Which of the following was ruled to be a violation of the separation-of-church-and-state princile of the First Amendment?

A. Decorating city streets with stars and trees during the Christmas season.

B. Exemption of religious property from taxation.

C. Placement of a Ten commandment monument in a state courthouse.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/11/04/scotus.tencommandments/

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The ruling that is considered a violation of the separation-of-church-and-state principle of the First Amendment is option C: Placement of a Ten Commandments monument in a state courthouse. In order to understand why this is considered a violation, we need to look at the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and the subsequent interpretations by the Supreme Court.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution includes two clauses related to religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. The Establishment Clause states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." This clause has been interpreted to mean that the government should not favor or promote any particular religion, nor should it show hostility towards religion.

In the case of placing a Ten Commandments monument in a state courthouse, the Supreme Court has dealt with this issue multiple times. The key consideration is whether the placement of the monument has a secular purpose or if it primarily serves a religious function. If the primary effect is to advance or endorse a particular religion, it would violate the Establishment Clause.

In the specific case of a Ten Commandments monument in a state courthouse, the Supreme Court held in Van Orden v. Perry (2005) that the monument did not violate the Establishment Clause. However, this decision was heavily based on the specific context of the case, including the historical significance and secular nature associated with the monument. Other cases, like Stone v. Graham (1980) and McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky (2005), have found similar displays of the Ten Commandments to be unconstitutional violations of the Establishment Clause.

Therefore, while option A (decorating city streets with stars and trees during the Christmas season) and option B (exemption of religious property from taxation) do involve religious elements, they are not as clear-cut violations of the separation-of-church-and-state principle compared to option C.