Atheist Groups Renew Legal Fight Against Arkansas Ten Commandments Monument

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Above: Former Sen. Jason Rapert and then-Rep. Kim Hammer unveil Arkansas’ monument commemorating the Ten Commandments in this file photo from 2018. Atheist organizations filed a lawsuit to have the monument removed, but the case has remained in limbo for seven years.

Last Friday, a group of atheist organizations filed a new motion in federal court to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the Arkansas Capitol lawn.

In 2015, the Arkansas Legislature authorized a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments on the Arkansas Capitol Building grounds. The monument is identical to one the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the capitol building in Texas.

It was unveiled in 2018, but atheist groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Satanic Temple quickly filed a federal lawsuit to have the monument removed. The case has been in legal limbo ever since.

Earlier this year the Arkansas Legislature passed a separate law, Act 573 of 2025 by Sen. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs), authorizing privately funded Ten Commandments posters to be displayed in public schools and other public buildings in Arkansas. The measure received strong support in the Arkansas Legislature, but lawyers from the ACLU and a group of atheist organizations filed a federal lawsuit against four public school districts to block Act 573. On August 4, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks partially blocked a state law placing copies of the Ten Commandments in Arkansas’ public schools.

The new motion against Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument argues that the court ruling against the Ten Commandments posters in four Arkansas schools means U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker should rule against Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument on the capitol grounds.

The new motion claims,

This Court should grant summary judgment for the Cave Plaintiffs, invalidate the Ten Commandments Monument Display Act as violating the Establishment Clause, and order that the Ten Commandments Monument located on the Arkansas State Capitol grounds be permanently removed.

The truth is Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments is identical to one the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the Texas Capitol Building in 2005.

As we have said many times, there shouldn’t be anything controversial about a monument honoring the significance of the Ten Commandments.

Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape philosophy and laws in countries around the world.

That’s why the Ten Commandments traditionally have appeared in artwork at courthouses and other public buildings.

Arkansas’ laws commemorating the Ten Commandments honor their historical and cultural legacy. With that in mind, we believe our federal courts eventually will resolve these lawsuits and uphold Arkansas’ Ten Commandments laws as constitutional.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Arkansas A.G. Pushes Back Against Lawsuit Over Ten Commandments Monument

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Above: Former Sen. Jason Rapert and then-Rep. Kim Hammer unveil Arkansas’ monument commemorating the Ten Commandments in this file photo from 2018. Atheist organizations filed a lawsuit to have the monument removed, but the case has remained in limbo for seven years.

Attorney General Tim Griffin’s legal team continues to stand up for Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments in court.

In 2015, the Arkansas Legislature authorized a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments on the Arkansas Capitol Building grounds. The monument is identical to one the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the capitol building in Texas.

It was unveiled in 2018, but atheist groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Satanic Temple quickly filed a federal lawsuit to have the monument removed. The case has been in legal limbo ever since.

Earlier this month the groups suing the state filed a notice alleging that federal court rulings over Ten Commandments displays in Louisiana support their case against Arkansas’ monument.

However, Attorney General Tim Griffin’s team fired back in court, pointing out the lawsuit in Louisiana is different from the situation in Arkansas and defending the Ten Commandments’ longstanding history and tradition in our country.

As we have said many times, historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape philosophy and laws in countries around the world.

That’s why the Ten Commandments traditionally have appeared in artwork at courthouses and similar locations.

Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument commemorates their cultural and historical legacy. With that in mind, we believe our federal courts eventually will resolve this lawsuit and uphold Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument as constitutional.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE

Atheist Groups Continue Legal Battle Against Arkansas’ Ten Commandments Monument

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Above: Former Sen. Jason Rapert and then-Rep. Kim Hammer unveil Arkansas’ monument commemorating the Ten Commandments in this file photo from 2018. Atheist organizations filed a lawsuit to have the monument removed, but the case has remained in limbo for seven years.

Opponents of Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument continue to request summary judgment to have it removed from the capitol grounds.

In 2015, the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 1231 authorizing a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments on the Arkansas Capitol Building grounds. Forty state legislators co-sponsored Act 1231. It received strong, bipartisan support, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed Act 1231 into law.

Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments — which is identical to one the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the capitol building in Texas — was unveiled in 2018. But it did not take long for atheist groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Satanic Temple to file a federal lawsuit to have it removed.

The case began May 23, 2018, and it originally was set to go to trial in July of 2020. But U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker postponed the trial due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, both sides in the lawsuit have asked Judge Baker to resolve the case, but the case remains in legal limbo.

Last week, plaintiffs in the case filed a notice arguing that federal court rulings over Ten Commandments displays in Louisiana support their request for summary judgment against Arkansas’ monument.

As we have said many times, there shouldn’t be anything controversial about a monument honoring the significance of the Ten Commandments.

Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape philosophy and laws in countries around the world.

That’s why the Ten Commandments traditionally have appeared in artwork at courthouses and similar locations.

Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument commemorates their cultural and historical legacy. With that in mind, we believe our federal courts eventually will resolve this lawsuit and uphold Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument as constitutional.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE