The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of Louisiana families to challenge what it called a "blatantly unconstitutional" new state law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom.
Re: 1, the concept of church/state separation is espoused by the First Amendment, if not explicitly stated as such. But as has been made clear, Roberts’ SCOTUS has yet to miss a case dismantling that wall.
Re: 2, SCOTUS has held that amendments only apply to Congress unless they have been incorporated via the 14th out to the states. The First Amendment’s restriction on state-endorsed religion was incorporated in a case from 1947 called Everson vs. Board of Education which means that if Congress can’t create an official government religion, state legislatures can’t either. Of course, what one SCOTUS decides another can overturn, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility for Roberts’ activist Court to remove the concept of incorporation altogether.
Re: 1, the concept of church/state separation is espoused by the First Amendment, if not explicitly stated as such. But as has been made clear, Roberts’ SCOTUS has yet to miss a case dismantling that wall.
Re: 2, SCOTUS has held that amendments only apply to Congress unless they have been incorporated via the 14th out to the states. The First Amendment’s restriction on state-endorsed religion was incorporated in a case from 1947 called Everson vs. Board of Education which means that if Congress can’t create an official government religion, state legislatures can’t either. Of course, what one SCOTUS decides another can overturn, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility for Roberts’ activist Court to remove the concept of incorporation altogether.