Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling Against Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law is a Big Win for Religious Freedom

Interfaith Alliance, a leading advocate for healthy boundaries between religion and government, welcomed the ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that prevents Louisiana from enforcing its unconstitutional law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments. Interfaith Alliance was one of 19 religious organizations that co-signed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case. 

In response to the ruling, Interfaith Alliance’s vice president of programs and strategy, Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, shared the following comment:

“When one of the most conservative courts in the country tells the Christian nationalist right that they’ve gone too far, it’s a day we can all rejoice in a win for religious freedom. Today’s ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sends a clear message to Louisiana lawmakers: requiring classroom Ten Commandments displays is a violation of the First Amendment and an unacceptable attempt by the government to push one specific religious display on all public school students. 

Right-wing Louisiana lawmakers and those in other states considering such legislation should crack open the Constitution. It leaves no room for religious indoctrination in public schools. Our students should be free to learn without government-imposed religion. Whether or not you hold the Ten Commandments to be sacred scripture–and I do–we should all agree that the government co-opting it and robbing it of its religious significance is demeaning.”

Faith leaders across the country are leading the pushback on this egregious attack on religious freedom, in places such as Alabama, Texas, and Missouri. Guthrie and representatives from Interfaith Alliance’s 20 state and local affiliates are available for interviews to discuss the impact of this decision.