A new school year means new notebooks, new pencils, new lunchboxes, new clothes, and at least one new backpack that will disappear before October. It also means new state and federal policies — Bible readings, Ten Commandments displays, and federal…
I’m a mother asking the court to block Texas’ Ten Commandments law
I am a Baptist pastor in Texas, the mother of an elementary-school child and one of the plaintiffs in Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, a lawsuit challenging a Texas law (SB-10) that requires public schools to post the…
Multifaith group urges Supreme Court to weigh in on Texas commandments case
A group of multifaith families in Texas filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court Aug. 17 challenging a state law mandating Ten Commandments displays in all public-school classrooms. The filing by more than two dozen Baha’i, Christian, Jewish, Hindu,…
Houston moms say Ten Commandments law violates RFRA and parental rights
Three Houston-area mothers are taking a novel approach to fighting the Texas law mandating posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. The women are relying on the state’s laws on required parental consent and on the state’s Religious Freedom…
Half-truths and the Six Commandments
“The Ten Commandments are displayed in the Supreme Court of the United States.” “There are more trees in the United States today than when the pilgrims first landed.” What do these two claims have in common and so what? It’s…
Hey, Fifth Circuit: Keep John Leland’s Name Out of Your Mouth!
On Tuesday (April 21), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned previous rulings to say the state of Texas can force public schools to post a highly edited version of the Ten Commandments in public schools. The 9-8 ruling is particularly atrocious since the…
Texas Ten Commandments law likely headed to US Supreme Court
Texas’ Ten Commandments law may be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court after an appellate court ruled it does not violate church-state separation under the U.S. Constitution. A majority of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans…
Arkansas Ten Commandments monument ruled unconstitutional
A Ten Commandments monument in front of the Arkansas State Capitol and the 2015 law that approved it were ruled unconstitutional by a federal court March 31. Chief U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker in Little Rock ordered Arkansas Secretary of…
Arkansas Ten Commandments law ruled unconstitutional
An Arkansas law requiring Ten Commandments displays in all public-school classrooms is unconstitutional because its sole intent is to convert students to Christianity, a federal court has ruled. “Act 573’s purpose is only to display a sacred, religious text in…
Louisiana can require Ten Commandments — for now
Louisiana is free to implement its previously blocked law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms, a federal appeals court ruled Feb. 20. The full U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned a three-member panel of…
Letter to the Editor: Ten Commandments hypocrisy
Dear Editor: Over the course of the previous year, Christian nationalists in Texas pushed through Senate Bill 10, which requires public school classrooms in the state to display the Ten Commandments. The rationale behind this legislation is the claim that…
New class-action suit filed to stop Commandments in Texas
A group of 18 multifaith and nonreligious Texas families filed a class action lawsuit Dec. 2 to stop displays of the Ten Commandments in all Texas public school districts not already subject to an injunction. Already, two federal judges in Texas have…