With the passage of ACT 573 (2025), every public classroom in Arkansas— from elementary schools to universities— must now display printed copies of the Ten Commandments. This engaging course invites participants to explore the origins and meanings of these commandments as presented in Exodus 20, while comparing them to the alternate accounts in Deuteronomy 5 and Exodus 34. 

Together, we’ll trace the long-standing debates over how exactly the Ten Commandments are identified and numbered across Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant traditions, examining how interpretation shapes theology and practice. Through closer reading, discussion, and interactive analysis, participants will investigate not only the ancient context of these texts but also their modern implications.

Finally, the course turns to the legal and constitutional dimensions of ACT 573, analyzing the act’s religious symbolism and its potential conflict with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Led by Dr. Spencer L. Allen, Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Arkansas’s Fulbright College, this course offers an intellectually rich and thought-provoking exploration of scripture, law, and the boundaries between church and state.

(Box lunch provided in class fee.)