The House has preliminarily approved Senate Bill 10 even though a similar Louisiana law was deemed unconstitutional. Supporters say Christianity is core to U.S. history.
Come September, every public school classroom in Texas could be required to display the Ten Commandments under a requirement that passed a key vote in the Texas legislature Saturday — part of a larger push in Texas and beyond to increase the role of religion in schools.
moved forward despite a federal court ruling that a similar Louisiana law violated a constitutionally required separation of church and state. The bill passed the House on second reading 88-49 — on the Jewish Sabbath day, which the Ten Commandments forbids, as Rep.said in an effort to highlight legislative hypocrisy. The lower chamber’s approval came after more than two hours of debate and despite last-ditch Democratic efforts to water down the law, including giving school districts the opportunity to vote on the policy, and adding codes of ethics from different faiths into the bill., a Republican from Weatherford, the bill requires every classroom to visibly display a poster sized at least 16 by 20 inches. The poster can’t include any text other than the language laid out in the bill, and no other similar posters may be displayed. “It is incumbent on all of us to follow God’s law and I think we would all be better off if we did,” Rep.Supporters argue that the Ten Commandments and teachings of Christianity more generally are core to U.S. history, a message that has resurged in recent years as part of a broader national movement that considers the idea of church-state separation a myth.signs if they were donated by a private foundation — signed into law in 2021. In 2024, the State Board of Education approved, and one that would require teachers to use the terms “Anno Domini” — Latin for “in the year of the Lord,” and “Before Christ” when Proponents of King’s bill also say making the Ten Commandments more prominent in schools will combat what movement leaders see as a generations-long moral decline., supporters in Texas and beyond find support in the current makeup of the court’s justices and in the 2019 Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which found a football coach could lead prayers on the field after games. But Robert Tuttle, a professor of religion and law at George Washington University, said allowing a private individual to pray — as in the Kennedy case — is different from displaying the Ten Commandments in the classroom.“The constant presence of a sacred text in the room with them is effectively telling them, ‘Hey, these are things you should read and obey,’” Tuttle said. “That's not the state's job — to do religious instruction.” He also said that despite the Supreme Court trending in a more conservative direction, its decision Thursday that leaves in place a prohibition on the establishment of a— said the policy could send a message of exclusion to students of other faiths or those who don’t practice a religion. They also said the commandments were irrelevant to classes like math, and could prompt questions that were not age-appropriate, such as what adultery means. The teachers union said it opposes the bill because members believe it violates the principle of separation of church and state.— who is studying to become a minister — raised concerns in House floor discussions Wednesday that the First Amendment forbids imposing a state-sponsored religion. “My faith means more to me than anything, but I don't believe the government should be forcing religion onto any American citizen, especially our children,” the Austin lawmaker told the Tribune. “I'm a Christian who firmly believes in the separation of church and state.”Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?
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