10 facts about religion and government in the United States

On June 18, 2024, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry ratified Republican-backed legislation HB71 which required "every classroom that receives state funding must by 2025 prominently display the biblical text in a 'large, easily readable font' on a poster that is 11 inches by 14 inches (28cm by 35.5cm)." The law also says that the Ten Commandments must be the focus of the poster.

 

This is simply the latest attempt by conservative Republicans to intertwine religion and public education.

 

When I read about Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry's actions, I performed a Google search on "when did religion become a major topic in the us government". I found an interesting article by the Pew Research Center titled "10 Facts About Religion and Government in the United States" describing surveys the Center performed in 2020 (updated in 2022).  

 

According to a BBC.com article (provided below), the Louisiana Legislature quoted James Madison (4th President of US and primary author of the Constitution and Bill of Rights) as having said "We have staked the whole future of our new nation … upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the 10 Commandments.”

 

The BBC.com article lead me to research other quotes about religion by James Madison. 

 

The full quote per AZ Quotes is:

"We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."