The full panel of judges on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could require Louisiana public schools to feature posters with the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

Attorney Liz Murrill sought a rehearing with all 17 judges from the 5th Circuit after a three-judge panel ruled in June that the 2024 state law requiring the displays was 鈥減lainly unconstitutional.鈥� A group of parents of public school students had filed a lawsuit against the state to block the law, which includes the text of a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments, from being enforced.

The case, Roake v. Brumley, could hinge on whether the law violates the First Amendment鈥檚 Establishment Clause, which prohibits governments from endorsing a specific religion. Whether a comparable law in Texas takes effect will likely depend on the outcome of the Louisiana case.

The plaintiffs in the case are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Judges grilled their lawyers with questions about basing their arguments on the long-standing precedent from the case Stone v. Graham, a 1980 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned a similar law in Kentucky. Justices decided then that the First Amendment bars public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Some 5th Circuit judges said they believe the Stone decision was effectively nullified because it relied on a precedent from the 1971 case Lemon v. Kurtzman, which the Supreme Court overturned in 2022. The so-called Lemon test has been applied for five decades to decide what amounts to a violation of the Establishment Clause.

The 2022 case, Kennedy v. Bremerton, involved a Washington state high school football coach who was fired for praying at midfield after games and allowing students to join him. Joseph Kennedy got his job back after conservative justices prevailed in a 6-3 decision, saying the post game prayers do not amount to a school endorsement of Christianity.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs told the 5th Circuit judges that the Kennedy decision might have overturned Lemon but did not nullify the Stone ruling. Still, some judges questioned how an 11-inch by 14-inch poster amounts to coercion of religious beliefs.

In a news conference after the nearly two-hour hearing, Murrill expressed confidence in the state鈥檚 arguments but predicted the case is likely headed to the Supreme Court regardless of the 5th Circuit鈥檚 decision.

鈥淲e believe that you can apply this law constitutionally,鈥� Murrill said.

Gov. Jeff Landry, who attended Tuesday鈥檚 hearing, called the Ten Commandments one of the nation鈥檚 foundational documents.

鈥淚 think Americans are just tired of the hypocrisy,鈥� Landry said. 鈥淚 just think that it鈥檚 high time that we embrace what tradition and heritage is in this country, and I agree with the attorney general. I like our chances.鈥�

The Rev. Jeff Sims, one of the plaintiffs and a Presbyterian minister in Covington, issued a statement after the hearing saying he wants to be the one to decide on the religious education that his children receive.

鈥淚 send my children to public school to learn math, English, science, art, and so much more 鈥� but not to be evangelized by the state into its chosen religion,鈥� Sims said. 鈥淭hese religious displays send a message to my children and other students that people of some religious denominations are superior to others. This is religious favoritism and it鈥檚 not only dangerous, but runs counter to my Presbyterian values of inclusion and equality.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

A federal appeals court next year will hear Texas鈥� arguments against a ruling that blocked several school districts from displaying posters of the Ten Commandments.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Jan. 20聽聽both the Texas case and a similar case happening in Louisiana, which was the first state to pass a requirement to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

The Texas lawsuit is one of several cases that families of various religious and nonreligious backgrounds have brought forward challenging the state’s Ten Commandments law. Two federal district judges have blocked more than two dozen Texas school districts from complying with the law, saying that the legislation is unconstitutional.

The rulings in both cases only apply to the 25 school districts named in the lawsuits. The attorney general’s office has sued the Round Rock, Leander and Galveston school districts for allegedly not complying with the law as arguments over its constitutionality proceed in federal court.

Attorneys representing the families and the attorney general’s office have argued in court over the role Founding Fathers like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison played in developing the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment, which protects people鈥檚 freedom of religion.

Both parties have debated the influence of the Ten Commandments on the country’s legal and educational systems, and whether the version of the Ten Commandments required to go up in schools belongs to a particular religious group. They have also sparred over whether the law reflects an attempt by Texas officials to coerce students into adhering to Judeo-Christian principles.

Texas鈥� Ten Commandments law was one of the passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this year. Critics say the law inappropriately injects religion into the state鈥檚 public schools, attended by roughly 5.5 million children.

Here are the latest details about the cases against the law:

The latest

U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia on Nov. 18 ordered 14 districts to remove the posters from classroom walls by Dec. 1. Garcia concluded that the law “makes it impossible” for children to avoid the Ten Commandment displays. He noted that districts have a “strong incentive” to comply with the law, citing the state’s against the Galveston school district for its alleged noncompliance.

