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Attorney argues why Louisiana law requiring the 10 Commandments in classrooms is un-American

He says that it's unconstitutional is only the beginning of the problem.

Public Domain/Screenshot from Legiscan

The U.S. Constitution prohibits the establishment of religion.

On June 19, 2024, Louisiana governor Jeff Landry signed a new law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed, in “large, easily readable font,” in every public school classroom from kindergarten to state-funded universities. The move prompted an outcry from Americans citing the first amendment clause that the government "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Defenders of the law contend that the Ten Commandments are not solely religious in nature, and the language of the law refers to them as "foundational documents of our state and national government.” But the ACLU and other civil rights organizations immediately announced that they would fight the law in the courts. A similar law in Kentucky was struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1980.

Author and attorney Andrew Seidel took to X to argue why the law is not only unconstitutional, but un-American.

Seidel begins by sharing that the first commandment in the specified text that the law requires be posted in classrooms states, "I AM the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

"The point of this bill is to give the false impression that America is a Christian nation," Seidel wrote in his thread. "That's Christian Nationalism."

Seidel says that the first commandment directly conflicts with the founding principles of the United States.

"No law—and this would be a law—can tell an American to worship a god, let alone which god. Americans are free to be godless (as a growing number are), or, if they wish, to worship every god from every holy book."

He pointed to the law's sponsor, Rep. Dodie Horton, stating in her explanation of why she proposed the bill: “I'm not concerned with an atheist. I'm not concerned with a Muslim. I’m concerned with our children looking and seeing what God’s law is."

In addition to the establishment of religion as a constitutional problem, Seidel shared that the Louisiana law uses an edited version of the Ten Commandments in the text that the state specifies.

Seidel explained that there are various translations and interpretations of the Ten Commandments, and that such differences have been the basis of different schisms within Christianity itself, not to mention "as James Madison put it, the 'torrents of blood' that have been spilled, trying to impose a state-sanctioned version of religious truth."

"That's what Louisiana is doing here," Seidel wrote. "Imposing it's version of religious truth on kids in public schools. It's gross."

Seidel then explained the issue with Louisiana's editing of the King James Version of the Ten Commandments, paring it down and removing certain phrases.

"If the state can rewrite one religion’s holy book, it can rewrite yours. Louisiana does not have this power. Nor does it have the power to impose that religious edict on a captive audience of your children."

"This is the worst kind of big government conservatives claim to oppose," Seidel added. "More to the point, this is one reason we have the separation of church and state, and it’s precisely how that separation protects everyone and helps ensure the foundational value of religious freedom. It not only prevents the state from weighing in on religious disagreements, scriptural discrepancies, and theological debates, but also refuses to empower the state to force its preferred scripture or religious doctrine onto we the people."

Imagine if a state legislature with Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist-majority decided that an excerpt from one of those faith's holy books prohibiting the worship of any other deities was required to be posted in every public school classroom. The same people who are pushing for and praising this law probably wouldn't stand for it.

Opponents of the Louisiana law argue the idea that the U.S. was founded on the principles found in the Ten Commandments is negated as soon as you put the first commandment up against the first amendment. The U.S. was largely founded on the principle of religious freedom. The first amendment prohibits the government from telling the people what to believe or whom or how to worship. The first commandment specifically states whom the people must worship, and the second, third and fourth commandment specify how they should worship and there therefore incompatible as government-sanctioned messages.

Virtually no one is arguing that all of the Ten Commandments are bad. Not killing, lying or stealing are standard moral codes for the vast majority of humanity, regardless of religious background. But the others are very much asserting Judeo-Christian religious beliefs, and Seidel says for the government to require that assertion in classrooms is blatantly unconstitutional and un-American as well.

You can find Andrew Seidel's books, "The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American" and "American Crusade: How the Supreme Court Is Weaponizing Religious Freedom" on Amazon.

As a participant in the Amazon Associates affiliate program, Upworthy may earn proceeds from items purchased that are linked to this article, at no additional cost to you.

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In a special Oval Office address, President Obama laid out how to fight terrorism, with freedom.

In just his third time addressing the country from the Oval Office, Obama set out to calm a country on edge.

On Sunday night, President Obama addressed the nation to discuss last week's attack in San Bernardino and the broader threat of terrorism. In his 13-minute prepared remarks, the president outlined the administration's ongoing strategy to take on ISIS.

"As commander-in-chief, I have no greater responsibility than to the safety of the American people."

But what stood out most in his speech was the amount of time the president dedicated to reinforcing one of the most core American values: religious freedom. While both the husband and wife who carried out the San Bernardino terrorist attacks were Muslim, the president urged the American people to resist the urge to ascribe the motivations of the attackers to Muslim-Americans as a whole.

In the first half of tonight's speech, President Obama unveiled a four-point plan to fight terrorism, but what he said after that was just as important. Photo by Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images.

His message was especially important since anti-Islam rhetoric has grown increasingly hostile after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino.

And it seems to be having a very real and dangerous effect.

Since the Paris attacks, the rate at which London Muslims have been physically attacked has tripled.

Last month, armed "protesters" began keeping watch outside an Irving, Texas, Islamic Center, with the goal of stopping the "Islamization of America."

On Friday, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., urged students to arm themselves so that they may "end those Muslims."

The truth, however, is that whatever ideology the attackers in Paris or San Bernardino subscribed to, it's not that of mainstream Muslims. Wrongly painting all Muslims as "terrorists" puts innocent lives at risk. It's important to not paint with too broad a brush, especially given the outpouring of support the Muslim community has shown for victims and their families.

Three Muslim women arrive at a candlelight vigil held at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

This speech was a big deal. The Oval Office is typically reserved for only the most serious matters of national unity.

It's been the setting for huge moments in our history. It's where President Reagan discussed the Challenger disaster, where President Kennedy called on Congress to pass what would become the Civil Rights Act. This was only the third time President Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office — the other two times in 2010 to discuss the BP oil spill and to announce the end of combat operations in Iraq.

That's how essential the topic of Sunday's speech was.

Oval Office addresses have been a rarity, especially during Obama's presidency. Photo by Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images.

It's an important conversation to have. Here are the best moments from the president's speech.

On religious freedom:

After the attacks in Paris, some politicians floated the idea that the U.S. should turn away Muslim refugees. The president publicly opposed that idea, and he renewed that sentiment again.

On the San Bernardino shooting:

While the president stressed that there's no indication the perpetrators of the San Bernardino shootings had any formal ties to terrorist organizations, they are terrorists, and what they did was an act of terrorism.

On gun control:

Prior to the San Bernardino attacks, the president called on Congress to block people on the terrorism watch list from purchasing guns. During his speech, he renewed that call. Last week, the Senate blocked that move.

On American values:

"The values that we are fighting against ISIL for are precisely that we don't discriminate against people because of their faith," Obama said after last month's attacks in Paris. "We don't kill people because they're different than us.

That's what separates us from them. And we don't feed that kind of notion that somehow Christians and Muslims are at war."

We need to be strong, and we cannot give in to fear.

You can watch President Obama's full address below.

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