Legal Arguments Louisiana and Oklahoma Could Face in Their Religious Education Lawsuits

Two US states will face serious legal challenges after attempting to implement religious education into their public school systems. Louisiana wants to display the 10 Commandments in all schools, while Oklahoma plans to create a Bible education mandate. Both decisions have prompted strong criticism from some parents, teachers, and constitutional scholars. What kinds of legal arguments will these states face in Supreme Court proceedings? 

Federal Judge Will Decide Whether to Block Louisiana’s Religious Education Plan

Louisiana faces more imminent legal challenges compared to Oklahoma, and a federal judge is already hearing arguments on their 10 Commandments plan. In October of 2024, parents tried to persuade the judge that the mandate would violate their students’ religious freedoms. In other words, they based their legal arguments on the First Amendment.

The state had a chance to counter this argument, however, and they claimed that they could display the posters in ways that did not violate the First Amendment. The longstanding argument from Louisiana is that the 10 Commandments have historical significance – and that they played a direct role in the country’s founding. 

However, the plaintiffs had a counterargument prepared for this as well. They called in a law professional who specializes in the First Amendment, and he told the Supreme Court that the role of the Ten Commandments in the country’s founding had been “overstated.”

The judge will rule on this issue no later than November 15th. It is difficult to get a sense of how the hearing went and how the judge will rule. Generally speaking, attempts of this nature have ended in failure. If the Supreme Court rules favorably, Louisiana would be the only nation in the country to have religious education mandate in the form of the Ten Commandments. 

Parents and Teachers Sue Over Oklahoma’s Bible Mandate

At almost exactly the same time, parents in Oklahoma sued over a similar religious education mandate involving the Bible. Under this plan, schools would need to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for children in grades 5-12, and it has sparked a predictable reaction from certain groups. These include parents who wish to decide how their children receive religious education, and they are represented by the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and several other groups. The outcome of Louisiana’s lawsuit could influence the outcome of Oklahoma’s, sparking a trend of more religious education in public schooling. 

It is interesting to note certain parallels here. First, both States note that religious teachings were the norm for many decades in the American public school system. Another interesting parallel has to do with the way parents want to educate their children about sensitive issues. On one side, we have conservative parents complaining about gender or LGBTQ education in public schools. On the other, we have more liberal parents complaining about religious education in public schools. It seems that the obvious solution would be to eliminate all ideological teachings from public education. However, the polarized nature of our nation ensures that disputes like these will continue for the foreseeable future. 

The Goal of the Universal Life Church’s Blog

Each week, the Universal Life Church’s blog focuses on documenting the most noteworthy cases involving the required separation between church and state, free speech, LGBTQ+ rights and religious discrimination. Despite required Constitutional separation, many fear that the Supreme Court’s current majority could erode these rights. Our blog focuses on describing matters in a way that objectively examines both sides and which can be easily understood by readers.