Louisiana's Ten Commandments Law violates church-state separation
Summary
Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law mandating that all public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. This law violates the separation of church and state and is blatantly unconstitutional.
The First Amendment promises that we all get to decide for ourselves what religious beliefs, if any, to hold and practice, without pressure from the government. Politicians have no business imposing their preferred religious doctrine on students and families in public schools.
That’s why Americans United, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Louisiana, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, are suing Louisiana.
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What is happening in Louisiana is Christian Nationalism
On June 24, 2024, a multi-faith group of nine Louisiana families with children in public schools filed suit in federal court today to block H.B. 71, a new state law requiring all public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The plaintiffs, who are Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, and non-religious, assert that the newly enacted statute violates longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent and the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
Laws requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments are unconstitutional
The law requires schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom on “a poster or framed document that is at least eleven inches by fourteen inches.” The Commandments must be the “central focus” of the display and “printed in a large, easily readable font.” The bill also requires that a specific version of the Ten Commandments, which has been dictated by the state legislature, be used for every display. Displays that depart from this state-sanctioned version of scripture would violate Louisiana law.
More than 40 years ago, in Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court overturned a similar state law, holding that the separation of church and state bars public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Louisiana’s communities and public schools are religiously diverse, yet Gov. Landry’s new law requires public schools to promote specific religious beliefs to which people of many religions and the nonreligious do not subscribe.
Religious coercion in public school is unconstitutional
Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public-school classroom unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture. It also sends the harmful message that students who do not subscribe to the Ten Commandments — or, more precisely, to the specific version of the Ten Commandments that H.B. 71 requires schools to display — do not belong in their own school community and should refrain from expressing any faith practices or beliefs that are not aligned with the state’s religious preferences.
White Christian Nationalism is an existential threat
White Christian Nationalism is the dangerous belief that America is – and must remain – a Christian nation founded for its white Christian inhabitants and that our laws and policies must reflect this. Christian Nationalists deny the separation of church and state promised by our Constitution, and they oppose equality for people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, religious minorities, and the nonreligious.
In Louisiana and all across the country, Christian Nationalists are seeking to infiltrate our public schools and force everyone to live by their beliefs.
Public schools are not Sunday schools
Secular, inclusive public schools that welcome all students regardless of their belief system are the backbone of our diverse and religiously pluralistic communities.
The separation of church and state ensures that all people—whether they are religious or not—are treated the same. It also guarantees that everyone has equal access to public schools and government services—full civil rights regardless of who they are or what they believe.
Americans United is dedicated to safeguarding this constitutional promise in Louisiana and across the country.
Case Materials
Louisiana Ten Commandments Lawsuit
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Louisiana’s public schools enroll upwards of 680,000 students. These students and their families adhere to a broad array of faiths, and many do not practice any religion at all. Yet a newly enacted Louisiana law, House Bill 71, seeks to impose one religious perspective on all Louisiana schoolchildren by requiring Louisiana public schools to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Under H.B. 71, public-school students will be forcibly subjected to scriptural dictates, day in and day out, including: “I AM the Lord thy God”; “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”; “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain”; “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”; and “Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”
On June 24, 2024, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and Simpson Thacher Bartlett LLP filed a lawsuit in the Middle District of Louisiana on behalf of a multifaith group of nine families with children in Louisiana public schools. The plaintiffs, who are Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, and non-religious, assert that H.B. 71 is a violation of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.
Our suit argues that, through H.B. 71, Louisiana is adopting an official religious text and taking an official position on religious issues, in clear violation of the Establishment Clause’s guarantee of separation of church and state. In addition, H.B. 71 coerces children to view, venerate, and obey commandments that are against their beliefs and interferes with parents’ ability to direct their children’s religious upbringing. H.B. 71 thus also violates the Free Exercise Clause, which protects the right to hold and exercise religious beliefs of one’s choice, including no religious beliefs.
Our suit asks for an injunction against implementation of the law and against posting of the Commandments, and for a declaratory judgment that the law is unconstitutional.
On November 12, 2024, in a victory for religious freedom, the district court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting implementation of the Ten Commandments law. The court relied on the U.S. Supreme Court case Stone v. Graham, which struck down a similar state statute. Shortly after the court issued its ruling, the Defendants filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Oral arguments were held before the Fifth Circuit on January 23, 2025.
In December 2024 and January 2025, we joined our partners in sending letters to public-school superintendents across Louisianna warning school districts not to implement the Ten Commandments law, which was initially scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025. Our January letter rebutted misleading guidance issued by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, in which she encouraged schools to implement the law despite the district court’s decision.
