Ten Commandments Monument Restored at Kentucky Capitol After Decades-Long Legal Battle

December 30, 2025

The legal organization First Liberty has announced that a Ten Commandments monument has been formally restored to the grounds of the Kentucky State Capitol.

Christianity Daily reports that state lawmakers had approved a resolution in March, directing that the monument be restored and reviving an effort that had been stalled for decades.

The Ten Commandments monument was originally donated to the Commonwealth of Kentucky by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1971 and was removed from the Capitol grounds in the 1980s during a construction project.

Lawmakers passed a measure in 2000 calling for the monument’s permanent return near the Capitol’s floral clock but that measure was blocked by a federal appeals court.

According to Christianity Daily, the ruling disallowing the return of the monument relied on the so-called Lemon test, a legal standard once used to evaluate Establishment Clause cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court would later fully repudiate the Lemon Test in the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, and directed that the Establishment Clause be interpreted according to original meaning, history and tradition.

Roger Byron, senior counsel for First Liberty said, “We congratulate the people of Kentucky for restoring a part of their history. There is a long tradition of public monuments like this one that recognize the unique and important role the Ten Commandments have played in state and national history.”

Photo: top, Credit: The Family Foundation