Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court placed a 5,300-pound granite monument of the Ten Commandments in the lobby of the Alabama judicial building after his election two years ago.
Despite the orders from the other eight justices who also serve on Alabama’s Supreme Court and from U.S. District Court Judge Myron Thompson to remove the monument, Chief Justice Moore has kept the monument in its current location. Many protestors from all over the country have flocked to the state building to support Moore and his decision to defy his fellow justices.
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to even hear Moore’s appeal to keep the monument in the state building. Now the monument has been moved from public view, though it remains in the state judicial building.
The reason why every level of the judicial system has blocked Moore’s efforts to keep the monument in the building is because of the establishment clause in the Constitution. The First Amendment, including the establishment clause which is the foundation of Moore’s argument, states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion …”
The monument simply does not belong in a government institution. It sets the precedent of our government publicly endorsing a specific religion. Not only would that introduce bias into our justice system, it also would open the door for religious promotion in other areas such as law enforcement and public education.
The religious beliefs of one segment of our society could become dominant over the religious beliefs of others, ultimately causing the same oppression that our founding fathers fought to resist. The writers of the Constitution included the establishment clause for a reason; to prevent the government endorsement of religious promotion and persecution.
If the Ten Commandments are allowed to remain in public view in a government building, the precedent could potentially alter the judicial perspective on the separation of church and state, an ideal that the founding fathers of this country clearly wanted to solidify with the establishment clause.
For those who think that the Ten Commandments would not alienate people who do not believe in them, think of the concept of worshipping only the one God, as is set forth in the varying versions of the commandments followed by Protestants, Catholics and Hebrews. They clearly say no other religion is to be worshipped.
This image would be oppressive to anyone who does not recognize the Ten Commandments as a code of law, in essence discounting their religious beliefs as being inferior to one that does recognize the Ten Commandments.
Much of the greatness of this country comes from the fact that it protects our religious freedoms and recognizes our right to worship or not worship as we see fit, not how the government tells us to. The monument in question needs to be in a place where it can be a source of inspiration, not fear.

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