Favorable Rulings Anticipated for Ten Commandments
Christian leaders at the courthouse anticipated victories for the critical cases, which may very well determine the future of all forms of religious expression in public life.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for two landmark Ten Commandment cases on Wednesday, amid prayer vigils and rallies supporting the public display of the sacred texts. And while the decisions are not due until June, Christian leaders at the courthouse anticipated victories for the critical cases, which may very well determine the future of all forms of religious expression in public life.
“You can never tell, but based upon today, I think we’re going to see a decision that will be favorable,” said Mathew Staver, president Liberty Counsel, who argued in for The Decalogue in the Kentucky case. “It went well. I think the interesting thing is that the Justices’ questions indicated the majority of them were not interested in removing the Ten Commandments from public grounds.”
Rev. Rob Schenck, president of Faith and Action, who attended hearings on both the Kentucky and Texas cases, agreed that the Justices seemed in favor of the displays.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
“I am very encouraged by what I heard in the arguments in the courtroom, partly because of the line of questions asked by the Justices,” said Schenck. “There were justices I would never have predicted who seemed to express a growing anxiety over the challenge against religion and religious symbolism in our culture.
“I think the justices felt the prospects of pulling the Ten Commandments out of the ground and off of the walls just seemed like an extreme outcome that would make the government seem hostile against religion,” continued Schenck.
Schenck, whose group organized a successful prayer rally for the displays on Tuesday night, took note of specific instances where the Justices spoke out against religious hostility.
“Justice Antonin Scalia actually said to the lawyers arguing to support the Ten Commandments that the monuments are religious in nature but there’s nothing wrong with that. [Scalia] said religion has played a very important role in the development in our laws, and governments derive their authority from God, so that shouldn’t be a problem. He said the Commandments are not sectarian and that it is very broad, and I think most of the justices agreed with him.”
“Even the most liberal members of the Court, Justices [David] Souter and [John Paul] Stevens, were tempered in their remarks,” said Schenck. “Stevens, who I’d expect to be the most negative on these cases, was tempered in his questions and he did not appear to think the displays should be pulled out.”
“And then there were the positive statements by Justices [Anthony] Kennedy and [Stephen] Breyer, who said that by denying the option of the Ten Commandments, the government would send the symbol that religion is not welcome.”
Staver agreed that the Justices seemed to reluctant to “secularize” the landscape of our nation.
“I think it was a little bit of a surprise that Justice Breyer suggested that he was not opposed to the monument, and Justice Kennedy also,” said Staver to the Christian Post on Wednesday. “It was pretty clear where Justice Scalia stood on the issue, and it was good to see those kinds of questions coming form this Justices.”
According to Staver, the worst case scenario for the Kentucky case is for it to return to the lower court for litigation.
“The worst case for Kentucky is for it to get sent back for litigation,” said Staver. “The worst case is not going to mean losing on the larger issue of the Ten Commandments – at least not after what I saw today.”
Meanwhile, Schenck explained that while all seemed positive in regards to the specific cases, the larger war to secure the role of religion in public life had just begun.
“This is only one more battle in a much larger war to secure our concepts of God and the role of religion in our national public life,” said Schenck. “And while we are optimistic, we have no time to relax. So this is the time for Christians who really care about our country to be both seen and heard.
“This is one of the most critical issues of our time and this is not the time to sit out. We need to be fully engaged and be ready to inform others.”
