Many of the things cited as demonstrating society's "moral decline" are in fact hotly contested issues. For instance, many believe that abortions should be freely accessible and that gay marriage should be a constitutionally protected right. Nearly half the Commandments refer to specifically religious obligations, such as keeping the Sabbath, and some of the things it prohibits, such as adultery, are not illegal.¹ This shows that the Commandments' sense of morality does not necessarily align with our modern secular one.

Posting them may in fact lead to more school shootings, not less.² By alienating students who are of a different religious background or nonreligious, you create more antagonism between students in the school setting. ³

If you just want to show that murder is wrong, why not quote the state statute against murder?⁴ This is clearly trying to demonstrate a connection to God, and that is bound to be offensive.

The United States has banned the Ten Commandments in classrooms since 1980 and is still one of the most religious countries in the world.⁵ This is clearly not a necessary measure to prevent depravity and immorality.

¹Van Orden v. Perry, oral argument
²Robinson, B.A. Religioustolerance.org
³Van Orden v. Perry, oral argument
⁴Ibid.
⁵Anti-Defamation League

There may have been some religious influences in early America, but this is a sweeping overstatement. Most of the Founding Fathers such as John Adams were Deists rather than Christians.

And anyway, the fact that something is associated with the history of America does not automatically make it worth venerating – slavery was a powerful and long-lasting institution at this point.  Just as our culture has come to reject slavery, our religious ideals have evolved to be much more pluralist and welcoming to Hindus, Muslims, and atheists, even though many Protestant communities would have been inimical to them at the country’s outset. 

The minimal expression reflected in something like the motto “In God We Trust” or “God save the United States and this Honorable Court” is acceptable because it is so minor and not nearly as forceful a display or establishment of a particular religion as the enshrinement of one religion’s legal code would be.¹

Finally, intent matters, and empirically, most attempts to place the Ten Commandments stem from school districts’ belief that this is a Christian nation, not out of a desire to teach history.¹

* McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky, oral argument

This is a rather unlikely scenario; after all, the Ten Commandments were banned from classrooms in 1980 and we have not seen a mass exodus of Christian children from the public school system yet, even in particularly conservative school districts.

Homeschooling is a difficult and time-consuming enterprise many parents no longer have time for, particularly if they work. However, when it does occur, it by no means guarantees a lower quality of education.

Children are not adequately equipped with the necessary tools to think critically and make informed decisions about the intent and nature of posted materials in classrooms. Teachers and classroom texts are obviously role models and sources of authority. This could easily lead to students venerating and obeying the Ten Commandments without meaningfully choosing to follow organized religion or recognize the full implications of the laws.¹

If there was a comparative religion course, that would help create a truly neutral context for presentation of the Commandments; a teacher could guide students to an understanding of the laws that does not preference religion. Leaving kids alone with it could be disastrous.¹

Finally, if it is so easy to ignore, that undermines the argument that it will have a meaningful impact on morals or teach history in the first place.

¹ McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky, oral argument