In August, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery blocked 11 other school districts from posting the Ten Commandments. Biery concluded that the law favors Christianity over other faiths, is not neutral with respect to religion and is likely to interfere with families’ 鈥渆xercise of their sincere religious or nonreligious beliefs in substantial ways.鈥�

鈥淭here are ways in which students could be taught any relevant history of the Ten Commandments without the state selecting an official version of scripture, approving it in state law, and then displaying it in every classroom on a permanent basis,鈥� Biery wrote in his opinion, adding that the law 鈥渃rosses the line from exposure to coercion.鈥�

Texas appealed Biery’s ruling, sending the case to the same court where a three-judge panel Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law from taking effect. Texas requested that all 17 active judges on the court hear the case, as opposed to a three-judge panel.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and a coalition of religious freedom organizations are representing the families in both cases. Attorneys had expressed hope that other districts would not implement the law, but they later told the court in a legal filing that many districts are implementing it or have signaled an intent to do so.

Soon after Biery’s ruling, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called on every school district not blocked by the courts from posting the Ten Commandments to follow the law. Paxton has sued the Galveston, Round Rock and Leander school districts for allegedly not complying. The Leander district pushed back, saying it is in compliance.

The background

, by Republican Sen. of Weatherford, the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms on donated posters sized at least 16 by 20 inches. Gov. signed the law in late June, the day after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found a similar law in Louisiana was 鈥減lainly unconstitutional.鈥� The court ruled that requiring schools to post the Ten Commandments would cause an 鈥渋rreparable deprivation鈥� of First Amendment rights. An Arkansas judge ruled similarly in a separate case.

Supporters argue that the Ten Commandments and teachings of Christianity broadly are vital to understanding U.S. history, a controversial message that has resurged in recent years as part of a broader national movement to undermine the long-held interpretation of church-state separation. Texas GOP lawmakers have in recent years to further codify their conservative religious views, a trend.

鈥淭his issue is likely to get to the United States Supreme Court,鈥� Biery, the judge, told a San Antonio courtroom prior to opening arguments in one of the Texas cases.

Biery’s August ruling blocking the law from taking full effect applied to the following school districts: Alamo Heights, North East, Lackland, Northside, Austin, Lake Travis, Dripping Springs, Houston, Fort Bend, Cypress-Fairbanks and Plano.

The latest ruling from Garcia blocks the law in the following districts: Comal, Georgetown, Conroe, Flour Bluff, Fort Worth, Arlington, McKinney, Frisco, Northwest, Azle, Rockwall, Lovejoy, Mansfield, McAllen.

Two of those districts 鈥� Arlington and McAllen 鈥� are no longer part of the lawsuit but agreed to follow the court’s rulings.

Another group of parents in Dallas during the summer. That lawsuit does not appear to have made any meaningful progress. A judge has threatened to dismiss the case if the plaintiffs do not provide required legal documents to the defendants by Dec. 1.

What are the plaintiffs saying

Oral arguments in the first Texas case,, concluded in August, several weeks after 16 families represented by the religious freedom organizations sued the state over what their lawyers called “catastrophically unconstitutional鈥� legislation.

鈥淧osting the Ten Commandments in public schools is un-American and un-Baptist,鈥� Griff Martin, a pastor, parent and plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement. 鈥淪.B. 10 undermines the separation of church and state as a bedrock principle of my family鈥檚 Baptist heritage. Baptists have long held that the government has no role in religion 鈥� so that our faith may remain free and authentic.鈥�

The lawyers made a similar argument during a November hearing for , the latest legal filing, which includes more than a dozen new families.

In the lawsuit brought by the North Texas parents, the plaintiffs, who identify as Christian, said the law was unconstitutional and violated their right to direct their children鈥檚 upbringing.

One of them, a Christian minister, said the displays will offer a message of religious intolerance, 鈥渋mplying that anyone who does not believe in the state鈥檚 official religious scripture is an outsider and not fully part of the community.鈥� That message, the minister argued, conflicts with the religious, social justice and civil rights beliefs he seeks to teach his kids.

Another North Texas plaintiff, a mother of two, is worried she will be 鈥渇orced鈥� to have sensitive and perhaps premature conversations about topics like adultery with her young children 鈥� and also 鈥渄oes not desire that her minor children to be instructed by their school about the biblical conception of adultery,鈥� the suit states.

The plaintiffs in the ACLU suits come from diverse religious backgrounds, including families who are nonreligious. Allison Fitzpatrick said in a statement that she fears her children will think they are violating school rules because they don鈥檛 adhere to commandments like honoring the Sabbath.

