Atheist Groups Renew Legal Fight Against Arkansas Ten Commandments Monument
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.
