A U.S. court has blocked a law requiring all Louisiana public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
The rule would have come into effect on 1 January 2025 after the first-of-its-kind legislation passed earlier this year.
However, several parents of schoolchildren filed a joint appeal of the law. The court ruled in their favour, stating that the law was “unconstitutional”.
The Ten Commandments are moral orders central to Christianity and Judaism.
Background
The Ten Commandments include broad rules forbidding murder, theft, and lying, as well as more specific religious directions.
In June, Louisiana became the first U.S. state to pass a law requiring public school classrooms and government-funded universities to display the Ten Commandments.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represented several Louisiana families in a court case against the law.
Blocked law
In his ruling, federal Judge John deGravelles said the legislation was “overtly religious and coercive”.
The judge found that the requirement to display the Ten Commandments would be “inconsistent” with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The First Amendment states that no law should stop people from practicing their religion, or prioritise one religion over another.
“Public schools are not Sunday schools, and today’s decision ensures that our clients’ classrooms will remain spaces where all students, regardless of their faith, feel welcomed.”
ACLU Senior Staff Attorney for Freedom of Religion and Belief Heather Weaver
Pushback
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she “strongly disagreed with the court’s decision” and will launch an immediate appeal.
In a post to X, Murrill argued that the judge’s decision only applies to the areas where the parents who brought the lawsuit’s children go to school.
“This is far from over,” she said.
