What keeps the ten commandments from being able to be displayed in
school? Either on a wall (public property) or on a persons t-shirt
(private property). Are there any current established laws against
this?

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Request for Question Clarification by efn-ga on 04 Dec 2004 22:18 PST

Are you asking about United States law?  (Google Answers is an
international service.)

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Clarification of Question by bmoreau-ga on 05 Dec 2004 04:08 PST

Yes United States :D

Hi bmoreau,

It is generally illegal to display the Ten Commandments on public
school walls in the United States, and it is generally legal for
students to display them on clothing in schools.  For teachers, it may
be legal in some places and illegal in others.


Display on School Walls

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution says:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

The law against displaying the Ten Commandments on public school walls
is a result of court decisions, not legislative action.  The landmark
Supreme Court case was Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39 (1980).  The state
of Kentucky had enacted a statute that requiring the posting of a copy
of the Ten Commandments on the wall of each public school classroom in
the state.  In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the statute was
unconstitutional because it violated the Establishment Clause of the
First Amendment.

This decision has held up since then, though there are still people
struggling to make such displays legal.  For example, in March 2004,
the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize the
display of the Ten Commandments in any public building.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=12852

In October 2004, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear two
cases involving the display of the Ten Commandments on public
property.  The cases don't specifically involve schools, but could
affect the law on display in schools.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26439-2004Oct12.html

A lot more information about this topic is available on the Web.  See
the Additional Links below.


Display on Clothing:  Students

According to the Associated Press in 2003, "American students
generally have the right to wear religious garb such as a Jewish
skullcap, a Muslim scarf or a cross in public school, although
restrictions can be made if the school has a dress code that is not
directed at a particular faith."
http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/12/17/religious.garb.ap/

In 1995, U. S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley issued a
"statement of principles" on religious expression in public schools. 
This was not a law, but a guideline attempting to summarize current
law.  It says:

"Students may display religious messages on items of clothing to the
same extent that they are permitted to display other comparable
messages. Religious messages may not be singled out for suppression,
but rather are subject to the same rules as generally apply to
comparable messages. When wearing particular attire, such as yarmulkes
and head scarves, during the school day is part of students' religious
practice, under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act schools
generally may not prohibit the wearing of such items."

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/religiousexpression.html

Schools can require students to wear uniforms, so a Ten Commandments
shirt might violate such requirements.  There can be religious
exemptions from uniform requirements, but it seems unlikely that a
student would claim that his or her religion requires him or her to
wear a garment displaying the Ten Commandments.

http://www.firstamendmentschools.org/freedoms/faq.aspx?id=13004


Display on Clothing:  Teachers

A teacher's right to religious expression can conflict with the
separation of church and state, and the law varies from place to
place.  Some states have laws that explicitly permit teachers to wear
religious clothing and other have laws that forbid it.  There may also
be a difference in the treatment of clothing that is required by a
religion versus clothing that is not required by a religion, but bears
a message promoting a religion.

The Associated Press story cited above says "Several states bar public
school teachers from wearing religious clothing, in an attempt to have
a religiously neutral classroom."

The Richard Riley statement cited above says " Teachers and school
administrators, when acting in those capacities, are representatives
of the state and are prohibited by the establishment clause from
soliciting or encouraging religious activity, and from participating
in such activity with students."

A First Amendment Center article on whether teachers must obey dress
codes says "Two states, Arkansas and Tennessee, have statutes
explicitly allowing teachers to wear religious garb in public
schools."  This page also reviews some relevant court decisions.
http://www.firstamendmentschools.org/freedoms/faq.aspx?id=13027


Additional Links:  Display on School Walls

Wikipedia article on public displays of the Ten Commandments in the United States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_commandments#Public_monuments_in_the_USA

Detailed essay reviewing the law and court decisions on public
displays with religious content.
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/rel_liberty/establishment/topic.aspx?topic=public_displays

