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This week, the Arkansas legislature passed Senate Bill 433, which permits the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom and government building.
Once signed into law by the state Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas will become the second state, after Louisiana, to welcome Ten Commandment displays back into classrooms. Schools throughout the state will be required to display a poster of the Ten Commandments on the walls of every classroom, along with a small explainer of their relevance to the history of the U.S.
Many people are concerned that the bill infringes upon rules regarding the separation of church and state, but did you know that these laws literally do not exist? Seriously!
Lemon Test: Church & State
Back in the 1970s, the U.S. Supreme Court instituted a 3-part process known as the “Lemon test,” a short-held legal standard for determining if a law violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits our elected officials from establishing a religion. Prior to this point, the U.S. taught aspects of Biblical history to students for more than 200 years.
The first American textbook, the “New England Primer” published in 1690, boasted a lengthy second on the importance of the Ten Commandments. (READ MORE: Study Finds That Having Children Can Increase Your Well-Being)
The “Lemon test” was overturned in 2022 thanks to the Kennedy vs. Bremerton case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-to-3 in favor of a high school football coach’s right to pray at the 5-yard line at the end of each game.
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