Ten commandments monument out of sight.

Montgomery, ALA -- The two and a half ton granite boulder engraved with the Ten Commandments and other religious texts has become known as "Roy's Rock". Two years ago, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice, Roy Moore, had it installed in the rotunda of the State Judicial Building in Montgomery, the state capital. Secular groups such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State at once agitated for its removal. In August 2003, a federal judge agreed and ordered the monument to be removed, sparking off rallies and protests among Evangelical Baptist Christians. Judge Moore has been suspended by a judicial ethics panel and will face a disciplinary hearing. The case may eventually go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Comment

Separation of church and state issues are traditionally contentious in the U.S. In more than 30 cases from 1947 to 1985, the Court purged public schools of their traditional religious teaching including displaying the Ten Commandments (1981) and cut religious schools from state patronage. However, in the past two decades, "the Court has upheld government policies that support public access and activities of religious groups--so long as these religious groups are voluntary, and so long as non-religious groups are treated the same way" (John Witte, "Faith and Politics", Globe and Mail, Aug 28103).... Nor can the state prevent citizens from participation in public ceremonies and programs just because they are religious.

Judge Moore's "rock" doesn't quite fit this understanding of what is permissible and what is not.