鈥淭he state of Texas has no right to dictate to children how many gods to worship, which gods to worship, or whether to worship any gods at all,鈥� said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which brought the lawsuit alongside the ACLU.

The attorneys called the version of the Ten Commandments in SB 10 a “state-sponsored Protestant version,” which was corroborated by their witness, constitutional law professor and religious history expert Steven Green. They argued against the notion that the Ten Commandments were central to the development of the country’s legal and educational systems, which Green agreed lacked historical support.

The ACLU lawyers have also noted that students are legally required to attend school and have virtually no way to avoid seeing the state鈥檚 required version of the Ten Commandments, which they say interferes with children鈥檚 and families鈥� rights. The U.S. Supreme Court has already found public schools鈥� display of the Ten Commandments , and the attorneys have made clear that only the Supreme Court can overturn its previous rulings.

What the state is saying

The attorney general’s office has argued that the Ten Commandments are part of the nation’s history and heritage, and that previous rulings from federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court blocking the commandments from going up in classrooms did not examine that historical significance.

Attorneys for the state have noted that the Supreme Court recently shot down the test that courts previously relied on to determine when a government had unconstitutionally endorsed or established a religion. And attorneys pointed out a decades-old ruling in a Nebraska case, regarding a Ten Commandments monument on city property, where an appeals court decided in favor of the monument that displayed the same version of the commandments Texas wants to show in public schools. They relied on that ruling to make the case that SB 10 does not favor a particular religious group.

鈥淭here is no legal reason to stop Texas from honoring a core ethical foundation of our law, especially not a bogus claim about the 鈥榮eparation of church and state,鈥� which is a phrase found nowhere in the Constitution,鈥� Paxton said in a recent statement.

The attorney general’s viewpoints were supported in court by Mark David Hall, a professor and author who studies religious liberty and church-state relations. Hall, the state’s expert witness, recently wrote a book that considers how “Christian Nationalism Is Not an Existential Threat to America or the Church.”

Attorney William Farrell from the attorney general’s office described SB 10’s requirement as a “passive display on the wall” that does not rise to the level of coercion because students can choose to ignore the posters if they wish. The law would 鈥減robably cross the line,鈥� he said, if it also incorporated the Ten Commandments into lessons or assignments 鈥� but that is not the case.

The posters must only go up if they are donated to the school, he further argued, and the law does not specify what would happen if districts choose not to comply. The state views that as evidence that it poses no threat or harm to families, even though Attorney General Ken Paxton recently issued a threatening action if schools do not comply and has sued three districts for their noncompliance.

“SB 10 doesn’t restrict anything,” Farrell said. “It doesn’t exclude anything or specifically require any … participation by students.”

This first appeared on .

A federal judge on Friday ordered Ten Commandments posters be removed from Lakeside School District, two days after he permitted the Garland County district to be added to a lawsuit challenging a new state law requiring the displays.

Following passage of this spring, public schools are now required to 鈥減rominently鈥� display a 鈥渉istorical representation鈥� of the Ten Commandments in classrooms and libraries. The posters must be donated or bought with funds from voluntary contributions. The law also requires them to be displayed in public colleges and universities and other public buildings maintained by taxpayer funds.

Seven Northwest Arkansas families of various religious and nonreligious backgrounds in June challenging the constitutionality of the statute. The families allege the state law violates the First Amendment鈥檚 Establishment Clause, which guarantees that 鈥淐ongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,鈥� and its Free Exercise Clause, which guarantees that 鈥淐ongress shall make no law 鈥� prohibiting the free exercise [of religion].鈥�

Supporters of the law have argued the tenets have historical significance because they influenced the country鈥檚 founders in creating the nation鈥檚 laws and legal system.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks in August that blocked implementation of the statute in four districts 鈥� Bentonville, Fayetteville, Siloam Springs and Springdale.

Brooks later allowed the Conway School District as a defendant and district families as plaintiffs. He also Ten Commandments posters be removed from the district鈥檚 schools and a temporary restraining order against the district into a preliminary injunction.

A temporary restraining order temporarily halts an action and may be issued immediately, without informing all parties and without holding a hearing. It鈥檚 intended to last until a court holds a hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction, according to .

After Brooks Wednesday to add Lakeside School District as a defendant and Christine Benson and her minor child as plaintiffs in the case, attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction on Thursday.

Brooks granted the temporary restraining order Friday and held the preliminary injunction in abeyance. He also temporarily blocked Lakeside from complying with the law and ordered the district to remove Ten Commandments displays from its schools by 5 p.m. Monday.

