The Ten Commandments Cases: A View From Within

Abstract

This Article examines two recent United States Supreme Court decisions on the public display of the Ten Commandments, Van Orden v. Perry and McCreary County v. ACLU. It suggests that the Court's new reliance on examining the context of the public display of original symbols assumes an observer who ignores a reading of historical intent, and, instead of a more complex reading of how different parts of society might see the Decalogue, suggests that current religious groups universally favor public presentations of sacred iconography.

Keywords: Church and State, Establishment Clause, Ten Commandments, Supreme Court