Infringement on the Separation of Church and State in Louisiana Public Schools

By Ruby Knoebel ’28

Introduction

While the United States has traditionally embraced the separation of church and state, Louisiana has recently ignored this principle by passing religiously motivated  legislation. It started in 2018, when the state passed a law requiring an “In God We Trust” sign to be displayed in every public school (1). After the law’s successful passage, Louisianians became concerned that their state was weakening the division between the government and religious entities. Unfortunately, their concern was not unfounded, and since that initial ruling in 2018, Louisiana has continued to enact legislation, testing the constitutional boundary between the state and church. Most recently, in June 2024, the state legislature passed an act requiring all Louisiana public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments (2). Though a federal judge blocked this law's implementation in five school districts, it is still in effect in 120 others while waiting for an appellate court to hear the case (3).

Christian-based campaigns seeking to advocate for religious statutes have become increasingly common after President Donald Trump was elected in 2016. Project Blitz, a national right-wing movement of Christians seeking to promote Christianity through legislation, is one such campaign (4). The movement has presented numerous laws that promote Christianity and Christian “values,” with much of the proposed legislation relying on “model bills” created by the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation (CPCF) (5). These model bills set up the framework for legislators to rapidly and effectively introduce laws promoting religion, usually at the state level. One of the most common early model bills was ordering public buildings to display the national motto, “In God We Trust” (6). In response to this movement, Samantha Sokol of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a non-profit organization advocating for religious freedom,  reported that the CPCF has “sent this playbook [of model bills] to state legislators and told them that these ‘In God We Trust’ bills are the first step” (7). Sokol suggests that the rest of the Project Blitz ‘playbook’ is building from these seemingly insignificant bills into larger infringements on the separation of church and state.

In 2018, Louisiana became one of many conservative states to pass legislation requiring the display of ‘In God We Trust’ in all public schools,  and five years later, the initiative was expanded when House Bill 8 (HB8) required all public school classrooms to display the same phrase (8). In 2023, emboldened by the HB8’s successful passage,  Louisiana legislators began to push for HB68, the History and Literature of the Bible Act, which allowed Louisiana public schools to offer an elective class that would  teach students about the Bible and its implications on society today (9). Like Sokol predicted, these bills were merely harbingers to the greater promotion of Christianity within the state, as seen in 2024 when the passage of HB71 required all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments (10). Louisiana has shown a history of passing legislation that pushes the constitutional boundaries of the separation of church and state through HB8, HB68, and HB71, and drawing on trends from the last eight years, Louisiana citizens should be cautious of new legislation pertaining to religion in schools.

Background

The colonists who established the United States were Protestant emigrants from England who wanted to find religious freedom in the Americas, away from the Anglican Church that was persecuting them in their home country (11). This history created the desire for a national separation of church and state, which was formally enshrined in the Constitution when the United States established itself as a sovereign nation.

Specifically, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (12). This sentence consists of two key elements, frequently called the “Establishment Clause” and the “Free Exercise Clause.” Both parts are considered when constitutional questions regarding religion are brought into federal courts, with the “Establishment Clause” being used to argue against governments implementing aspects of religion into law and public institutions, and with the “Free Exercise Clause” being used to protect individuals’ rights to practice their religions. Since both clauses come from just one sentence in the Constitution, their implications are vague, though the Supreme Court has sought to  establish their scope and define their bounds  through rulings in various cases.

One of the most prominent Supreme Court rulings about religion in schools is Engel v. Vitale — a 1962 ruling that determined that nondenominational prayer in public schools is unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause (13). Nine years later, the separation of church and state in schools was further solidified through Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), which established a three-condition test, called the “Lemon Test,” that all legislation must pass (14). The test states that all legislation must serve a secular purpose, have a primary effect that does not inhibit or promote religion, and avoid creating “excessive government entanglement with religion” (15). As demonstrated by these two rulings, legal precedent has clearly separated religion from schools. However, Louisiana, by implementing new Christian legislation, blatantly disregards such precedent and undermines the longstanding American ideal of a nation free from religious strictures. 

