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The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas can force public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
In the case Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court ruled approximately 45 years ago that a Kentucky law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools was an unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause.
The Roberts Court has been dismantling protections of the Establishment Clause by rejecting earlier legal tests, such as the Lemon Test.
The Roberts Court has established a new standard for Establishment Clause analysis that focuses on history and original understandings.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Supreme Court's precedent in Stone v. Graham, arguing it depended on the now-rejected Lemon Test.
The Fifth Circuit adopted a new rule for Establishment Clause challenges, based on a concurrence by Justice Neil Gorsuch, stating a law is only unconstitutional if it resembles what the founders considered a religious establishment.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling allowing Texas to mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in schools was decided by a 9-8 vote.
Challengers to the Texas law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in schools will most likely appeal the Fifth Circuit's decision to the Supreme Court.
A Texas law requires every public school classroom to display a large, easily readable poster of a specific, state-dictated version of the Ten Commandments.
In the Supreme Court case referred to as Mahmoud, the court ruled that parents could opt their children out of curriculum with LGBTQ material that contradicted their religious beliefs.
Caroline Malacorban predicts the current Supreme Court would likely uphold the Texas law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in schools.
The Supreme Court might uphold the Texas Ten Commandments law by arguing the commandments are a secular historical item rather than a religious doctrine.