鈥淎 temporary restraining order should issue as to Lakeside School District No. 9,鈥� Brooks wrote in Friday鈥檚 . 鈥淟akeside Plaintiffs are identically situated to the original Plaintiffs: They advance the same legal arguments, assert the same constitutional injuries, and request the same relief.鈥�

Defendants and the attorney general鈥檚 office, which intervened in the case, have until Nov. 3 to submit briefs to address why the existing preliminary injunction should not be modified to include Lakeside School District as a defendant, according to Friday鈥檚 order.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.

In the past month or so, federal courts have dealt a string of blows to conservatives鈥� push for the biblical Ten Commandments to be posted in public schools.

Yet as states lose over required religious displays, many are working on another route to faith-based education by allowing kids to attend off-campus religious instruction. This year, , , and passed laws guaranteeing parents the right to have their children excused during the school day for free, off-campus religious instruction, often called 鈥渞eleased time.鈥�

Those four states are the latest of at least 12 that require school districts to offer released time religious schooling upon parental request, including: Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin.

The released time approach may be more likely to pass constitutional muster than other government-imposed religious efforts, experts say, by shifting influence off school grounds and under the direction of faith-based groups rather than public school teachers, and by making it free to students.

A 1952 U.S. Supreme Court decision in allows for released time religious instruction as long as it鈥檚 off school property, privately funded and parent permitted.

鈥淣ot every family has access to private or parochial school, but for many generations families have been able to take their students out of school for a portion of the day for religious education if they choose,鈥� said Jennifer Jury, a program advocate for LifeWise Academy, an Ohio-based Christian nonprofit founded in 2018.

The organization has been active in expanding its reach and lobbying lawmakers for stronger legislative support. This school year, LifeWise expects to serve nearly 100,000 public school students across 1,100 schools in 34 states, Jury said.

The off-campus gatherings work the same way in most states: With parents鈥� approval, public school students sign out of school during a lunch, recess or study hall block. Students will either walk or ride one of the distinctive red LifeWise buses to a local church or a program-leased community building in town.

And depending on state limitations for the religious instruction, for either a half or full hour, kids will learn about the Bible. When the allotted time is up, students go back to their public school to finish the day.

In some states, students can earn academic credit for the off-campus instruction, which has been more controversial.

In Montana, for example, that would have required school districts to develop policies for academic credit was amended to 鈥渁uthorize鈥� a district to allow credit, after pushback from the state鈥檚 school boards and school administrators associations.

鈥淪chool districts should have the autonomy to determine which external coursework aligns with the academic frameworks and whether such courses should be eligible for credit,鈥� Rob Watson, who represented the two groups at the legislature, said in his comments to a House committee in February. He noted the groups did not oppose the released time policy itself.

Despite the changes, only one Democrat in the legislature voted 鈥測es.鈥� Montana GOP Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the bill into law in May.

Supporters had touted the academic credit option as a way to entice homeschooling families to consider public schools. In her interview with Stateline, Jury noted similar programs that accommodate Jewish, Muslim and Mormon faith-based teaching for public school students.

鈥淲hether a person is religious or not, the Bible is widely recognized as one of the most influential books in history,鈥� Jury said. 鈥淎 lot of our Western culture was born out of ideas that come from the Bible, like the fact that every person is created equal, that we are to love our neighbor.鈥�

Identical bill language

The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC, in August adopted model legislation about released time policies that state lawmakers can propose.

础尝贰颁鈥檚 would allow from one to five hours per week of off-campus religious instruction and would require school districts to award academic credit if the course meets certain criteria. Districts would have to assess instruction based on secular standards and would not be allowed to test for particular religious content, according to the model legislation.

Nearly identical language had already appeared in several state bills, including in North Carolina and West Virginia this year and in Mississippi in 2023. In North Carolina, LifeWise Academy registered with the secretary of state鈥檚 office in 2024, as by NC Newsline, and a released time bill was introduced in February. It was sent to committee but never moved ahead.

The bills in Mississippi and West Virginia also stalled.

Legislation that does become law earns praise from groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom, one of the nation鈥檚 most active legal organizations opposing abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

Statements from Greg Chafuen, senior counsel for the nonprofit鈥檚 Center for Public Policy, say the new released time laws respect 鈥減arents鈥� educational decisions鈥� and ensure 鈥減arents are in the driver鈥檚 seat when it comes to their kids鈥� education.鈥�

An Indiana law lets high school students leave school for religious instruction each week for an amount of time equal to one elective course. Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee laws allow students to earn elective credit for released time religious instruction, though it cannot replace a 鈥渃ore curriculum鈥� class. School boards can set standards for when such programs qualify for credit.

LifeWise operates in each of those states.