HB71

In June 2024, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed HB71, the final step in requiring every public school classroom in Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments (16) Before reaching the governor’s desk, the bill had passed by wide margins in both branches of the Louisiana legislature. In the House, eighty-two representatives voted in favor of the bill, and nineteen voted in opposition; in the Senate, thirty senators voted in favor, and eight voted in opposition (17).

The Act required that by January 1, 2025, every classroom in Louisiana public schools must display the Ten Commandments, stating that they “shall be displayed on a poster or framed document that is at least eleven inches by fourteen 16 inches…[and] shall be the central focus of the poster or framed document and shall be printed in a large, easily readable font” (18). The act also orders the display to include a context statement provided by the legislature, which cites the role of the Ten Commandments as “a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries,” outlining the role of the text in widely used textbooks from the 1600s through 1975 (19). It explicitly references the past as an ideal, treating the times before modern social movements as a guide for what the modern school system should look like.

HB71 also allows, though does not require, Louisiana schools to display the Mayflower Compact (1620), Declaration of Independence (1776), and the Northwest Ordinance (1787) (20). The Act explains the religious significance of two of these documents, citing that the Mayflower Compact “affirmed the link between civil society and God” and that the Northwest Ordinance noted religion as an element of good government and human happiness (21). Notably, HB71 does not require the display of any document except for the Ten Commandments.

This legislation clearly fails the first stipulation of the Lemon Test in that its primary effect is the promotion of religion. Though only one condition of the Lemon Test must be failed for a piece of legislation to be deemed unconstitutional, this statute also fails the third condition of “excessive entanglement.” The law is entirely reliant on private donations of posters of the Ten Commandments, likely because legislators understood that it would be blatantly unconstitutional for the State to purchase such documents (22). However, by relying on private donations, schools depend on religious groups to comply with this legislation — thus creating an “excessive entanglement” between civic society and the church.

This excessive entanglement is perhaps the most significant constitutional violation. HB71 cites Van Orden v. Perry (2005), Pleasant Grove City v. Summum (2009), and The American Legion v. American Humanist Association (2019), which all allow monuments of religious symbols, including the Ten Commandments, to be displayed on government property, as justification for this law (23). However, none of the cited cases speak to the government’s ability to enact legislation that inherently requires private religious donations, which would force schools to maintain continued relationships with the donor organizations for any upkeep or maintenance, like HB71 would do. If the legislation is enforced, schools without connections to religious organizations will be unable to obtain the required supplies and will consequently fail to comply with this legislation —resulting in a clear violation of the ‘excessive entanglement’ condition of the Lemon Test, thus making HB71 doubly unconstitutional.

Once signed into law, HB71 was quickly challenged, and U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles of Baton Rouge, LA, ultimately ruled that the requirement was “unconstitutional on its face” and had an “overtly religious” purpose (24). In his opinion, Judge deGravelles expressed that the legislature has not required schools to display any foundational documents except for the Ten Commandments, clearly showing that the intention of this legislation is not historical, but religious (25). Judge deGravelles also stated in his opinion that “by law, parents must send their minor children to school and ensure attendance during regular school hours at least one hundred and seventy-seven days per year,” which means that legislation like HB71 could inspire or reinforce Christian beliefs in students (26). Though Judge deGravelles said that Louisiana Superintendent Cade Brumley should not do anything to implement the law, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill successfully convinced the  5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the ruling (27). The appellate court is still deciding whether or not the law is constitutional, but the stay ensured that Judge deGravelles’s ruling would only apply to the five school districts within his judicial district (28).

Conclusion

The attempt of the Louisiana state legislature to pass legislation requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms is frightening for the fabric of the United States — a nation built on inclusivity and personal freedom. In addition to being blatantly unconstitutional, HB71 promotes homogeneity, rather than an acceptance of the diverse people and cultures within Louisiana. With the law passing with such large majorities in the Louisiana legislature, Louisiana citizens must consider what is next to come.

