The recent decision by Louisiana lawmakers to display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms is a blatant violation of the separation of church and state. It disregards the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which explicitly prohibits government endorsement of religion.
This mandate is not about history or moral education; it’s about imposing religious beliefs. Only three of the Ten Commandments align with secular laws, while the rest are purely theological mandates written by Iron Age goat shepherds who thought the sun orbited the Earth. It has no place in a public school setting.
Mandating their display in classrooms promotes religious conformity, not virtue.
The hypocrisy is glaring. Conservatives decry government overreach yet expand state power to impose their religious views. They restrict discussions on gender identity in schools but enforce religious doctrine.
Other contradictions are evident. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” imposes religious observance irrelevant to modern, secular life. Will schools cancel weekend fundraisers? Such mandates ignore the diversity of religious practices in today’s plurality.
Louisiana’s education system is in crisis, with some of the nation’s lowest literacy rates. Here’s how it rates in the country:
- Literacy Rate Ranking: 48th (out of 50 states)
- High School Graduation Rate Ranking: 46th (out of 50 states)
- Access to Advanced Placement Courses Ranking: 45th (out of 50 states)
- Per-Pupil Spending Ranking: 38th (out of 50 states)
- Student-Teacher Ratio Ranking: 47th (out of 50 states)
- Overall Education Rank: 46th (out of 50 states)
But lawmakers waste resources on unconstitutional mandates and bible thumpinginstead of addressing these pressing issues.
Louisiana has always been a backwater swamp. Their lawmakers have clearly been sipping state waters.
