Unwilling to be outdone by its neighbor to the East, the Texas Senate has passed a bill that would require the Ten Commandments be posted in all public school classrooms.
The Louisiana Legislature passed a similar law last year that currently is tied up in court challenges. Critics of such bills contend they violate the First Amendment’s ban on an “establishment” of religion.
To date, Louisiana is the only state to have passed a Ten Commandments law, although Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana are debating similar legislation.
In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a similar Kentucky law as a violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. That was Stone v. Graham.
The push for new Ten Commandments displays comes from an emboldened conservative Christian bloc that seeks to infuse its values into all public life.
Mayes Middleton
In Texas, the bill was sponsored by Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston and Sen. Phil King of Weatherford. It passed on a party-line vote of 20-11 one day after the Senate approved a bill that would allow school districts to create daily prayer times — a practice also outlawed by the Supreme Court in Engel v. Vitale (1962) and Abington School District v. Schempp (1963).
“Our schools are not God-free zones. We are a state and nation built on ‘In God We Trust,’” Middleton said in a news release. “Litigious atheists are no longer going to get to decide for everyone else if students and educators exercise their religious liberties during school hours.”
Middleton also thanked President Donald Trump for “making prayer in public schools a top priority.”
Returning prayer to public schools and promoting “school choice” nationwide were two of 10 priorities to “rebuild” America’s education system announced by President-elect Donald Trump in a video Nov. 10, four days after his election. Trump’s 10-point plan echoes the ideals of Project 2025 — which Trump disavowed during the election — and fulfills a conservative wish list that includes dismantling the U.S. Department of Education.
Opposition to religious indoctrination in public schools is strong, however, as evidenced in Oklahoma, where State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters has faced stiff resistance to his advocacy for everything from placing Bibles in classrooms to requiring classroom instruction from the Bible.
In Texas, Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, a Democrat from Austin, said during floor debate: “Most Texans are religious, but I would venture that Texans do not want religion crammed down their throat by their government. Texans don’t even want their own religion crammed down their throat by their government.”
“Texans do not want religion crammed down their throat by their government. Texans don’t even want their own religion crammed down their throat by their government.”
Sen. Nathan Johnson, a Democrat from Dallas, also warned against the bill. On the Senate floor, he read aloud a letter to the Legislature produced collectively by Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC), Interfaith Alliance, Texas Impact and the Sikh Coalition and signed by 166 faith leaders in the state.
“We do not need to — and indeed should not — turn public schools into Sunday schools,” the letter says.
It also states: “The government oversteps its authority when it dictates an official state-approved version of any religious text. Our faith communities exist to help individuals and families live according to their beliefs. We do not need or want government officials interfering with and usurping this sacred role.”
Proponents of the Ten Commandments bill in Texas — echoing Walters in Oklahoma — claim the Jewish and Christian text is foundational to American history.
“The Ten Commandments determined our laws, our ethics, our moral strengths and our unique identifications as Americans,” said Sen. Donna Campbell, a Republican from New Braunfels. “The Ten Commandments should be posted in every school room, unapologetically taught as a foundation of America. It is who we are. It is our history, and our students need to proudly learn them.”
If passed by the Texas House of Representatives — which is currently tied up in hot debate over school vouchers legislation — the bill almost certainly would be signed by Gov. Greg Abbott and face immediate legal challenges.
Related articles:
Trump pledges to bring back prayer in schools and offer ‘school choice’ everywhere
Court strikes down Louisiana Ten Commandments law
Battle continues over Louisiana Ten Commandments law