Signs of the right-wing cultural war have been present for years. In 2018, when Louisiana required public schools to display “In God We Trust,” the nation was warned, but nothing was done. This inaction gave right-wing groups wishing to promote religious ideals in schools the confidence that they needed to further inhibit people’s religious autonomy by violating the Establishment Clause. In response, they’ve continued to intensify the Christian promotion, ultimately culminating in HB71, which requires classrooms to display text starting with the lines, “I AM the LORD thy God/Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (29).

Despite the constitutional issues present in HB71, the Act continues to leave students in 120 Louisiana school districts subject to a law that infringes on their rights. In light of this rightward movement to remove religious freedom from Americans, even the smallest violations of the Establishment Clause —such as Caddo Parish, Louisiana, having Christian prayer recitations to begin every school board meeting— must be confronted. Americans cannot treat these cases as isolated incidents; they must treat these cases as warnings for future violations that must be addressed in order to maintain the Constitution’s promise of  religious freedom in both Louisiana and the United States at large.

Endnotes

1. Nazzaro, Miranda. 2023. “New Law Requires All Louisiana Public Schools Display ‘in God We Trust’ Motto.” The Hill. August 2, 2023. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4134639-new-law-requires-all-louisiana-public-schools-display-in-god-we-trust-motto/.

2. H.B. 71, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2024). https://legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1382697.

3. McGill, Kevin. 2024. “Court Temporarily Limits Scope of Ruling for Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law.” AP News. The Associated Press. November 15, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-schools-ten-commandments-bebd5993af3070e69614de641f4f511f.

4. “Louisiana School Districts.” n.d. US News and World Report. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/louisiana/districts.

5. Taylor, David. 2018. “Project Blitz: The Legislative Assault by Christian Nationalists to Reshape America.” The Guardian. Guardian News & Media. June 4, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/04/project-blitz-the-legislative-assault-by-christian-nationalists-to-reshape-america.

6. Taylor.

7. Taylor.

8. Taylor.

9. Nazzaro.

10. H.B. 68 (“History and Literature of the Bible Act”), 2023 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2023). https://legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1332276.

11. H.B. 71, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2024).

12. “Religion and the Founding of the American Republic.” n.d. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01.html.

13. U.S. Constitution, amend. 1.

14. “Facts and Case Summary - Engel v. Vitale.” n.d. United States Courts. Federal Judiciary. https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/educational-activities/first-amendment-activities/engel-v-vitale/facts-and-case-summary-engel-v-vitale.

15. “Lemon v. Kurtzman.” n.d. Oyez. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, Justia, and the Chicago-Kent College of Law. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1970/89.

16. “Lemon v. Kurtzman.”

17. “HB71.” n.d. Louisiana State Legislature. https://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=245592.

18. “HB71.”

19. H.B. 71, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2024).

20. H.B. 71, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2024).

21. H.B. 71, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2024).

22. H.B. 71, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2024).

23. H.B. 71, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2024).

24. H.B. 71, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2024).

25. “The American Legion v. American Humanist Association.” n.d. Oyez. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, Justia, and the Chicago-Kent College of Law. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2018/17-1717.

26. “Pleasant Grove City v. Summum.” n.d. Oyez. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, Justia, and the Chicago-Kent College of Law. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2008/07-665.

27. “Van Orden v. Perry.” n.d. Oyez. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, Justia, and the Chicago-Kent College of Law. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2004/03-1500.

28. Cline, Sara, and Kevin McGill. 2024. “Federal Judge Blocks Louisiana Law That Requires Classrooms to Display Ten Commandments.” AP News. The Associated Press. November 12, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/ten-commandments-law-blocked-public-schools-louisiana-87b3dde94e583fdbb9ecb26db42b0206.

29. Cline and McGill.

30. Cline and McGill.

31. McGill, Kevin. 2024. “Court Temporarily Limits Scope of Ruling for Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law.” AP News. The Associated Press. November 15, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-schools-ten-commandments-bebd5993af3070e69614de641f4f511f.

32. McGill.

33. H.B. 71, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (La. 2024).