Ten commandments 'advert' ban remains

Religion and education are meant to be separate in the US

The Ten Commandments cannot be put on display in school sports grounds, even if they are presented within an "advertisement", the Supreme Court in the United States has ruled.

The court refused a call for a judicial review of a ban by a school district on the placing of the ten commandments on a fence at school baseball field in Downey, California.

The text of the commandments was to have been displayed as part of an advertisement funded by a local businessman - with the slogan "Meditate on these principles to live by".

However, since the decision was a denial of review, the ruling does not set a precedent and other disputes over the display of the commandments in schools are likely.

Last November, school authorities in Riverside County, California, backed down over plans to post the Ten Commandments in schools, after a civil rights organisation began legal action claiming that the display represented the promotion of religion by the government.

State schools and education services are not allowed to endorse any particular religious beliefs - a position which has prompted disputes between school authorities and religious groups.

In Texas, a legal battle has been fought over whether high school sports events can be preceded by a public prayer.

And there have been disputes over whether religious festivals should be taken as school holidays.

In a number of states, the struggle between religious and secular approaches to education has focused on the teaching of evolution - with disputes over whether Darwin's theory of evolution or the biblical creation story should be taught.