Ten Commandment displays

Jury, of LifeWise Academy, said her organization wants off-campus religious options for public school students to be available in all 50 states.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to note this is an option, and parents are the ultimate decision-makers in enrollment,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e would love to see every student in the United States have the option to attend a program like LifeWise if they want to and if their parents want them to.鈥�

A lack of parental choice might be what trips up state efforts to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

After Louisiana last year became the first state in recent decades to require that the Ten Commandments, a central tenet of the Judeo-Christian tradition, be displayed in school classrooms, in at least 15 other states. Two states 鈥� Arkansas and Texas 鈥� enacted laws.

But for now, courts have blocked the mandates in all three states. In Texas, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery warned the displays 鈥渁re likely to pressure [children] into religious observance鈥� and undermine parents鈥� rights.

In Arkansas, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks the state鈥檚 requirement to post a specific version of the Ten Commandments 鈥減lainly unconstitutional.鈥�

The law 鈥渋s not neutral with respect to religion,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淏y design, and on its face, the statute mandates the display of expressly religious scripture in every public-school classroom and library.鈥�

He also noted that the law 鈥渞equires that a specific version of that scripture be used, one that the uncontroverted evidence in this case shows is associated with Protestantism and is exclusionary of other faiths.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

A Texas federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked from taking full effect a new state law requiring public schools to display donated posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

The ruling only applies to the nearly a dozen Texas school districts named in the lawsuit, though attorneys who brought forth the case expressed hope in court that other districts would not implement a law that a federal judge has now found unconstitutional.

In his decision, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery concluded that the law favors Christianity over other faiths, is not neutral with respect to religion and is likely to interfere with families’ 鈥渆xercise of their sincere religious or nonreligious beliefs in substantial ways.鈥�

鈥淭here are ways in which students could be taught any relevant history of the Ten Commandments without the state selecting an official version of scripture, approving it in state law, and then displaying it in every classroom on a permanent basis,鈥� Biery wrote in his opinion, adding that the law 鈥渃rosses the line from exposure to coercion.鈥�

Texas is expected to appeal the ruling. Once that happens, the case will go to the same federal appeals court where a three-judge panel Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law from taking effect. Louisiana’s attorney general has said she would seek further relief from the full appeals court and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court.

Oral arguments in the Texas case, , concluded on Monday, several weeks after 16 parents of various religious backgrounds, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and other religious freedom organizations, sued the state over what their lawyers called “catastrophically unconstitutional鈥� legislation.

In court, they argued with a lawyer from the state attorney general’s office over the role Founding Fathers like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison played in developing the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment, which protects the freedom of religion. Both parties also debated the influence of the Ten Commandments on the country’s legal and educational systems, and whether the version of the Ten Commandments required to go up in schools belongs to a particular religious group.

Another group of parents in Dallas earlier this summer.

These suits challenge one of the passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this year. Critics say the law injects religion into the state鈥檚 public schools, attended by roughly 5.5 million children.

The background

, by Republican Sen. of Weatherford, the Ten Commandments be displayed on a donated poster sized at least 16 by 20 inches come September, when most new state laws go into effect. Gov. signed it in late June, the day after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found a similar law in Louisiana was 鈥減lainly unconstitutional.鈥� The court ruled that requiring schools to post the Ten Commandments would cause an 鈥渋rreparable deprivation鈥� of First Amendment rights. An Arkansas judge ruled similarly in a separate case.

Supporters argue that the Ten Commandments and teachings of Christianity broadly are vital to understanding U.S. history, a controversial message that has resurged in recent years as part of a broader national movement to undermine the long-held interpretation of church-state separation. Texas GOP lawmakers have in recent years to further codify their conservative religious views, a trend .

鈥淭his issue is likely to get to the United States Supreme Court,鈥� Biery, the judge, told a San Antonio courtroom prior to opening arguments in the Texas case.

What are the plaintiffs saying

鈥淧osting the Ten Commandments in public schools is un-American and un-Baptist,鈥� Griff Martin, a pastor, parent and plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit, said in a statement. 鈥淪.B. 10 undermines the separation of church and state as a bedrock principle of my family鈥檚 Baptist heritage. Baptists have long held that the government has no role in religion 鈥� so that our faith may remain free and authentic.鈥�

In the lawsuit brought by the North Texas parents, the plaintiffs, who identify as Christian, said the law was unconstitutional and violated their right to direct their children鈥檚 upbringing.

One of them, a Christian minister, said the displays will offer a message of religious intolerance, 鈥渋mplying that anyone who does not believe in the state鈥檚 official religious scripture is an outsider and not fully part of the community.鈥� That message, the minister argued, conflicts with the religious, social justice and civil rights beliefs he seeks to teach his kids.

