The state of Louisiana in the United States requires all classrooms to have a display of the Ten Commandments.

By Timmy Mabs | 20th June, 2024.

Louisiana has become the first state in US to mandate that a poster of the Ten Commandments be shown in all public school classrooms, up to university level.

The commandments were referred to as "the foundational documents of our state and national government" in the Republican-backed legislation that Governor Jeff Landry signed into law on Wednesday.

Civil rights organizations anticipate contesting the bill on the grounds that it violates the Establishment Clause, which is the first amendment of the US Constitution that guarantees the separation of church and state.

It states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

According to state law, the commandments must be "the central focus" of the exhibition and the sacred text must be included in a "large, easily readable font" on a poster that measures 11 by 14 inches (28 by 35.5 cm).

A "context statement" consisting of four paragraphs that explains how the commandments "were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries" will also be displayed with it.

By 2025, all classrooms that receive state financing must have the posters up in their displays; however, the posters themselves are not being funded by the state.

Other Republican-led states like Texas, Oklahoma, and Utah have lately proposed legislation along similar lines.
The Ten Commandments' exhibition in public spaces like courtrooms, police stations, and schools has given rise to countless legal disputes.

A related Kentucky statute mandating that the document be shown in elementary and high schools was overturned by the US Supreme Court in 1980.

The Ten Commandments posting requirement "had no secular legislative purpose" and was "plainly religious in nature," the Supreme Court declared in a 5-4 vote.

The court pointed out that the Ten Commandments mentioned worshiping God, which included keeping the Sabbath day, in addition to crimes like killing and stealing.