Running head: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND SOCIAL ISSUES
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Religious Freedom and Social Issues
In 2018, the town of Prattville erected a monument with the 10 Commandments inscribed
on its face. A private citizen donated the monument to the city, which was placed in the town
square next to several bronze statues of children playing with balls and leaves. A town resident
filed a preliminary injunction to have the monument removed as a violation of the prohibition of
the Religious Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
According to the Legal Information Institute, the First Amendment’s establishment clause
prohibits the government from making any lay “respecting an establishment of religion.” This
clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits
government actions that unduly favor one religion over another (“Establishment Clause.” n.d.).
There were two other cases that claimed that the 10 Commandments monument violated
the First Amendments establishment clause that prohibits the government form passing laws
“respecting an establishment of religion.” Those two cases were the Van Orden v. Perry case and
the McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union of Ky. Case.
In the case of Van Orden v. Perry, Mr. Orden was suing Rick Perry, who is the Governor
of Texas, arguing that the Ten Commandments monument being on the grounds of the state
capitol building represents an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion. Orden
argued that this monument has violated the First Amendment’s establishment clause in which
prohibits the government from passing laws “respecting an establishment of religion (Van Orden
v. Perry. n.d.). This case had a 5-4 decision that the establishment clause did not bar the
monument on the grounds of Texas’ state capitol building.
