We have received feedback on this issue from people all across America. Review the graph to the left for a quick snapshot of the responses received to date, or read the responses below.

... courts aren't a place to push religion. ...

January 28,2004

Our courts aren't a place to push religion. If anything, they should protect us FROM religion.

... forefathers were not gods ...

January 28,2004

Our forefathers who held slaves, had women as property, and constituted we the people (wealthy, land-owning males) of the constitution are often referred to by those who make arguments based on our forefathers whom we are supposed to believe had the highest moral values and the best interests of the people at heart! The judge who argues that the ten commandments should be allowed to stand in the court house wants us to believe that our "religious" forefathers would allow the Christian structure to stand since our country is based on Christian values (slavery, only wealthy men count as people, and women and children are property). Our forefathers were not gods and they were very wrong on many moral issues including not only slavery, etc, but on issues relating to religion. Whether Christian religious monuments such as the ten commandments should be allowed to stand in a court house should be based on common sense and reason, not faith nor on an interpretation of what our forefathers might have decided.

... founded on the Christian faith ...

January 28,2004

This country was founded on the Christian faith, and the beleif in right and wrong. Our laws themselves are based upon the ten commandments... put words from the Koran, etc. into the courtroom also, than take out all ideas of right and wrong.

... god is a myth. ...

January 28,2004

god is a myth.

... serves as a reminder to God's people. ...

January 28,2004

Displaying the 10 commandments in public places serves as a reminder to God's people.

... everyone has a right to their own beliefs ...

January 28,2004

I've grown up without attending church. As a youth of America I feel that everyone has a right to their own beliefs and to display one set of beliefs and not every other, is not holding true to the rights that we as Americans hold. If church and state aren't seperated whose to say that Satanists cannot practice their religion in the classroom. To single out one religion over another is to single out people with different beliefs. The ten commandments should not be displayed as a respect to the beliefs of all Americans.

... American culture is steeped ...

January 28,2004

As Cathy Young wrote in reasononline, "If we had a system literally based on biblical law, it would look something like the sharia code of modern-day Islamic theocracies. Of course American culture is steeped in Judeo-Christian heritage. But our law has its roots in the secular Western tradition, from the Magna Carta to ancient Greece and Rome." (see
http://www.reason.com/0311/co.cy.roy.shtml)

... cannot hold a higher standard ...

January 28,2004

I'm ashame that my country cannot hold a higher standard to a higher calling, but other countrys have no problem promoting and identifying their beliefs.

... Yes is should be. ...

January 28,2004

Yes is should be.

... Other faiths are tolerated ...

January 28,2004

History indicates the U.S. to have been founded by Christians for Christians with a constitution based on Christian principles. Other faiths are tolerated, but not involved in the institution of the U.S. Government.

... we cannot separate God and government ...

January 28,2004

Yes, the Ten Commandments are religious in nature but they were also acknowledged by our Founding Fathers as necessary to guiding this experiment we call America. As Judge Roy Moore of Alabama explained on your program, we should separate church and state but we cannot separate God and government (not an exact quote). If we do not acknowledge that God has given the rights outlined in the constitution then we are saying man gives them. Isn't that what kings did (and dictators do)? I doubt anyone will be converted to Judaism or Christianity because they walk by a monument. However, they might see the connection between those laws and our rule of law.

... should NOT be allowed ...

January 28,2004

No, the Ten Commandments should NOT be allowed in a state courthouse. The only reason the Ten Commandments are posted in some courthouses is because of their historical significance. The conservative far religious right group (nuts) scare me with their version of a perfect society where they want their morals beliefs made into laws.

... absolute right or wrong ...

January 28,2004

The ten commandments establish the foundation of absolute right or wrong. As we allow ourselves to move away from basic morality, we will move closer to a society that will make judgements based upon personal opinion rather than correct principles.

... founded on those religious ...

January 28,2004

Our laws are founded on those religious principles embodied in the Ten Commandments.

... those who believe in God. ...

January 28,2004

Our moral, legal and ethical beliefs are based on these principles that were acknowlegded not only by our founding fathers but those who believe in God.

... Free Exercise Clause could be used ...

