The US Supreme Court will hear arguments in a Texas and Kentucky case over the 10 Commandments this week. Should this religious icon be housed in public space? A ruling is expected by July. It is the first time the Court has addressed issue in 25 years, when it ruled that displaying the 10 Commandments in public school classrooms violated the separation of church and state.

The Texas case involves a six-foot granite monument that contains the 10 Commandments; it is located between the Texas State Capitol and the Texas Supreme Court. In Kentucky, it's the display of religious documents inside a courthouse, along with secular documents like the Magna Carta.

The Texas case has the highest profile, because the plaintiff is a former Texas lawyer who is homeless; his case is being argued an expert in the separation of church and state, Duke University law professor Erwin Chemerinsky.

See The Guardian, Houston Chronicle, The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Seattle Times, USA Today (op-ed), VOA