouge-based judge wrote.
“The issue is whether, as a matter of law, there is any constitutional way to display the Ten Commandments in accordance with [Louisiana’s law],'” he added. “In short, the court finds that there is not.”
NO ‘BROADER TRADITION’
On June 19, Republican Governor Jeff Landry signed House Bill 71 into law, making Louisiana the only state in the United States that requires displays of the Ten Commandments.
The law mandates the display of posters or framed reproductions of the Ten Commandments measuring at least 11 inches by 14 inches, with the Commandments as the “central focus” and printed in a large, easy-to-read typeface.
Nine families, including some clergy, with children in public schools filed a lawsuit five days later in Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s capital, seeking an injunction against the statute.
The plaintiffs are either Unitarian Universalists, Jews, Presbyterians, nonreligious individuals, or atheists.
“H.B. 71 is a direct infringement of our religious-freedom rights,” said Darcy Roake, a Unitarian Universalist pastor who, along with her Jewish husband Adrian Van Young, is one of the plaintiffs in a statement.
“As an interfaith family, we expect our children to receive their secular education in public school and their religious education at home and within our faith communities, not from government officials,” Roake clarified.
Some conservatives believe the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority will uphold such measures against legal challenges.
In 2022, the court ruled in favor of a Washington state high school football coach who claimed the constitutional right to pray with his players at the 50-yard line following games.
Judge deGravelles ruled that Louisiana’s statute was unlawful because there was no “broader tradition” of using the Ten Commandments in public schools.
The case is Roake et al v. Brumley et al, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana, No. 24-00517.