Another North Texas plaintiff, a mother of two, is worried she will be 鈥渇orced鈥� to have sensitive and perhaps premature conversations about topics like adultery with her young children 鈥� and also 鈥渄oes not desire that her minor children to be instructed by their school about the biblical conception of adultery,鈥� the suit states.

The plaintiffs in the ACLU suit come from diverse religious backgrounds, including families who are nonreligious. Allison Fitzpatrick said in a statement that she fears her children will think they are violating school rules because they don鈥檛 adhere to commandments like honoring the Sabbath.

鈥淭he state of Texas has no right to dictate to children how many gods to worship, which gods to worship, or whether to worship any gods at all,鈥� sad Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which brought the lawsuit alongside the ACLU.

The attorneys called the version of the Ten Commandments in SB 10 a “state-sponsored Protestant version,” which was corroborated by their witness, constitutional law professor and religious history expert Steven Green. They argued against the notion that the Ten Commandments were central to the development of the country’s legal and educational systems, which Green agreed lacks historical support. The court also found Green’s testimony more persuasive than the state’s.

Although the ACLU lawsuit only applies to 11 school districts, attorneys for the religious freedom organizations hope that a ruling in their favor will signal to districts throughout the rest of the state that they should not comply with the law before the dispute gets resolved by the courts.

What the state is saying

The attorney general’s office argued in the August hearing that the Ten Commandments are part of the nation’s history and heritage, and that previous rulings from federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court blocking the commandments from going up in classrooms did not examine that historical significance.

Attorneys for the state noted that the Supreme Court recently shot down the test that courts previously relied on to determine when a government had unconstitutionally endorsed or established a religion. And, attorneys pointed out a decades-old ruling in a Nebraska case, regarding a Ten Commandments monument on city property, where an appeals court decided in favor of the monument that displayed the same version of the commandments Texas wants to show in public schools. They relied on that ruling to make the case that SB 10 does not favor a particular religious group.

Their viewpoint was supported in court by Mark David Hall, a professor and author who studies religious liberty and church-state relations. Hall, the state’s expert witness, recently wrote a book that considers how “Christian Nationalism Is Not an Existential Threat to America or the Church.”

Attorney William Farrell from the attorney general’s office described SB 10’s requirement as a “passive display on the wall” that does not rise to the level of coercion. The Ten Commandments posters must only go up if they are donated to the school, he further argued, and the law does not specify what would happen if districts choose not to comply. The state views that as evidence that it poses no threat or harm to families.

“SB 10 doesn’t restrict anything,” Farrell said. “It doesn’t exclude anything or specifically require any … participation by students.”

What are the schools saying

The latest ruling applies to the following school districts: Alamo Heights ISD, North East ISD, Lackland ISD, Northside ISD, Austin ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Dripping Springs ISD, Houston ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and Plano ISD.

Attorneys from Austin ISD, a defendant in the ACLU lawsuit, said during the August hearing that the district has not adopted any policy in response to SB 10, that there is no evidence that the district is doing anything to infringe on families’ rights and that the district should not be held responsible for a law passed by the Legislature. They are asking the court to dismiss the Austin school district from the case.

Meanwhile, spokespersons for the Texas Education Agency, a defendant in the North Texas suit, did not respond to requests for comment. The TEA was not included as a defendant in the ACLU’s more recent filing.

A Lancaster ISD spokesperson said that the district was aware of the suit and monitoring it but did not have further comment. A Dallas ISD spokesperson said the district does not comment on pending litigation.

DeSoto ISD administrators said in a statement that the school system, which teaches roughly 6,000 kids, operates in alignment with state and federal laws and also remains committed to creating an inclusive learning environment 鈥渇or all students and families, regardless of religious background or personal beliefs.鈥�

鈥淒eSoto ISD recognizes the diverse cultural and religious identities represented in its school community and will continue to prioritize the safety, dignity, and educational well-being of every student,鈥� district officials said. 鈥淭he district respects the role of parents and guardians in guiding their children鈥檚 personal and religious development and will strive to remain sensitive to the varying perspectives within its schools.鈥�

This article originally appeared in at . The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

As far-right political operative David Barton leads a Christian nationalist crusade, he鈥檚 traveled to state capitols across the country this year to support  in classrooms. 

My latest story digs into a well-coordinated and deep-pocketed campaign to inject Protestant Christianity into public schools that could carry broader implications for students鈥� First Amendment rights. Through a data analysis of  this year, I show how Barton鈥檚 role runs far deeper than just being their primary pitchman.

