A benchmark trial is set to take place this week and it will decide whether or not Chief Justice Roy Moore’s Ten Commandments monument will be removed from the Alabama Judicial Building.

It will be an interesting case and experts say it could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

We think it is good that this issue is receiving the attention that it is. Moore should be applauded for bringing the monument in the building and creating the dialog and discussion that has flowed from the monument’s presence.

A free and open society needs to discuss such issues. The monument has brought renewed focus on the Ten Commandments and the role of religion in our lives. It also will bring forth the issue of history and how history is to be presented. If the Commandments are interpreted as a historical document as they are currently displayed in the building, then the court may rule they can stay where they are.

Americans are involved in an ever-moving discussion on religion. We have discussed public prayer in schools and whether or not evolution should be taught in classrooms. The discussion this week in

Montgomery is another chapter.

This case may impact the delicate relationship between religion and government. Our currency still says &uot;In God We Trust&uot; on it. Will those words be found on a U.S. dime in 20 years? If the Ten Commandments are found to be unfit for a government building, then the answer could well be no.

If you look around Alabama, churches are plentiful. Most Alabamians say they are Christians. Many maintain a close relationship with God.

We hope in this case that the court recognizes this. Too many times decisions are made on subjective issues that represent a few and not the majority.

We believe that the Ten Commandments being on display in a historical sense does not offend the majority of Alabamians. We hope the court considers this as it hears this case.