Section 16-43A-1

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) The Ten Commandments are a key part of the Judeo-Christian religious and moral tradition that shaped Western Civilization and ultimately the founding of the United States. In particular, because they include what John Quincy Adams described as both “civil and municipal” provisions as well as “moral and religious” provisions, the Ten Commandments have historical significance as one of the foundations of our legal system. Teaching students about the Ten Commandments promotes historical understanding and helps to foster a common cultural heritage and awareness. (2) Documents created to shape civil society during the founding era of this nation include direct and indirect references to God and religion. These documents include the following: a. The Mayflower Compact of 1620, America’s first written constitution, was a covenant made among the pilgrims with “Almighty God” to “form a civil body politic.” The Mayflower Compact was the first purely American document of self-government and affirmed the link between civil society and God. b. The Declaration of Independence (1776) described all men as being “created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” c. The United States Constitution (1787) stated in its preamble that one of its purposes was to secure “the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” and closed with a reference to the date of execution as the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven. d. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided a method of admitting new states to the Union from territories as the country expanded westward. The Northwest Ordinance “extended the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty” to the territories and stated that ”[r]eligion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.” (3) References to God and religion in public documents and other public contexts did not end at the founding but rather have occurred throughout our nation’s history without any serious claim that such references violate the Establishment Clause. Examples include displays associated with the Ten Commandments in the Supreme Court of the United States, the Library of Congress, the Ronald Reagan International Trade Building, and the National Archives. Public references to God have occurred repeatedly over the nation’s history. No outcry followed Abraham Lincoln’s reference to God in his Gettysburg Address in 1863. Our coinage has born the phrase, “IN GOD WE TRUST,” since 1865. Prayers have opened our legislative sessions for hundreds of years. In 1932, Congress adopted our National Anthem and included in the last verse, “In God is our trust.” In 1952, Congress proclaimed a “National Day of Prayer.” In 1954, Congress added “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. The display of the Ten Commandments as provided in this chapter, with an appropriate context statement and integrated with the approved public school social studies curriculum, is consistent with these historical practices and understandings and, at a minimum, furthers the same interests as the interests served by these historical practices and understandings. (4) The 2024 social studies curriculum approved by the Alabama State Board of Education (Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies) provides: “Social studies education in Alabama aims to prepare students to become knowledgeable, engaged, and responsible citizens in society. Social studies reflects the achievements, struggles, interactions, and endeavors that have characterized human society as it has changed over time and place to shape the world today. The disciplines of social studies include, but are not limited to: Anthropology, Archaeology, Civics, Economics, Geography, Government, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, and Sociology.” Display of the Ten Commandments with an appropriate context statement is essential to the fulfillment of the mandate of the State Board of Education in the education of students in the areas of Civics, Government, History, Philosophy, Religion, and Sociology. (5) Two generations of Alabama students have attended public schools in an era governed by the now-abandoned test articulated in Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971), for compliance with the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. Assuring restoration to the classroom of historical truths surrounding the founding of our nation, including those truths that “partake of the religious,” Kennedy v. Bremerton, 597 U.S. 507, 535 (2022), is vital to remedying the legal error of Lemon v. Kurtzman and to securing a complete education of our students. (6) Due to reliance on misinterpretations about the meaning of the Establishment Clause or due to their own personal policy preferences, a significant number of Alabama teachers are unlikely to expose public school students to these historical truths if left with any discretion about how or whether to present these truths. Posting these historical truths in classrooms and school common areas is thus an essential means of accomplishing the state’s educational objectives in teaching students about the historical and cultural significance of the Ten Commandments on the development of the United States, as is apparent from accompanying founding-era documents. (7) Including in the posting a reference to the state’s establishment clause and a recognition that “personal choice about matters of faith are left to students and their families” will further the state’s interests in avoiding the establishment or religion or interfering with the free exercise of religion. Such disclaimers will also serve the state’s educational objectives because they will make it more likely that classroom teachers will become comfortable discussing the historical truths that are included in the poster. (8) This act does not create an unfunded mandate on any public school governing authority. Local boards of education are encouraged to use documents that are printed and made available to the schools free of charge.