The analysis reveals how the language, structure and requirements of these bills nationwide are inherently identical. Time and again, state legislation took language verbatim from a Barton-led lobbying blitz to reshape the nation鈥檚 laws around claims 鈥� routinely debunked 鈥� about Christianity鈥檚 role in the country鈥檚 founding and its early public education system. 

Three new state laws in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas mandating Ten Commandments posters in public schools are designed to challenge a 1980 Supreme Court ruling against such government-required displays in classrooms. GOP state lawmakers embracing these laws have expressed support for eradicating the separation of church and state 鈥� a pursuit critics fear will coerce students and take away their own religious freedom.

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鈥淭his is actually printed by the official printer of Congress,鈥� said Barton, a best-selling author and . Barton has spent the last 40 years arguing that the separation of church and state is a myth 鈥� and has built a multimillion-dollar media and lobbying operation to influence public opinion and shape laws around the belief that the United States was founded as .听

At in April, Barton appeared before the Texas House education committee and testified in favor of legislation, since signed into law, requiring that posters of the Ten Commandments be placed inside every classroom in the state鈥檚 nearly 9,100 public schools by September. With him, Barton brought a small collection of books he claims were foundational to the country鈥檚 public education system until the 20th Century.

Barton isn鈥檛 just a primary pitchman for the Ten Commandments law in Texas, his home state, an investigation by 社区黑料 reveals. His fingerprints appear on 28 bills that have cropped up before the legislatures in 18 states this year. A data analysis of the bills exposes how their language, structure and requirements are inherently identical. In dozens of instances, they match model legislation pitched by Barton verbatim. 

At the Texas hearing, Barton鈥檚 eyes fixated on the cover of the rare 1782 Aitken Bible. 

鈥淚t also says it鈥檚 鈥榓 neat Edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools,鈥欌�� he continued. 鈥淚t has the Ten Commandments.” 

In actuality, Barton lifted language calling on Congress to sanction a Bible that could also be for Christian nationalists have for years  the Revolutionary-era printing includes a government promotion of Christianity. Barton has long been accused of , and in 2012, the Christian publisher of his bestselling book on Thomas Jefferson because “basic truths just were not there.”

Texas is one of three states in the last two years to pass a law requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in public schools. The mandates are part of a coordinated nationwide effort to overturn forbidding Kentucky from requiring Ten Commandments displays in classrooms. 

As the influence of Barton and the burgeoning Christian nationalist movement find favor in state legislatures, and with 鈥� who cites Barton as a 鈥減rofound influence鈥� 鈥� the lobbyists and lawmakers behind the state Ten Commandments bills told 社区黑料 they鈥檙e confident the current Supreme Court鈥檚 conservative super-majority is on their side, too.

The analysis by 社区黑料 reveals how language in virtually every state bill matches model legislation created by Project Blitz, a Barton-steered Christian 鈥渂ill mill鈥� that鈥檚 long  with legislative templates that promote Christianity in public schools, and restrict abortion. 

A dozen bills specify, for example, that the Ten Commandments displays must be hung in a 鈥渃onspicuous鈥� location. Another 11 specify they should be at least 11-by-14 inches in size. Nearly all of the bills 鈥� 25 鈥� mandate a Christian version of the religious and ethical directives be displayed as a 鈥減oster or framed.鈥� 社区黑料 tallied 96 instances where bills introduced this year match Project Blitz鈥檚 model legislation, including template bills to require the or the phrase in public schools.

Among the architects of Project Blitz is the Barton-founded influence machine, The flurry of state bills were introduced after WallBuilders 鈥� the name is an Old Testament reference to 鈥�  convened its annual national conference of state legislators in November where the model legislation was promoted.  

After Louisiana passed its first-in-the-nation Ten Commandments law last year, new mandates approved in Arkansas and Texas this year follow the same Project Blitz template.

鈥楴o such thing as separation of God and government鈥�

Texas state Sen. Mayes Middleton is the joint author of  the state’s new Ten Commandments law and the author of another new law permitting a in public schools statewide. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed both in June. 

Middleton, whose district southeast of Houston includes his hometown of Galveston, acknowledged Barton’s influence over not just his own legislative agenda, but Texas’ broader conservative movement. Barton previously served as vice chair of the state Republican Party. 

