On Wednesday, June 19, Louisiana’s far-right governor Jeff Landry signed House Bill 71 into law, which will require all public school classrooms in the southern US state – from kindergarten through college – to display the Ten Commandments. The legislation stipulates that the Commandments “be printed in a large, easily readable font” on a “poster or framed document that is at least 11 inches by 14 inches”.
Shortly prior to signing the bill, Landry boasted: “I can’t wait to be sued.” Sure enough, his prayer was swiftly answered, and on June 24 a coalition of civil liberties groups and Louisiana parents filed a lawsuit contending that the law is unconstitutional and a violation of the separation of church and state.
If the case makes it to the US Supreme Court, chances are the court’s conservative supermajority will see to it that Landry’s excitement at being sued was not unfounded. Recent rulings by the nation’s top judicial body on matters of religious freedom have been a godsend for Christian nationalism – as if there were any doubt that right-wing politics and religion were a match made in heaven. READ MORE AT AL JAZEERA ENGLISH.