Louisiana Gov. So Excited At Chance To Bully Non-Christian Schoolchildren!

Louisiana has become the first state in the United States to pass a law requiring every public school to post giant posters of the Ten Commandments (Protestant version) in every classroom.

This is the kind of thing that everyone knew was very obviously illegal prior to the Supreme Court deciding in 2022’s Kennedy v. Bremerton School District that a public high school football coach praying with students on the 50-yard-line was permissible, and that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment is largely decorative. Since then, Christian Nationalists have been very excited to start forcing their religion on schoolchildren everywhere.

It is a very exciting moment for Good Christians out there who haven’t had the opportunity to bully any kids for not being Christian, or even the right kind of Christian, since they were in elementary school themselves — new Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry most of all.

Prior to signing the bill on Wednesday, Landry actually told attendees at a Republican fundraiser, “I can’t wait to be sued.”

This is likely because he’s excited to see it go to the Supreme Court so that they can give the official okay on forcing religion on schoolchildren, but let’s be clear on what it is that he “can’t wait” for.

He can’t wait for kids who are not Christian to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in public schools — public schools that their parents pay taxes to support. He can’t wait for a child to feel ostracized to the point that their parents have to call in the ACLU or other lawyers to help them, and then have to spend months, possibly years, of their lives fighting his stupid law in court.

Given that Landry signed this bill this week, that he signed another barring children from learning that racism exists in May, and that he is expected to sign another soon that will bar discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, the only kids who are going to feel comfortable and welcomed in Louisiana public schools will be the children of white Christian racists (so long as those children are not gay or trans).

I fully admit, I do not see the appeal!

With all of the talk of “parental rights” that has suddenly popped up lately with regard to teaching children about sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, it’s weird that people would not consider it any kind of violation of said “parental rights” to use their tax money to proselytize to their children. Do parents not have the right to raise their children in the religion they want or with no religion at all?

Now, some people have tried to make a “secular” argument for putting these posters up, insisting that it is reasonable to put the Ten Commandments in classrooms because “it is the basis for our laws.”

Let’s check that, shall we? This is the version of the Ten Commandments that will be placed in Louisiana schools:

1. I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before me. — Our law is the literal opposite of this. We have freedom of religion in this country!

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. — Totally legal! There are statues everywhere and children will be making many graven images in their art classes. At school. In rooms that tell them not to make graven images. Not only that, but aren’t graven images the only way that conservatives believe anyone can learn about history?

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. — Again, our law is the literal opposite of this. In fact, this specific law is the literal opposite of this, as it seems pretty “in vain” to use the name of “Lord thy God” to bully schoolchildren so adults can feel better about themselves.

4. Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. — 100 percent legal to work on the Sabbath. It’s worth noting that the state of Louisiana does not and has never had blue laws regulating the sale of alcohol (or anything) on Sundays.

5. Honor thy father and thy mother. — Probably not a thing you want to encourage kids to do at school, but the laws in our country go the other way and protect children over their parents.

6. Thou shalt not kill. — Now, if this were “thou shalt not murder,” I would point out that people have figured that out across the world without the help of Moses. But it’s “Thou shalt not kill,” which is pretty rich for a state with 57 prisoners on death row, many of whom are innocent, severely developmentally disabled, or severely mentally ill.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. — 100 percent legal and not so much a problem for children anyway.

8. Thou shalt not steal. — Sure, it’s illegal. Also a thing people have figured out without the Ten Commandments.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness. — Only illegal in certain contexts, mostly legal otherwise.

10. Thou shalt not covet. — 100 percent legal, covet all you want all day long.

So no killing, no stealing. Why not just put up a sign saying “Hey kids, don’t kill each other or steal anything!” Why does it have to be about God and taking the Lord’s name in vain and and not belonging to other religions?

Here’s what I find pretty interesting — Louisiana has a pretty significant Catholic population for a Southern state, at about 22 percent. Very large portions of New Orleans and the southern part of the state are Catholic, but this law specifically requires that schools post a specific version of the Ten Commandments taught in most Protestant denominations (apart from Lutherans). Why does this matter? Because “graven images!”

The Protestant version that will be used by the state makes the Second Commandment about not making any graven images and just one commandment about coveting instead of separating out neighbors’ wives and asses. The versions used by Catholics, Lutherans, and other denominations do not have a specific “graven images” commandment and have two separate commandments about coveting.

Why? Well, according to the Catholic Answers site, “Calvin and other Reformers, relying more on Exodus 20 and its presentation of the Decalogue, and wanting to make a strike against the statuary and icons in the Catholic Church, enumerated the commandments in a different way.”

In other words, they were kiiiiiiind of taking a shot at Catholics and their pretty statues and paintings. Now, sure, you can say “but that was a long time ago and no one thinks about it like that anymore” — but I know a whole lot of people who were raised evangelical who grew up hearing/believing that Catholics secretly worshiped Satan and that the Pope was the antichrist.

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This is one reason (of many) why the very first Amendment (not Commandment) bars the state from establishing a religion. Because it’s not just about Christians vs. Non-Christians, it’s also about Christians vs. Other Christians. How do they decide which denomination to go by or whose Commandments to follow? Hell, how do they choose which Bible to use?

There are more than 200 Christian denominations in the United States, all of which believe different things — sometimes very different things. That’s fine! Good for them! But should they keep going down this road, as good as this may make them feel now, their own kids may eventually be the ones who feel ostracized because of their religious beliefs.

This is a bad, bad road to go down and it is not going to end well for anybody, including a whole lot of the people who think they’re winning right now.

PREVIOUSLY:

Are The US Government And Constitution Based On The Ten Commandments? How About No!

Why Does This Louisiana Woman Want To Force Her Beliefs On Your Kids So Badly?

Texas Senate Votes To Shove Ten Commandments Down Schoolkids’ Throats