A judge and former judge at the forefront of the fight to display the Ten Commandments in American courts conferred yesterday in rural Alabama as a small but determined band of atheists protested outside.

The discussion took place on the sidelines of a Rotary Club meeting in the small town of Opp, Ala., about 80 miles south of Montgomery. The featured speaker at the event was Roy Moore, who was removed last year as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for defying a federal court order to dismantle a Ten Commandments display at the state judicial building. A local county judge who made headlines just last week for conducting court business while wearing a robe emblazoned with the Decalogue, Ashley McKathan, was among those in attendance.

In a phone interview, Mr. Moore said he spoke with Judge McKathan and will stand by him in the legal battle that is brewing over the unusual judicial garment.

“I do support what he has done,” Mr. Moore said. “What he was doing is not against the law. Because some were offended or said it was distracting does not make it unlawful.”

Judge McKathan told The New York Sun that his decision to don the religious robe in court was inspired in part by Mr. Moore’s highly publicized fight to display the biblical commandments.

“I respect Judge Moore. I appreciate what he did,” Judge McKathan said.

Mr. Moore’s talk drew over 100 people, a larger than usual crowd for the Rotary meeting, according to people who attended the session. A group of four protesters affiliated with the Atheist Law Center of Montgomery stood in the rain outside with a banner that read, “Separate Religion from Government,” witnesses said.

The leader of the demonstration, Larry Darby, denounced Judge McKathan for wearing the Ten Commandments while on the bench. “It’s a blatant violation of the constitutional principle of separation between religion and government,” Mr. Darby said.

Mr. Darby, who is an attorney, said Judge McKathan’s actions may be more divisive than those of Mr. Moore.

“It might even be worse than what Roy Moore did, because this judge literally is wearing the Ten Commandments on the front of his robe. He’s sitting in the courtroom listening to testimony, giving instructions, and displaying the Decalogue,” Mr. Darby said.

Two criminal defense attorneys who handled cases before Judge McKathan since he started wearing the robe last week have lodged formal objections, arguing that his dress violates the constitutional rights of their clients.

Judge McKathan has overruled the objections. “I think that view embraces a misunderstanding of our history,” he said in an interview yesterday. “Part of the reason I’m doing this is because our law is beginning to be governed by who shouts loudest this week.”

In March, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on cases stemming from public displays of the Ten Commandments in Kentucky and Texas. Several religious organizations and advocates of church-state separation have argued that the displays are unconstitutional because different religions and sects adhere to different versions of the Decalogue, while the displays typically include just one.

Judge McKathan, who uses a version of the moral edicts taken from the Protestant King James version of the Bible, dismissed that argument. “When you say the Ten Commandments, people know what you’re talking about,” he said. “The originals were written in Hebrew, I suppose, and none of us read Hebrew. Whatever you use would be a translation.”

The judge said he chose to wear the robe because he sees an effort to separate the legal system from truths set forth by God.

“The Ten Commandments to me symbolize a connection between law and truth,” Judge McKathan said. “There are strong efforts to sever that connection, and I think that’s more dangerous than that we have different translations of the commandments themselves.”

Judge McKathan said he did not expect his actions to be well received throughout the country.

“In the Northeast, there is a culture. In the Midwest, there is a culture. In the far West, there is a culture, and in the South, there is a culture, and how you respond to these issues depends somewhat on what your local culture is,” the judge said. “The culture here is one in which the freedom to express these kinds of views is very open. People are very supportive.”

The leader of the atheists’ protest, Mr. Darby, said the judge is giving short shrift to those locals who don’t agree with him. “Not everybody in Alabama subscribes to the Protestant point of view or the Old Testament point of view,” Mr. Darby said.

Still, Mr. Darby acknowledged that many in the community did not seem receptive to his group’s message. “A few people driving by would shake their heads,” he said. “Some seemed to be mouthing words to us we couldn’t hear.”