Chapter 12 – The Ten Commandments on
Government Property: Fact or Fiction?

    One of the repeated allegations of the Christian Right is that the Ten Commandments are ubiquitous, or at least that they are on many government properties. Let's take a reality check to see if they are displayed in full text like the Eagles tombstones, or merely some fuzzy depiction where no English text is displayed.

    Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote in the plurality opinion in Van Orden v. Perry that the federal government displays the Ten Commandments all over Washington, D.C.? Is that true? He said:

In this case we are faced with a display of the Ten Commandments on government property outside the Texas State Capitol. . . . We need only look within our own Courtroom. Since 1935, Moses has stood, holding two tablets that reveal portions of the Ten Commandments written in Hebrew, among other lawgivers in the south frieze. Representations of the Ten Commandments adorn the metal gates lining the north and south sides of the Courtroom as well as the doors leading into the Courtroom. Moses also sits on the exterior east facade of the building holding the Ten Commandments tablets.

Similar acknowledgments can be seen throughout a visitor's tour of our Nation's Capital. For example, a large statue of Moses holding the Ten Commandments, alongside a statue of the Apostle Paul, has overlooked the rotunda of the Library of Congress' Jefferson Building since 1897. And the Jefferson Building's Great Reading Room contains a sculpture of a woman beside the Ten Commandments with a quote above her from the Old Testament (Micah 6:8). A medallion with two tablets depicting the Ten Commandments decorates the floor of the National Archives. Inside the Department of Justice, a statue entitled "The Spirit of Law" has two tablets representing the Ten Commandments lying at its feet. In front of the Ronald Reagan Building is another sculpture that includes a depiction of the Ten Commandments. So too a 24-foot-tall sculpture, depicting, among other things, the Ten Commandments and a cross, stands outside the federal courthouse that houses both the Court of Appeals and the District Court for the District of Columbia. Moses is also prominently featured in the Chamber of the United States House of Representatives.

at 545 U.S. 677, 688-689, 125 S.Ct. 2854, 2862-2863 (2005).

    The point being made by Chief Justice Rehnquist, as I understand it, is that the Eagles tombstone in Austin is comparable to the depictions of the Ten Commandments at the following six federal locations:

1. On the Supreme Court's East Wall Frieze.
2. A statue of Moses holding the Ten Commandments in the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress.
3. In a medalion on the floor of the National Archives.
4. As part of the statute Liberty of Worship outside the Ronald Reagan Building. (The statute was moved after the decision in Van Orden was handed down.)
5. In a 24-foot-tall sculpture outside U.S. Court of Appeals and the District Court of the District of Columbia.
6. In the Chamber of the United States House of Representatives.

    The truth of Chief Justice Rehnquist's claim is easy to verify. Below, I have put photographs of the Eagles-donated Ten Commandments tombstone in Austin, Texas (that was the subject of Van Orden) next to each of the above depictions on federal property in Washington, D.C. Do you think that they are comparable? In what respects? Or not at all?

Supreme Court's East Wall Frieze

Eagles donated Ten Commandments tombstone in Austin, Texas

A depiction of Moses holding overlapping tablets on the East Wall Frieze of the courtroom of the Supreme Court

    Adolph A. Weinman, the sculptor, did an artistic spoof. The Hebrew on the tablet translated into English reads: "Murder," "Steal" and "Commit adultery." The Hebrew character for "Thou shall not" is conveniently omitted (in effect hidden by Moses beard and robe). This fact was confirmed by the oral argument of Jay Sekulow in Pleasant Grove City v. Summum on November 12, 2008 and confirmed by Justice Ginsburg.

The Floor of the National Archives

Eagles donated Ten Commandments tombstone in Austin, Texas

A medalion (about 12 inches in diameter) of the Ten Commandments in the floor of the National Archives

    While Roman numerals I through X are displayed in a medalion on the floor. There is no text of a any religious "commandment." Since the medalion is at the entrance to the Rotunda where the most important documents of the United States are dipslayed ‐ the Constitution and the Bill of Rights – perhaps the Roman numerals really stand for the Bill of Rights? Who is to say otherwise? The fact of the matter is that the medalion is on the floor and tourists walk over it to get to the main room.

The Liberty of Worship Statue Outside the Ronald Reagan Building

Eagles donated Ten Commandments tombstone in Austin, Texas

A closeup of "Liberty of Worship" statue resting on a Ten Commandments tablet outside the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.

    "OUR LIBERTY OF WORSHIP IS NOT A CONCESSION NOR A PRIVILEGE BUT AN INHERENT RIGHT" is chiseled on the front side of the monument. Roman numerals (II, III, IV, V, VII, VIII, IX and X) appear on a tablet below the right arm of the figure – but there is no text of any of the Ten Commandments. Adolph A. Weinman is the sculptor. He also did the friezes in the Supreme Court's courtroom. The figure is looking away from the plaque. Does that suggest irrelevance or indiffernce? I didn't come away with a message of religious message.

Outise of the U.S. Court of Appeals and District Court for the District of Columbia

Eagles donated Ten Commandments tombstone in Austin, Texas

A closeup of a Latin ("Christian") cross and two tablets atop of a marble totem poll outside the U.S. Court of Appeals & District Court building

    The text on the two tablets is presumably in Hebrew, which means that over 99% of Americans can't read what is written on them. The larger Latin cross on the monument shows a strong preference of Christianity.