On June 20, 2025, a Fifth Circuit panel upheld the district court’s decision, holding that H.B. 71 violates the Establishment Clause.
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Plaintiffs
Reverend Darcy Roake & Adrian Van Young
“As an interfaith family, we strongly value religious inclusion and diversity, and we teach our children that all people are equal and have inherent dignity and worth. The Ten Commandments displays required by this law fly in the face of these values and send a message of religious intolerance. They will not only undermine our ability to instill these values in our children, but they will also help create an unwelcoming and oppressive school environment for children, like ours, who don’t believe in the state’s official version of scripture. We believe that no child should feel excluded in public school because of their family’s faith tradition.”
Reverend Jeff Sims
“By favoring one version of the Ten Commandments and mandating that it be posted in public schools, the government is intruding on deeply personal matters of religion. I believe that it’s critical for my children to receive and understand scripture within the context of our faith, which honors God’s gift of diversity and teaches that all people are equal. This law sends a contrary message of religious intolerance that one denomination or faith system is officially preferable to others, and that those who don’t adhere to it are lesser in worth and status. As a pastor and father, I cannot, in good conscience, sit by silently while our political representatives usurp God’s authority for themselves and trample our fundamental religious-freedom rights.”
Jennifer Harding and Benjamin Owens
“As a nonreligious family, we oppose the government forcibly subjecting our child to a religious scripture that we don’t believe in. The State of Louisiana should not direct a religious upbringing of our child and require students to observe the state’s preferred religious doctrine in every classroom.”
Erin Hawley and David Hawley
“We instill moral and ethical values in our children through positive concepts, such as love and caring for others, not biblical commandments. As Unitarian Universalists, we strongly believe that every person has the right to undertake a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. That cannot happen when the government forces scripture on people, especially children—who are at the beginning of their spiritual journeys.”
Joshua Herlands
“As a parent, an American, and a Jew, I am appalled that state lawmakers are forcing public schools to post a specific version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. These displays distort the Jewish significance of the Ten Commandments and send the troubling message to students that one set of religious laws is favored over all others. Tolerance is at the heart of our family’s practice of Judaism, and this effort to evangelize students, including my children, is antithetical to our core religious beliefs and our values as Americans.”
Press
AU & allies will file lawsuit challenging Louisiana law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments
June 19, 2024 – Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation announced today that they will file suit to challenge a new Louisiana law that requires all public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Clergy, public school parents sue to block Louisiana law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments
June, 2024 –A multi-faith group of nine Louisiana families with children in public schools filed suit in federal court today to block H.B. 71, a new state law requiring all public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The plaintiffs, who are Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, and non-religious, assert that the newly enacted statute violates longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent and the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
Plaintiffs in lawsuit challenging Louisiana Ten Commandments law seek preliminary injunction to block school displays
July 2024– In an effort to stop state and school-district officials from implementing a new law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in every public-school classroom, the plaintiffs in Roake v. Brumley filed a motion for a preliminary injunction today. In their motion, the plaintiffs ask the court to issue an order that blocks the defendants from posting the Ten Commandments in public schools or taking any other action to carry out the statute while the lawsuit remains pending.
Court blocks Louisiana law requiring public schools to display Ten Commandments in every classroom
November 2024 – In a victory for religious freedom, a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction today in Rev. Roake v. Brumley, prohibiting implementation of a Louisiana law that requires all public schools to permanently display a government-approved, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Civil rights organizations warn Louisiana public school districts not to implement Ten Commandments law
December 2024 – In a letter sent today to public school superintendents across Louisiana, four civil rights organizations–the ACLU of Louisiana, ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation–warned school districts not to implement H.B. 71, an unconstitutional state law that purports to require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Americans United and allies send letter responding to Louisiana Attorney General’s misleading Ten Commandments guidance
January 2025 – In a letter sent today to public school districts across Louisiana, four civil rights organizations – Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU of Louisiana, ACLU, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation – warned superintendents about misleading guidance issued last week by Attorney General Liz Murrill in which she encourages school districts to implement H.B. 71, an unconstitutional state law that purports to require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Federal appeals court rules against Louisiana Ten Commandments law
June, 2025 –In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled today that a Louisiana law requiring public schools to permanently display a government-approved, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom is unconstitutional. The decision upholds a federal district court’s November 2024 preliminary injunction in Rev. Roake v. Brumley, which prevents the defendant state officials and school boards from implementing the statute. here.
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