The debate surrounding the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms is gaining renewed attention as the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether to review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upholding a Texas law mandating such displays. This comes against the backdrop of shifting jurisprudence on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, particularly following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. The Court in Kennedy rejected the longstanding “Lemon Test,” which evaluated the secular purpose of state actions, and instead adopted an originalist approach examining “historical practices and understandings.”
The 5th Circuit’s affirmation of the Texas law, known as S.B. 10, prescribed the display of 16×20 inch posters of the Ten Commandments in each public school classroom. This law was challenged by a group of parents who argued it violated the Establishment Clause by implicitly coercing students into religious observance. However, the 5th Circuit dismissed these claims, stating that the law does not promote religious exercise nor does it punish those who dissent, viewing the Ten Commandments’ display as recognition of its foundational role in American legal tradition.
A pivotal element of the 5th Circuit’s ruling was its dismissal of the 1980 Supreme Court decision in Stone v. Graham, which had previously ruled such displays unconstitutional. The court reasoned Stone’s reliance on the Lemon Test was outdated following its abandonment in Kennedy. Instead, the 5th Circuit adopted the view that texts with religious origins can develop nonreligious meanings over time.
This jurisprudential evolution aligns with the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling in the 2019 case of American Legion v. American Atheist Association. In that case, a cross-shaped World War I memorial was upheld as constitutional because over time, the cross had gained secular significance apart from its Christian connotations. The Court cited similar examples in U.S. history, emphasizing that numerous civic symbols and place names with religious origins have long been recognized as having acquired secular meanings.
The key question for the Supreme Court, should it take up the Texas case, will be whether the context in which the Ten Commandments are displayed acknowledges a nonreligious, historical significance rather than compelling a religious endorsement. This case represents a continuing evolution in how the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause is interpreted, weighing the historical context and multifaceted meanings of religious symbols against charges of implicit religious coercion in public schools.