[BearCub]

Since when is the state promoting or coercing a faith when a local court wishes to INCLUDE among other writings the Ten Commandments which just so happen to be a cornerstone of western law?

Correction, the Commandments that are the cornerstone of western law are:

Don't kill anybody
Don't lie
Don't steal
Honor your parents
Don't commit adultery

And those are terrific guidelines for everyone to follow. So much so that they have been turned into laws. The others have little significance to non-Judeo-Christians and have no place in a government building. Or at least no more place than a quote from the Koran saying that infidels should be killed and their women raped.

[MineralMan]

"Correction, the Commandments that are the cornerstone of western law are:

Don't kill anybody
Don't lie
Don't steal
Honor your parents
Don't commit adultery"

Actually, the last two you posted aren't encoded in our laws any longer. There's no law about honoring your parents, except when you're a minor, and no enforced laws regarding adultery, except in the UCMJ. Most states have repealed their adultery laws. So, that leaves only three:

Don't lie (at least not under oath)
Don't murder
Don't steal

And those three are in virtually every social system on the planet, regardless of religion.

The Ten Commandments are purely religious in nature.