Skip to content
Won U.S. Supreme Court

Van Orden v. Perry

Westerners Plagued by Occasional References to Scripture

Summary

An individual sued the Texas state government, claiming a 40-year-old monument of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.  The United States Supreme Court ruled that while the Ten Commandments are undeniably religious, they also have historical significance, and that the inclusion of the monument among other monuments reflecting the political history of the state did not constitute an unlawful establishment of religion.  The monument’s religious content alone did not violate the Establishment Clause.

What's at stake

Stopping attempts to excise religion from our history and the public square

Protecting the public acknowledgment of our nation’s religious heritage

Our role in this case

Alliance Defending Freedom provided funding toward the amici effort.

Case Documents

Court
Title
Date
U.S. Supreme Court
6/27/2005
U.S. Supreme Court
1/31/2005

Case Profiles

Image
Jeremy Tedesco
Jeremy Tedesco
Senior Counsel, Senior Vice President of Corporate Engagement
Jeremy Tedesco serves as senior counsel and senior vice president of communications for Alliance Defending Freedom.