The website of the Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance has a
lot of material on Ten Commandments display.
Main page on the Ten Commandments
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_10co.htm#menu
Page specifically on display in schools
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_10c1.htm
Legal developments in 2004
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_10c04.htm

Slate article by Rod Smolla discussing Ten Commandments display
http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2108280&

Text of the Supreme Court's decision in Stone v. Graham
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=449&invol=39

Text of the Bill of Rights, the first ten Amendments to the United
States Constitution
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html

Essay by James R. Edwards, Jr., on the Human Events website, defending
Ten Commandments display
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=2432

Essay arguing against Ten Commandments display in schools, from the
atheist website no-god.com
http://www.no-god.com/article/notencom.html


Additional Links:  Display on Clothing

The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance have a page on news
events related to religious clothing and jewelry in schools since
2000.  It doesn't have anything about garments displaying the Ten
Commandments.  It looks like Wiccans who want to wear pentacles and
pentagrams get the most opposition.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/sch_clot5.htm

A FAQ answer from the First Amendment Center suggests that a teacher
would probably not be allowed to wear Ten Commandments T-shirt.
http://www.fac.org/rel_liberty/faqs.aspx?id=6246&

An article on Teachers' Rights on Public School Campuses by Mathew D.
Staver appears on the Liberty Counsel website.  Section G in this
article deals with clothing and jewelry.
http://www.lc.org/Resources/teachers_rights_0900.html


I hope this is a satisfactory answer to your question.  If you need
any further information, please ask for a clarification.

--efn

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Request for Answer Clarification by bmoreau-ga on 08 Dec 2004 12:14 PST

Under teachers clothing you pointed to the conflict with the
"seperation of church and state". What law is this?

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Clarification of Answer by efn-ga on 08 Dec 2004 19:34 PST

The separation of church and state is not a specific law, but a
principle, one that has been controversial for a long time.  People
disagree about the extent to which government should support or
promote churches or religion.

There are whole books and websites written about this topic, so I
won't attempt a long explanation here.  For an introduction, I'd
suggest this Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state

Or this one from the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/scs_intr.htm

If you need any more information, please feel free to ask for another clarification.

Great responce, gave alot of information. Thanks!

People really dont like them being displayed because it reminds them
of what, they know, they are doing wrong.

I don't know what the laws are surrounding this issue in America . . .

but I would beg to differ with pugwash-ga . . . 

There are plenty of places where the Ten Commandments are publicly
(and legally) displayed.  In fact, I visited the "World's Largest Ten
Commandments" once, ten foot high white letters laid across a pristine
green hill in rural Tennessee.

I don't think anyone but bullies and bigots would prevent someone from
wearing the Ten Commandments on a t-shirt, though it might raise some
eyebrows in a school setting, unless of course it was a private
religious school.

The reason people don't like them displayed in schools is because
those parents who do not identify with the Christian faith feel that
this doctrine is being foisted on them involuntarily.  They feel that
religious values should be taught on an individual family basis at
home and not by a government-sponsored school. Part of having the
freedom of religion for all is preserving public institutions like
schools and courthouses from the display of a scripture that only a
part of the populace adhers to, otherwise the government could develop
a kind of monopoly on determining what comprises religious values.  I
suppose that if they gave equal space to key scriptures from the
Torah, the Koran, the Zend Avesta, the Tao te-Ching, the Vedas and the
Dhammapada, then it would be okay.  But that is pretty unlikely.

Maybe for those who follow the Christian faith, seeing the Ten
Commandments reminds them of all the things they do that they
shouldn't be doing. For those who don't follow the Christian faith, it
feels like proselytizing.

ts

The Christian faith?

I thought that the Ten C's were published by Moses.

Well, that's my Ten Cents worth.

Hey Pro!

Holy Moses!  you're up early! . . . or are you pulling an all-nighter?

ts

Hi, Irene

I rise at 5 a.m. every morning.

Always have and always will until the angels come a-calling with an
invitation to Mount Olympus.

The Pro

Thanks for the rating, comment, and tip.