Landry says 'separation of church and state is a myth' after critiques of Ten Commandments law
BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry said that "the separation of church and state is a myth," responding to comments made on an episode of Joe Rogan's podcast criticizing his push to put the Ten Commandments in public classrooms.
Landry, who championed legislative efforts to require Louisiana public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, said on social media Monday that Texas State Representative James Talarico was "dead wrong" in his critiques of putting the Christian document in state-funded schools.
"God is the foundation of our great country," Landry said in response to the Presbyterian representative's appearance on the "Joe Rogan Experience," which was posted Friday.
Louisiana was the first state to mandate the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. @JoeRogan, how about you have me on to explain why State Representative Talarico is dead wrong.
— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) July 21, 2025
God is the foundation of our great country, and the separation of church and state is a… pic.twitter.com/afioXydEXg
On one of the most consumed podcasts in the world, Talarico said bills similar to those passed in Louisiana are both unconstitutional and un-American.
"But I went one step further and I said I thought the bill was un-Christian," the Democratic lawmaker told Rogan.
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Talarico explained that he grew up in a family that "respected the separation of church and state."
"It is what allows this democracy to happen, where we can all have these different faith traditions," Talarico said in the clip Landry reposted.
The governor, who pointed out that "Louisiana was the first state to mandate the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms," asked Rogan to have him on as a guest to "explain why State Representative Talarico is dead wrong."
The embattled Louisiana law was ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court in June. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”