How much impact does the Ten Commandments have on the laws of the United States and/or Canada?

Answer 1

i am taking a family law course now, and i can honestly tell you that it has a HUGE impact on modern law....it is often used as court defense of its ruling if it can find that a certain dispute goes against, or agrees with, a long-standing tradition in American society, which can include religious rhetoric...since the majority of the people in this country state an alliance with either Christian or Catholic doctrines, this sentiment is widely recognized in many courts across the nation...

Answer 2

It has a tangential effect, insofar most of those making the laws are christians. It has not had much direct influence.

A base line of judge-made "common law" from England was the foundation of early court decisions. American judges have, through their own decisions, developed and altered this so that each state has its own common law distinct from one another and from England's.

Although this common law forms the basis for much of legal education, a large percentage of the law being applied today is statutory, and constructed by state and Federal legislatures. Inasmuch as these legislators are influenced by their religious background, the ten commandments have an indirect effect. However, some legislators are not Christian or Jewish and moreover, even those who are are usually influenced by secular goals and values in crafting laws.

It is helpful to examine how certain commandments - such as the first - have not been incorporated into our law. Indeed, the idea that there is one god and you shall put no gods before him is verboten, since incorporating that idea into law would violate the First Amendment. The "blue laws" derived from the second amendment, which prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sunday, are still in existence, but are slowly disappearing. Furthermore, American jurisprudence explicitly prohibits "thought crimes" and may only proscribe overt acts, so one cannot ban coveting, et al.

Lastly, the US Constitution does have some Christian influence, but the vast majority of the document is more structural - derived from prudential concerns, and especially from the structural weaknesses of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation. Many of the drafters were arguably deists - those who believe in god, but not in any one religious concept. Many explicitly disclaimed Christianity. The strongest influences on the Constitution were the political theories of Locke and Montesquieu. It is also worth noting that the influences behind the Declaration are largely irrelevant, since it does not set forth laws.

Many arguments of the Ten Commandment's influence have been put forward to create a secular justification for posting them on government property. Thus far, the courts have mostly struck down these arguments, since there was ample evidence that the true motivation was religious. Those displays which were upheld contained displays of several documents, and even those judges who defend the display do so as one among many influences.

"[T]he influences on early American law are largely secular; . . .to the extent that the Ten Commandments' non-religious precepts are consistent with current law, those precepts are universal (and even predate the Ten Commandments)." 2003 U.S. Briefs 1693, 32 (U.S. S. Ct. Briefs 2005)

Answer 3

Apparently we dont follow the Ten Commandments... it shows everyday..all the bad things happening in the US.. I agree with Nish... had a good point.. only in a time of trouble do we run to church and to God to get help.. If we stayed in church, keep our beliefs in God then things may be easier and not all the destruction will happen.. We need to keep the Ten Commandments in our lives daily... and as a nation live to please God.... as for the second answer (babysoft,.,) about sex.. thats a stupid remark.. ....

Answer 4

It should have no impact on the laws of the U.S. and CANADA.
The ten commandments are not part of our criminal justice
system. I don't think that their part of CANADA'S law system
either. Their are a religious belief that not all people believe in.

Answer 5

In the US....not much. Our laws were primarily established by British precedent during the colonial era. THEIR laws were GREATLY influenced! ;)

Answer 6

Here in the USA, the Ten Commandments were the basic foundation of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, until all of the amendments perverted and corrupted them... FREAKIN' Liberals!

Answer 7

Does anyone stop having sex because of the Bible?
If not,why would there care one way or the other?
Like people really fear God or his word today? Right!!!
Try something else on us,cause dude,we already got your
number lefty!!!

Answer 8

obviously they don't want them to have an impact, they don't want God in US, except when catastrophic things like 9/11and hurricane devestation, and tsunami happens

Answer 9

All except the sixth.