Alabama Voters Approve Government to Display Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments are a set of laws or rules that are common in the Christian faith. Though, the right to display such figures in public or government spaces is a point of contention. This has been a debate throughout the country for quite some time. One side of the argument believes that the government should be unbiased toward religious affiliations, but if government officials display The Ten Commandments, it will give “Christianity an elevated position above other religions”. The other side of the argument contains government official who believes it is their freedom to publically endorse whatever they wish on government property.

This debate has been a prevalent one in Alabama especially. Alabama is the birthplace of this debate, though now it has spread throughout multiple states. This past election, Alabama had an “Amendment 1” measure on the ballot. This measure provided rules that would be in order when deciding to display the Ten Commandments. The display has to meet “constitutional requirements such as being displayed alongside educational or historical items”. In addition to this measure on the ballot, there are many Supreme Court measures that come into play. The Supreme Court rulings supersede the measure that was passed by Alabama voters, though the guidelines to hang the display are quite complex.

The courts had previously ruled that the display of the Ten Commandments on public property for any religious purpose is strictly prohibited. The amendments also say that no public money can be used for court cases stemming from lawsuits that disagree with any displays. That means if the state places a Ten Commandment display somewhere if a group or individual sues the state for wrongful displaying, the government will not put funds towards the trial. This amendment stems from the state’s experience with Judge Roy Moore, who started the Ten Commandment debacle decades ago. Moore had gotten sued by many groups for his displays, and the government put a lot of money towards his trials. The money the government used to fund the trials were tax-payers dollars, which caused an uproar within the state.

Alabama has a long history concerning the debate of the Ten Commandment displays. The passing of the measure makes it clear that the constituents were ready to lay the debate to rest. By enacting statewide measures along with the Supreme Court measures, it should future debates about the display pretty black and white. The article does not state what political or religious affiliations were backing the measure. Although throughout Alabama’s history, the forefront of the movement were members of the Christian Right, and predominately those who identify with the Christian Reconstruction movement.

The problem in the past concerning the Ten Commandment displays regarded government officials who did not abide by the Supreme Court rulings on the matter. Even though there are now further guidelines concerning the matter, that is no guarantee that officials will abide by them. The consequence of not having funding for trials that may come up will be a huge factor in the decision-making process of the official. Though the guideline of the display having to exist alongside educational or historical items could lead to some crafty strategies.

Alabama Voters Allow Government to Display Ten Commandments

Religious Freedom In America

Charles Haynes is one of the most prominent advocators of religious freedom in America. He is known to serve as a resource to many schools regarding how to preserve the religious liberties of those who have faith, and those who do not. Haynes is on the verge of retirement and reflects on his opinions concerning where religious freedom in America is headed.

Hayne’s outlook on religious freedom as outlined by the principles our country was founded on. Haynes states, “It’s grounded in the Constitution with its First Amendments. So no religious test for office in the Constitution itself, then no establishment and guarantee of free exercise.” Hayne’s believes this allows us to live freely amongst each other, even if we have starkly different religious convictions.  Hayne’s uses this framework to aid his process in bridging the divide of religious liberty in public schools, which he has been devoted to for the last 30 years.  Hayne’s admits that schools have come to a “common ground”, rather than a “battleground” in the last few decades. However, there are still school districts that have not implemented policies on how to deal with conflict regarding the religious liberties of their students. Haynes believes that not only school districts but communities need to take a proactive approach in implementing guidelines to combat religious liberties in the future.

Concerning the state of religious freedom in America, Haynes believes that it is a time to be worrisome. He states that if Americans don’t feel safe wearing their religious garb or practicing religion in their own communities, there is no religious freedom present. Hayne’s believes we cannot fall back on lawyers and court decisions to uphold the precedent of religious freedom, we have to turn to the local community to be advocates in protecting the rights of all. In the current Trump era, Haynes is hopeful that the administration supports the United States’  deep-rooted obligation to maintaining religious freedom for all. He believes that the different perspectives and beliefs of the State Departments represent, “a genuine effort for a nonpartisan commitment to international religious freedom.” Domestically, Haynes has observed that the administration has not helped the civil discourse regarding religious freedom. He believes that the religious liberty task force, for example, has stigmatized the issue and “poisoned the well” for those who want to advocate for religious freedom, but don’t want to be involved with the weaponization of the issues. Haynes says that the current task force is focused on only a handful of issues such as, LGBTQA versus religious claims, which focuses the public on just one issue.

Haynes has seen the tides of religious freedom shift throughout the country for decades.  He has seen success in religious freedom in more institutionalized sectors such as public schools but sees discourse in the present regarding religious liberties at a federal level. He still believes that the administration is trying to respect the core framework of religious freedom that America is rooted in, and sees our foreign policy headed in the right direction with that in mind. Overall, he believes a large indicator of gauging the success of religious freedom in this country comes down to if people feel safe expressing their beliefs anywhere and everywhere.

Banks, Adelle M. “Religious Freedom Advocate Charles Haynes: ‘It’s Not a Choice’.” Religion News Service, Religion News Service, 19 Oct. 2018, religionnews.com/2018/10/19/religious-freedom-advocate-charles-haynes-its-not-a-choice/.