Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments are a set of ten ethical and moral guidelines central to Judeo-Christian theology, traditionally believed to have been given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai as part of a covenant with the ancient Israelites. These commandments encapsulate fundamental principles such as the prohibition of idolatry, the importance of honoring one's parents, and the prohibitions against murder, theft, and false witness. While the specific phrasing varies between the Hebrew Torah and Christian Bibles, the core meanings remain consistent across these texts.
In contemporary society, the Ten Commandments have become a significant symbol within cultural and legal discussions, particularly in the United States. Their display in public spaces has sparked numerous legal battles, with advocates arguing for their representation as part of America's Christian heritage, while critics cite concerns over the separation of church and state. The ongoing debate highlights complex issues surrounding religious freedom and the interpretation of constitutional rights. Public sentiment on this issue appears divided, as reflected in various surveys indicating differing levels of knowledge and acceptance regarding the Ten Commandments in governmental contexts. Recent legislative actions, such as those in Louisiana, continue to fuel discussions about the role of religious symbols in public education and state governance.
Ten Commandments
Within Judeo-Christian theology, the Ten Commandments represent ten rules issued from God to the ancient Israelites as a basic code of ethics and morality. According to the Book of Exodus, God presented Moses with the Ten Commandments (traditionally depicted as inscribed on a double-arched stone tablet) on Mount Sinai; the commandments represented the covenant between God and the Israelites, by which the Israelites were to demonstrate their relationship and devotion to God, who had previously led them out of slavery in Egypt. Modern-day Christians often consider the Jewish laws, except for the Ten Commandments, to have been superseded by Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection, which—according to Christians—established a new covenant between God and humankind. Nevertheless, the Ten Commandments continue to serve as a strong symbol of Judeo-Christian heritage, as public displays of the Ten Commandments have been at the heart of various legal battles and court cases across the United States.
Background
The specific wording of the Ten Commandments differs slightly between the Torah and the various versions of the Bible, although the fundamental meanings of the commandments remain consistent across these sacred texts. The Ten Commandments are briefly as follows:
Thou shalt have no other gods before me . . .
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above . . .
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain . . .
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy . . .
Honor thy father and thy mother . . .
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet . . .
(King James Version, Exodus 20:2–4a, 7a, 12–17a)
The Ten Commandments are also repeated, with slight variation, in the Book of Deuteronomy. They form a part of the 613 laws of Judaism in the Torah, the Jewish scripture. In Christianity, believers typically follow only these ten rules from Judaism.
The Ten Commandments Today
Supporters of public displays of the Ten Commandments (and other Judeo-Christian symbols) on US governmental property contend that the United States was founded, in whole or in part, as a “Christian nation” and that religious imagery already exists as part of the architecture of the Supreme Court and certain other government buildings. Critics point out that it is debatable whether the Ten Commandments, and biblical scriptures overall, played a role in shaping the nation’s founding documents, such as the Declaration of Independence (signed in 1776) and the US Constitution (ratified in 1788). Moreover, the First Amendment to the Constitution explicitly prohibits the US government from establishing an official religion and also grants citizens the right to religious freedom. Because of the complexity of the issue, there have been several emotional and divisive courtroom battles over public displays of the Ten Commandments.
In November 2003, Alabama chief justice Roy Moore was forced from office after he ignored a federal order to remove a 2.6-ton display of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the Supreme Court of Alabama. Moore’s removal sparked national controversy between supporters of Ten Commandments displays and critics of alleged encroachment upon religious freedom. Interestingly, Moore’s critics noted that several of the Ten Commandments contradict several amendments to the US Constitution, thereby posing a perceived conflict of interest. For example, the First, Second, and Fourth Commandments conflict with religious freedom, while the Third Commandment collides with freedom of speech.
The decision to strip Moore of his judicial position did not stem the number of litigation cases regarding courtroom and governmental displays of the Ten Commandments. In 2005, a divided 5–4 decision by the US Supreme Court ordered two Kentucky courthouses to remove the Ten Commandments from their premises. In doing so, the Supreme Court ruled that the Ten Commandments could only be displayed on governmental buildings in a historical, nonreligious context, such as obscuring the actual text.
The American public appeared to be quite divided and little informed on this matter. A 2003 poll by the First Amendment Center and American Journalism Review revealed that 62 percent of Americans surveyed had no objection to the posting of the Ten Commandments in government buildings. Yet a 2010 Pew Research Center survey on US religious knowledge found that only 55 percent of respondents were aware that the Golden Rule is not among the Ten Commandments, suggesting a discrepancy between knowledge of the commandments’ contents and support for public display.
The controversy returned to the fore of public discourse in 2024 when Louisiana passed a law requiring a specific version of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school and state-funded college classroom. By that point, a handful of other states had considered but not passed similar legislation. Several civil liberties groups immediately sued to block the measure, calling it not only a violation of the separation of church and state but an infringement of parental rights; notably, among the parents represented as plaintiffs were a Protestant minister and at least one Jewish father.
Bibliography
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