Two Texas Baptists — including a BNG staff member — are among 16 multifaith and nonreligious Texas families who filed suit in federal court today to oppose the state’s new Ten Commandments law. This is the second lawsuit filed against the…
Abbott signs Texas Ten Commandments bill, setting up court fight
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed legislation mandating Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms beginning Sept. 1 despite the threat of litigation from civil liberties groups. Abbott’s office said the governor signed the measure June 21 along with more…
Appeals court stops Louisiana Ten Commandments law
A Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms was ruled unconstitutional by a unanimous federal appeals court June 20. “Parents and students challenge a statute requiring public schools to permanently display the Ten Commandments in every classroom…
Arkansas parents say, ‘Thou shall not’ to Ten Commandments law
A group of Arkansas parents has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block a new state law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms. Seven families with students in public schools filed the litigation June 11 in the U.S….
I’m a Christian teacher who opposes posting the Ten Commandments
Eleven years ago, I began my career as a high school English teacher at a school smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt. It was the same sort of school that would be required to display the Ten…
Get ready for lawsuit, groups warn Abbott over Ten Commandments bill
Texans will sue once Gov. Greg Abbott signs a bill requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms, three national civil liberties groups said May 29. The announcement came a day after state senators voted to approve an amended version…
Texas House joins Senate in bill requiring Ten Commandments
The Texas House of Representatives voted 82-46 to require the Ten Commandments be posted in public school classrooms across the state. The May 25 vote followed days of debate and was passed with an amendment requiring the state, not school…
The Ten Commandments and the tyranny of minority rule
George Orwell, in his classic novel 1984, highlights an important aspect of full-blown authoritarianism: the presentation of lies as truth. In the first few pages of Orwell’s book, readers are introduced to the ironically named “Ministry of Truth” which features…
Lawyer says it’s fair for Christians to discriminate because that’s what the Founders intended
It is fair for Christians to have the privilege of posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms because the nation’s Founders based the government on the Ten Commandments, a former Texas Congressman argued at the state Capitol April 29….
Clergy oppose Missouri Legislature rewriting Ten Commandments
A Missouri Senate committee approved legislation to place the Ten Commandments in public-school classrooms, but not before rewriting the Scriptures to conform with conservative political ideology, said Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and leader of a clergy coalition opposed to…
Why I’m a pastor who opposes a Ten Commandments bill
On Monday, April 7, the Arkansas General Assembly approved Senate Bill 433, which mandates posting the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in Arkansas. This bill mimics a similar one passed in Louisiana recently. Among its sponsors was Tim…
Arkansas Religious Leaders Fight Ten Commandments Bill Rushing Toward Governor’s Desk
Legislation requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed by public schools has recently cropped up in more than 20 states. And this week, Arkansas became the latest flashpoint in church-state politics as SB 433 — which had already passed in the Senate after…