The U.S.Supreme Court has been asked to decide if the Ten Commandments can be posted in Texas public schools.In the coming months, the justices will decide whether or not to review a decision by the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit which found that the posting the Ten Commandments in schools is not only constitutional, but also consistent with America’s historical understanding of religion’s role in public life.Documents and history are not banned in this country because they are religious or have religious content.Are students allowed to read the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s "Letter from Birmingham Jail?" Of course they are.TEXAS BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVES REQUIRED READING LIST WITH BIBLE PASSAGES FOR 5 MILLION STUDENTSBanning parts of our religious history and heritage is not an act of compliance with the First Amendment.It is hostility to religion and a religious cleansing, foreign to our Constitution.
The First Amendment forbids the government from establishing an official state religion — something akin to the Church of England, where the state controlled doctrine, compelled worship and punished dissenters.A federal appeals court ruled in favor of a Texas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments.(Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)The Fifth Circuit’s ruling made clear that such "establishments" historically involved acts of coercion such as mandatory church attendance or legal penalties for noncompliance.
Displaying a religious text on a classroom wall bears no resemblance to such practices.SUPREME COURT SHOWDOWN LOOMS OVER ST MICHAEL STATUE BLOCKED FROM PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDINGThe Ten Commandments are a foundational moral, literary and historical text.Their influence on Western legal traditions is widely acknowledged, even by critics.
The Commandments articulate basic ethical principles such as prohibitions against murder, theft and perjury that underpin modern legal systems.Displaying them in c...