Earlier this year, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry made a remarkably dismissive comment in response to parents who were suing against a state law mandating that all public schools, from kindergarten through college, display a Protestant Christian version of the Ten Commandments.

“Just tell your child not to look at them,” Landry remarked in August.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles appropriately rejected that suggestion by issuing a preliminary injunction that prevents the religious posters from being displayed in schools. The Baton Rouge judge described the law as “coercive and inconsistent with the principles of the First Amendment and public education,” since parents are legally obligated to send their children to school in the state.

Louisiana’s Attorney General, Liz Murrill, pledged to “immediately appeal,” asserting that this legal battle is far from over.

This situation reveals the true intent behind the law. It isn’t about enhancing education in Louisiana; rather, it represents a push for Christian nationalism seeking judges who might reverse fundamental American rights.

Landry, Murrill, and their colleagues are eager to impose religious beliefs on children in ways that clearly infringe upon the U.S. Constitution. They aim to advance their cause through the far-right 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is currently dominated by conservative justices.

Religion and Governance: A Legal Precedent

One crucial lesson to teach in public schools everywhere is that the First Amendment is concise—only 45 words—but encapsulates five essential rights: freedom of, and from, religion; free speech; a free press; the right to assemble; and the right to petition the government. Notably, the right to religious freedom is prioritized in this list.

This principle is well established. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a Kentucky law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms back in 1980.

However, as illustrated by the recent Supreme Court’s decision to overturn decades of established law regarding abortion rights, no precedence currently feels assured or settled.

Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, expressed that it wouldn’t surprise her if Governor Landry seeks to present this issue to the Supreme Court. Her organization, along with the ACLU and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, assisted the parents in their lawsuit against Louisiana.

“The Supreme Court has previously ruled on this issue, invalidating a nearly identical statute in 1980,” Laser pointed out. “The established precedent should govern this case, and we don’t expect the Supreme Court to overturn it.”

Efforts to Alter Louisiana’s Historical Narrative

The involved groups find themselves in a position where they must defend constitutional rights, according to Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

“Certainly, this reflects the intentions of the legislature, but given the blatant violation of the Constitution and student rights, legal action is the only viable option, and we hope to emerge victorious,” Gaylor commented. “It’s challenging to imagine a more flagrant disregard for the separation of church and state.”

This legal foundation is supported by outdated precedent. In 1947, the Supreme Court determined that the guarantee of freedom of, and from, religion—known as the establishment clause—applies to local and state laws.

Landry and the Republican-led Louisiana Legislature have openly challenged the law with their recent push. They attempted to rewrite history by asserting that the Ten Commandments have been a long-standing fixture in American public education, a feeble tactic to obscure the fact that displaying them is steeped in religious intent.

During testimony in October, a legal historian effectively countered that assertion, and Judge deGravelles concurred on Tuesday, determining that the families who filed the lawsuit possess a “substantial likelihood of success” in their case.

According to the judge, even if Louisiana succeeds in showing that the Ten Commandments were a fundamental part of public school education, this would still be a breach of the establishment clause.

A simple solution for integrating religion into education: private schools

If Louisiana Republicans are eager to infuse religion into education, a straightforward approach would be to urge parents who share this perspective to enroll their children in private schools, where such practices are allowed.

This option is actually quite popular in the state. A report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor last year revealed that 15% of the state’s over 775,000 students are enrolled in private schools from kindergarten through 12th grade, ranking Louisiana as the second highest state in the country for private school attendance, just behind Hawaii.

However, this would mean that parents are making the choice for their children voluntarily, rather than having it imposed by Landry and his Republican colleagues in the legislature. This is not their objective.

The true aim is to enforce a single interpretation of a religion on everyone while using governmental power to undermine the legal protections designed to prevent this kind of imposition.

Louisiana ought to take a closer look at American history. A truthful examination makes it evident that the state’s current actions contradict the very principles that the authors of the First Amendment sought to defend.