January 28,2004

First a bias is revealed by anyone who distinguishes the monument of the 10 Commandments as different from any other piece of art, all art has symbolism, so it is with this monument. The fact that this monument symbolizes the principles upon which this country was founded (i.e. Judeo-Christian Morality) is no justification for discrimination. Discrimination is bad for an "all-inclusive" society, right? If the voters of Alabama elect someone who has such a monument (symbol), then by what right does an un-elected Federal Appeals Court Judge force him to remove it? I have seen many "monuments"/symbols of art and such in courts. Why do the liberal Federal Appellate Courts discriminate against "religious" symbols? Our Constitution never envisioned such a thing as "substantive due process" but since our Federal Courts created it, then certainly religious symbols/art should be protected also. And the Free Exercise Clause could be used as a basis - that's a first, a substantive due right that actually is mentioned in the Constitution, as opposed to just in a liberal justices mind.

... fundamentally un-American ...

January 28,2004

My ancestors fled to America in the 1700s, having been driven from their native country by a government persuaded by a particular religion. The placing of Ten Commandments monuments, plaques and posters in courthouses in the United States to "acknowledge God" or to claim our founding as a "Christian nation" is fundamentally un-American and unconstitutional.

... take a stand ...

January 28,2004

I would like to say that our forefathers came to this country to escape religious persecution and they set up our governemt based on Biblical principles. These truths have been removed from most of our textbooks. Our nation has been blessed by God like no other in history. Our forefathers would roll over in their graves if they could see what is going on in this Nation. The Bible says that sin is a disgrace to any nation. Do you think that a holy , and just God just winks at the untold slaughter of over 40 million aborted babies. The acceptance of homesexuality (sodomy) that is still an abomination in the eyes of God and the sexual immorality that is rampant in our country and a liberal media who promotes every kind of perversion and wickedness and criticizes all those who stand for morality and right and for our President who is a born again Christian trying to bring some morality and character back to our country and the Whitehouse. I have never seen such hatred for a President in all my life. President Clinton who brought such disgrace and shame to the Presidency and his wife who is not a godly lady or a lady who stands for what is right are held in the utmost esteem, and President Bush is attacked from all sides should say something to the American people. But sad to say our children and most adults are not taught to think for themselves but to listen to a godless and liberal media who tell them how they should think and vote. I believe that September 11 would never have occurred in this country if we were not as a Nation blatanly shoving our fists in the face of a holy God. Do you think He does not see the evil that going on in America? We will fall just like every other great nation if we do not have a revival in our country and a crying out to God for forgiveness for the gross wickedness that permeates every area of our society. Every great nation fell when they openly welcomed sodomy and when the women of a nation go bad so does the nation and just turn on any television station!
and you will see wicked women who have no shame or morals parading in such a way that I will not allow any of my granchildren to watch television and I myself watch none of the shows on primetime tv. When good is called evil and evil good it is only a matter of time before God's judgment falls upon this Nation. We bemoan the ills of our day. Teenage pregnancy, aids, children killing students in school, child moletstion, crimes of every kind and we wonder what has happened. Well, first we kick God out of our schools, we try to get rid of the Ten Commandments, take God's name out of every public place, do not allow nativity scenes that might cause people to think about God, doesn't this sound more like communist Russia than America? When any Nation ignores God's truths and go their own way, that Nation will fall. You in the media with your haughty looks and snide remarks will one day stand before this God you so badly want to get rid of and give an account for all that you have done. He is gracious and loving and died for you even though you reject His Word. He died because He loved you and me so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us and to take our punishment on the cross and that if we will repent and by faith accept His gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, He promises to give us eternal life. The alternative is an eternity in Hell.
When it comes right down to it, it is not God you have a problem with but with Jesus Christ Himself. Oh,I know you are all educated and believe we came from apes. That is another reason we have the problems today as people have no fear and since there is not God there is no absolute truth so people are free to do what is right in there own eyes. Unless there is a major revival in our country and a turning back to the Biblical truths our wonderful country was founded upon, America is headed for destruction. I pray that this and other comments from people who watched your broadcast might wake some of you up and stir you take a stand for what is right.

... why shouldn't a symbol ...

January 28,2004

Regardless of a persons current convictions, our nation(and laws) were founded on priciples defined by God and stipulated in the Ten Commandments. That said, why shouldn't a symbol of those commandments be displayed in a venue where law is practiced?

... We can proclaim our beliefs ...

January 28,2004

Isn't it time for the people who believe in God and his teachings to tell the people who do not agree that we will not have OUR rights taken away just because someone disagrees. We can proclaim our beliefs anywhere, anytime and our President has that same right.