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…
Ten Commandments displays blocked again by court order
A federal judge has ordered 14 Texas school districts to remove Ten Commandments displays from classrooms by Dec. 1 and barred them from posting any new copies pending the outcome of litigation. The Nov. 18 preliminary injunction stems from a…
Panelists offer three takes on state of religious liberty today
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act is unconstitutional and opened the door to the death of religious liberty in America, political science professor Marci Hamilton told the Texas Tribune Festival Nov. 13. Hamilton, a lawyer with extensive experience in religious liberty…
Federal appeals court will hear arguments in Texas’ and Louisiana’s Ten Commandments cases in January
A federal appeals court next year will hear Texas’ arguments against a ruling that blocked nearly a dozen school districts from displaying posters of the Ten Commandments.
Is there a common source for the Ten Commandments bills?
As Republican-dominated states seek to require displays of the Ten Commandments in school classrooms, critics are noting some odd similarities in the language of the bills. It seems possible — even likely — the bills are originating from a common…
Entire Fifth Circuit will rehear Louisiana Ten Commandments case
A federal appeals court has tossed out its previous ruling that Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is “plainly unconstitutional” and announced all 17 of its judges will now reconsider the case. The Fifth Circuit U.S. District Court of Appeals in New…