Church-state battle looms over Ten Commandments law in Texas

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is expected to sign the bill into law after it was passed by the state’s House of Representatives and Senate with amendments. Every classroom will have to display a poster that contains the Ten Commandments, but only as written in the legislation. No other language can be added to the poster, under the bill.

Texas lawmakers have also approved legislation that would allow school districts to create designated times for prayer and reading the Bible or “other religious text” with parental consent. Governor Abbott, a Catholic, is also expected to sign it into law.

Rocío Fierro-Pérez, political director of the Texas Freedom Network, called the measure a “blatant violation of the First Amendment [to the US Constitution] and an escalation in the ongoing effort to turn public schools into tools of government-endorsed religion”.

Louisiana and Arkansas recently passed laws requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms. But like Louisiana, Texas could face a barrage of legal challenges over the law’s constitutionality, NBC News reported.

Louisiana has not fully implemented its legislation after a coalition of parents of different faiths filed a federal lawsuit just days after the bill was signed by Governor Jeff Landry. A judge concluded that the state had not offered “any constitutional way to display the Ten Commandments”. Louisiana officials appealed, but a ruling has not been issued.

Now, with other states passing their own laws, the arguments could eventually wind up again before the US Supreme Court which, in 1980, ruled that classroom displays of the Ten Commandments were unconstitutional.

But Texas State Senator Phil King, the lead author of the Texas bill, said he believes the legislation stands up to scrutiny following a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that found a former Washington state high school football coach had a right to pray on the field immediately after games.

The ruling by the conservative-majority court took a different approach by examining “historical practices and understandings” to interpret whether the First Amendment was being violated.

This month, the Supreme Court split 4-4 over whether Oklahoma could open the first-ever taxpayer-funded Catholic public charter school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case. The ruling maintains a lower-court order that effectively blocks the school’s opening, for now.

FULL STORY

Texas lawmakers approve bill requiring Ten Commandments in every classroom (By Alex Woodward/MSN/The Independent)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott plans to sign Ten Commandments bill after Senate approval (NBC News)