A federal judge has ruled that a Ten Commandments monument that’s stood on an Ohio courthouse lawn for almost 50 years does not promote religion and can remain in place. Judge James Carr said the monument can stay because the motives for placing it outside the Lucas County courthouse were secular and not an endorsement of a specific belief. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio sued Lucas County in 2002 to have the display removed, saying it was unconstitutional and promoted religion. Carr’s decision followed a ruling last year by the U.S. Supreme Court that Ten Commandments are permissible if their main purpose is to honor the nation’s legal, rather than religious, traditions, and if they do not promote one religious sect over another.

[AP]