The lines separating religion and state will be put to the test during the new Texas legislature session, which began Tuesday in Austin. A new bill that aims to require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom will be one of the main initiatives.
A Ten Commandments school display bill introduced by state senator Phil King (R-Weatherford) was approved by the Senate but was killed in the House in 2023. He claims that this week, he would resubmit the proposal.
“To be honest, if you don’t know the Ten Commandments, you don’t really know the basis for much of American history and law,” King stated. It had a significant impact on both our founders and our founding. Our legal heritage includes it. The Ten Commandments have, in fact, had a greater influence on Western civilization overall than on the United States alone.
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The action was taken as the Legislature prepares to consider a number of proposals that would specifically allow religious displays or rituals in public places. Among these are bills introduced by state senator Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) mandating that a nativity scene be held on the grounds of the Texas Capitol every December and requiring schools to set aside time for Bible study or prayer.
State Representative James Talarico (D-Austin), a seminary student who formerly taught in public schools in San Antonio, stated, “I put my hand on the Bible, and I swore an oath to the Constitution, not the other way around,” on his first day in office. “I think if Jesus read some of these bills, he would remind us to treat Jewish students, Muslim students, Buddhist students, Hindu students, atheist students as ourselves, and that s not what this legislation does.”
The Ten Commandments display measure is being helped by state senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe). Before the bill can be sent to the entire Senate for a floor vote, it must first be approved by the Education Committee, which he is most likely to lead.
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“We cannot impede the teaching of morality, national pride, or fundamental principles because someone is somehow offended by being an American or by adhering to values that merely urge people to refrain from lying to one another or defaming their parents,” Creighton stated. That, in my opinion, is the reason why our nation is in such a mess.
A similar measure was approved in Louisiana last year, but it was prevented from going into force by a federal court. Next week, the statute will be reviewed by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the case represents one of the first significant tests of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Lemontest, a significant precedent that had been used to declare a Kentucky Ten Commandments display legislation unconstitutional in 1980, was overturned in that decision.
“I think the Fifth Circuit will strongly rule in favor of Louisiana and ultimately in favor of what Texas is trying to do,” King stated.
