by Hanna Hiester
Political science professors at conservative and Christian universities are divided on the constitutionality of the recent law. Louisiana Law which requires that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom.
The law has already been challenged by several families, as well as leftist and atheist groups, while Louisiana’s Christian and conservative lawmakers have hailed it.
However, not everyone on the right follows the same path.
Political science professors at center-right universities, many of whom specialize in teaching courses on the relationship between religion and politics, are divided on whether the recent law will comply with federal checks and balances established by the Founding Fathers as well as with judicial precedents.
Kevin Burns, a professor of political science at Benedictine College, thinks so.
“According to most originalists, the Establishment Clause simply prevents the government from establishing a state church; the mere publicity of the Ten Commandments clearly does not meet that threshold,” Burns said. College Repair via email.
He added that the current composition of the Supreme Court includes several recently appointed judges with original views.
But Mark Smith, director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University, said he would rule the law unconstitutional based on Supreme Court precedent. He specifically cited a 1980 case in which the Supreme Court invalidated a similar law in Kentucky.
“The classrooms are full of students, almost all of whom are not adults. The exhibits are also in an environment that is inescapable. There is no opt-out,” Professor Smith said College Repair via email. “Given how the Court has handled similar cases, I suspect it will find this unconstitutional.”
“In the case of Louisiana, I believe the state is using its power to impose the views of religious minorities in public schools,” Smith said.
“I don’t mind the government favoring religion in general, but the Ten Commandments apply to specific faiths, and public school classrooms are a place where religious minorities should be protected.”
Smith said he shares the goals of the bill, which states that incorporating the Ten Commandments “into the education of our children is part of our state and national history, culture and tradition.”
“It’s a very difficult decision for me,” he said. Repair“It’s probably a benign form of establishment, but in a country that’s large, diverse and complex, putting them in every classroom would show at least some kind of bias towards a Judeo-Christian worldview.”
The law was signed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry on June 19 and requires every classroom in every publicly funded school — including colleges and universities — to include a poster or framed document with the text of the Ten Commandments.
Previously, the law was in force He passed by a huge majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate, where Republicans are in the majority.
It’s already happened challenged by nine families from Louisiana, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Louisiana, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
This lawsuitfiled June 24, argues that the law violates the Establishment Clause as well as the First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom.
Stephen Krason, professor emeritus of political science at Franciscan University of Steubenville, said: College Repair doesn’t think the precedent would influence the Supreme Court’s ruling if the Louisiana law case went to court.
“We’ve seen in recent years that the Supreme Court is willing to overturn problematic precedents,” Krason said, citing the recent overturn of a Supreme Court ruling 1984 Chevron Caseamong others, as examples.
He added that during the 1940s and 1960s, the American approach to religion and the separation of church and state changed from “accommodationism” to “separationism.”
According to Krason, the latter view “contradicts the entire history of the country,” since the United States is a “Christian culture” that reflects religion in its laws and public practices while accepting other religions.
“If the case goes to the Supreme Court, which I think it will sooner or later, the Supreme Court may be inclined to take action to eliminate some of these separatist precedents,” Krason said in a telephone interview.
Based on an accommodationist understanding of the separation of church and state, Krason said he would recognize Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law as constitutional. He also said the Ten Commandments are an embodiment of natural law that applies to all Americans, regardless of their religion.
“When it comes to the Ten Commandments themselves, we’re really talking about natural law,” he said. “We’re talking about the law, the moral principles that bind people if there’s going to be a tolerable situation in human relationships, in decent communities. Natural law has to be respected.”
Still, Smith said Repair that whether or not the Ten Commandments have a right to be found in schools in a country with Christian roots, Louisiana’s recent law “certainly makes it clear that the government favors some religions over others.”
“I don’t think it helps religion, and I don’t think it helps government,” he said. “Look carefully at the history of nations that have combined church and state. Christianity was culturally dominant and powerful for a time, but it came to be seen as a tool of the state. Christianity was perverted into a political entity. In those countries, Christianity is now dead, dying, or reduced to a cultural influence, as opposed to a living faith that animates the lives of its citizens.
“I would prefer people to freely choose their faith, internalize it and then practice it,” he added. “A free country should allow Christianity to develop on its own.”
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College Fix contributor Hannah Hiester is a senior at Benedictine College, where she is pursuing degrees in journalism and Spanish. She also writes for CatholicVote and Benedictine’s student newspaper, The Circuit.
Photo “Jeff Landry” by Jeff Landry.
