A federal judge earlier this week temporarily blocked nearly a dozen school districts in Texas from implementing a law that would require public schools to feature the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
The Wednesday ruling marks the third time such a state mandate has been struck down in court.
Why It Matters
Republican-led legislatures across the country have advanced measures requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, with Texas the largest state to attempt such a mandate. Critics argue the measure violates the constitutional separation of church and state and restricts the free exercise of religion.
This week’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of San Antonio adds to a growing wave of legal challenges on the matter in a fight that could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
In an Easter post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump vowed to help make the United States “more religious.” Many of his MAGA supporters root their conservative views in religious beliefs.
What To Know
Several state laws requiring the religious text to be displayed in public classrooms have been at least temporarily blocked. In addition to Texas, earlier this month, enforcement of a new Arkansas law on the issue was halted in four of the state’s districts.
In his 35-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks, appointee of former President Barack Obama, wrote, “Why would Arkansas pass an obviously unconstitutional law? Most likely because the state is part of a coordinated strategy among several states to inject Christian religious doctrine into public-school classrooms.”
Further south in Louisiana, lawmakers passed House Bill 71, which took effect in January, making the state the first to require a display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. But in June, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a lower court’s ruling that the law is unconstitutional.
At least a dozen other states have considered similar proposals this year, including: Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Dakota, Indiana, West Virginia and South Carolina. Other states, like Idaho and Kentucky, have introduced Bible reading and text about “God We Trust” but not the Ten Commandments as a specific requirement.
Many of the efforts in state legislatures have stalled early in most of the states, but GOP interest in the issue remains strong, with potentially reworked bills in the future.
What People Are Saying
Republican Oklahoma State Representative Jim Olsen, in a January statement: “The Ten Commandments is one of our founding documents. It was integral and central to the life of the founders and to our people in general during the founding of the nation, and for us to give our children an honest history of how things really were, I think that needs to be included.”
Heather L. Weaver, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, in a June statement following the Louisiana decision: “This is a resounding victory for the separation of church and state and public education. With today’s ruling, the Fifth Circuit has held Louisiana accountable to a core constitutional promise: Public schools are not Sunday schools, and they must welcome all students, regardless of faith.”
Texas Republican State Senator Phil King, in a February statement: “The Ten Commandments are part of our Texas and American story. They are ingrained into who we are as a people and as a nation. Today, our students cry out for the moral clarity, for the statement of right and wrong that they represent. If our students don’t know the Ten Commandments, they will never understand the foundation for much of American history and law.”
Democratic Texas State Representative Vincent Perez, in opposition of a bill on the matter in May: “Posting religious texts without context doesn’t teach history. It risks promoting one religion over others, something our Constitution forbids.”
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