The Ten Commandments – a universal symbol of law and morality – can be displayed in courthouses, schools, and other government property. These displays were once a common sight in the public square since they are the basis of the Western Legal Tradition and have shaped American law and government. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn the 1971 Lemon v. Kurtzman opinion and to interpret the First Amendment Establishment Clause according to its historical intent means that not only the Ten Commandments but other religious symbols may be displayed on public property.
This is extremely good news for those citizens who wish to see displays of the Ten Commandments make a comeback on public property to constitutionally express where America’s moral law came from.
For instance, at the Alabama Supreme Court, the Ten Commandments monument was removed in 2003 when an appeals court deemed it violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause under the now overruled “Lemon Test.”
The Ten Commandments had been ubiquitously displayed in schools and courthouses as a symbol of law that shaped the American legal system. There are about 50 displays of the Ten Commandments inside and outside the United States Supreme Court. There is a prominent display at the Library of Congress and on the floor of the National Archives. The official seal of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals contains the Ten Commandments.
In 2019, the High Court wrote in American Legion v. American Humanists Association that the Ten Commandments “have historical significance as one of the foundations of our legal system” and represents a “common cultural heritage.” Then, in Liberty Counsel’s unanimous 2022 victory in Shurtleff v. City of Boston, the High Court soundly rejected Boston’s use of the “Lemon Test” to censor Christian viewpoints regarding raising the Christian flag on a public flagpole. Shortly thereafter, the High Court finally eliminated the “Lemon Test” in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District where Liberty Counsel argued in an amicus brief that the school could not suppress Coach Joe Kennedy’s private religious speech to silently pray on the football field after games. In Kennedy, the High Court replaced “Lemon” by returning to a traditional First Amendment standard where courts must interpret the Establishment Clause by “reference to historical practices and understandings.”
A resurgence of the Ten Commandments in schools is already underway. Louisiana recently became the first state to pass legislation that requires the Ten Commandments be displayed in all of its public-school classrooms. Even though a district court judge recently issued a temporary injunction blocking the law, the state will appeal setting up another potential Ten Commandments case for the Supreme Court. In addition, in June 2024, the Oklahoma public schools superintendent announced a directive for “all public schools to teach the Bible and the Ten Commandments.”
The Ten Commandments is obviously engrained in American law and government. With the High Court’s directive that the Establishment Clause interpretation should be based on “historical practices and understandings,” the legal landscape has significantly changed.
Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The Ten Commandments have shaped American law and government. Now that Lemon v. Kurtzman has been overruled, displays of the Ten Commandments on government property are on solid legal footing.”
