Des Moines Register - Commandments on Trial: U.S. high court's upcoming ruling on religious displays on public property may ignite new battles in Iowa, observers say

Nelson Nieuwenhuis and the Ten Commandments plaque inside his county's courthouse have something in common: They've both been around close to 100 years.

But the century-old plaque and thousands like it could be out of the forefront if civil liberties groups have their way. The groups want religious symbols removed from courthouses and city halls, saying they violate the constitutional separation of church and state.

"I think that's the most silly idea I ever heard," said Nieuwenhuis, 97, of Hospers, who believes the bronze plaque inside the Sioux County Courthouse represents the nation's founding principles.

Greg Martin: Fearing a possible legal challenge, he and fellow members of the Fraternal Order of Eagles moved a Ten Commandments monument from the Burlington train depot to their lodge.

But can the treasured symbol stay put in Sioux County?

Thou shalt have an answer soon.

On March 2, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments in what some attorneys and constitutional experts consider to be the most important religious liberty case of our time.

The high court will take up the constitutionality of Ten Commandment displays on government property, an issue that has caused divisions among the public and with the lower courts for years.

The cases before the high court involve displays in Kentucky and Texas, but the court's decision could clarify similar cases in lower courts across the nation, while igniting new battles right here in Iowa, observers predict.

"Either America will be able to acknowledge God, or it won't," said Mathew Staver, who will present arguments to the U.S. Supreme Court for the Liberty Counsel, a conservative law group.

"Our heritage and future are riding on this case."

Chuck Hurley: The president of the Iowa Family Policy Center in Pleasant Hill helped place a Ten Commandments display in the state Capitol. "It's disingenuous not to acknowledge our Judeo-Christian legal principles," he says.

Staver said the case could set the course for interpretation on matters ranging from the Pledge of Allegiance, the national "In God We Trust" motto, and thousands of religious symbols in city halls, cemeteries and courthouses nationwide.

However, several scholars and civil-liberties advocates contend that Staver is exaggerating.

"I don't think that our civilization will collapse if the Ten Commandments are removed," said Lake Lambert, an associate professor of religion at Wartburg College in Waverly.

While the rulings will provide clarity, they say, there is no need for anyone to haul out the chisels.

"That is nothing but pure fear-mongering by religious-right extremists," said R. Ben Stone, executive director of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union.

The opposing sides can't agree on what will happen to religious monuments in Iowa's public places after the justices rule.

But a whole lot of people from Hospers to Burlington care a great deal.

People like Luke Miller, who took a job washing dishes at a restaurant last year after quitting his music teaching job because administrators told him to remove a Ten Commandments poster from the wall.

People like Greg Martin, who - along with his Fraternal Order of Eagles buddies - felt compelled to move a Ten Commandments monument from public property before being forced to do so.

People like Chuck Hurley, an activist who found a home for a Ten Commandments display in the Iowa Capitol.

People like Lambert, a Lutheran who believes in the 10 biblical laws but thinks they belong in churches, not courthouses.

And people like Nieuwenhuis, who hopes the plaque in the Sioux County Courthouse rotunda outlives him.

"When we don't abide by these rules, why, I think we're in for trouble," he said.

Iowa has a stake in the ruling.

The Iowa attorney general's office signed onto a brief filed in the case, saying Ten Commandment displays, when included with other historical documents, do not violate the constitution. That sort of framed display hangs inside the Iowa Statehouse.

Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center in Pleasant Hill, said the display represents the nation's legal foundation.

"It's disingenuous not to acknowledge our Judeo-Christian legal principles," he said.

The display inside the Iowa Capitol is similar to the Kentucky display under review.

Depending on the ruling, the Iowa Civil Liberties Union may consider challenging the Capitol display, Stone said.

"We have a long track record of defending the rights of people to religious freedom in the state of Iowa, and that includes keeping the government out of entanglement with religion," he said.

Stone said the group won't fan out across Iowa in search of religious monuments but will respond if someone complains.

A scholar from Baylor University in Texas said at least one Iowa display may be ripe for a challenge.

The Sioux County plaque, hanging alone in the rotunda, seems in violation, said Derek Davis, director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies.

"That's clear-cut," Davis said. "If someone wanted to challenge it, they'd probably have to take that down."

Sioux County Auditor Denny Lange said no one has ever complained to him about the plaque.

"It would be a sad day if it were removed," Lange said.

In Burlington, members of the Eagles lodge decided not to wait for a legal challenge.

Late last year, the group moved its Ten Commandments monument from a public train depot and placed it in front of its meeting lodge.

The Eagles had presented the monument to the city in 1965.

In Mason City, Miller, the former teacher, worries how the U.S. Supreme Court might rule.

"When you take God out of a place, you have a godless environment," the 35-year-old born-again Christian said. "God is being pushed out, and to me, that's scary."