鈥淥f course, WallBuilders is very supportive of the bill,鈥� Middleton told 社区黑料, as were the conservative legal groups and the . 鈥淎nd, of course, all of their missions is to advance religious liberties, especially in the public realm where there is no such thing as separation of God and government.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Founded by Barton in 1988, WallBuilders promotes theories 鈥� 鈥� about Christianity鈥檚 central role in the formation of the United States through its podcasts, books and a museum with 鈥渙ne of the largest private collections of United States historical documents.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Through WallBuilders鈥� lobbying arm, the Pro-Family Legislative Network, Barton leads and at its annual conferences at a four-star waterfront resort in suburban Dallas. It was at this gathering where Indiana Rep. J.D. Prescott, a Republican, got the idea for Ten Commandments legislation in his state, he told 社区黑料. 

Prescott   requiring a 鈥渄urable poster or framed picture鈥� of the commandments in each library and classroom at all public schools statewide. The legislation ultimately failed to garner support. Bills in other states also failed to gain traction, including in South Dakota where the bill鈥檚 critics 鈥� including some Republicans 鈥� said a government mandate was the wrong way to spread Christianity and ran afoul of the Constitution. 

鈥淥ur early common school system was really designed to teach biblical principles in the Bible, so it鈥檚 just getting back to that point,鈥� said Prescott, who described himself as a 鈥渟tudent of history.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; 

The Pro-Family Legislative conference offers lawmakers scholarships and discounted hotel rates to attend the event. In at least one instance,   filed a disclosure form reporting that he had received $859.47 from the Pro-Family Legislative Network, including $500 reimbursing him for air fare, to attend the November 2024 conference. 

Prescott told 社区黑料,  鈥淚 learned a lot of it at a WallBuilders conference hosted by David Barton. They鈥檝e got a great conference for legislators down in Texas every November. I did look at the WallBuilders model legislation and it鈥檚 a good place to start.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Not everyone鈥檚 Ten Commandments

Experts said the bills seek to do more than require 鈥渄urable鈥� Ten Commandments posters in every public school classroom. The campaign is part of a broader, well-organized and deep-pocketed assault, they argue, on the separation of church and state.

Although WallBuilders isn鈥檛 required to disclose its donors, the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy analyzed federal tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service to . In 2021, WallBuilders reported $5.9 million in revenue and $6.3 million in total assets. 

The group relies heavily on , a tax loophole that allows anonymous supporters to contribute to contentious causes without scrutiny.  For example, donor-advised funds have been exploited by far-right activists to of women and the LGBTQ+ community, according to a 2023 investigation by openDemocracy.

Mercury One, a nonprofit founded by high-profile conservative pundit and media personality Glenn Beck, is both and primary sponsor of Barton鈥檚 annual Pro-Family Legislative Conference to brief elected officials 鈥渙n pressing issues from a constitutional perspective.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Barton, who didn鈥檛 respond to multiple requests for comment, describes himself as a self-taught historian and the owner of the largest private collection of historical documents about the Founding Fathers. His critics pan the graduate of the Oral Roberts University as a discredited pseudohistorian and propagandist. 

Barton is 鈥渢he granddaddy of Christian nationalist disinformation,鈥� constitutional attorney Andrew Seidel, who serves as vice president of strategic communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told 社区黑料.

John Fea, an American history professor and history department chair at Messiah University, a private evangelical Christian institution in Pennsylvania, accused Barton of cherry-picking historical information to present a misleading portrayal of the past, one that bolsters his own present-day political agenda. 

鈥淭his is clearly an attempt by Christian nationalists to try to advance their own version of what America should be,鈥� Fea said, noting that even as historians challenge Barton, he鈥檚 amassed influence among Republican lawmakers interested in leveraging a distorted accounting of history for political gain. 

鈥淏arton provides that history for these lawmakers. It adds a certain depth, even though it鈥檚 hollow.鈥�

Darcy Hirsh, the senior director of government relations and advocacy at the nonprofit National Council for Jewish Women, said the Ten Commandments laws present an attack on 鈥渢he strict wall of separation鈥� between church and state. 

鈥淎ny efforts to perpetuate the falsehood that the United States is a Christian nation is something that we find deeply alarming,鈥� Hirsh said. Requiring a protestant Christian version of the Ten Commandments in schools, she said, is 鈥渆xclusionary and coercive鈥� to children from diverse backgrounds. 
鈥淎 Protestant interpretation of the Ten Commandments is different than the Jewish interpretation of the Ten Commandments, in fact, they are numbered differently,鈥� she said. Constitutional protections separating church and state, she said, are critical to the country鈥檚 democratic society.

鈥淚t’s that protection that has really allowed the Jewish community and other minority faith communities to flourish in the U.S.鈥�

The laws successfully passed in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas now face lawsuits from parents alleging they violate the separation of church and state. The issue could soon appear again before the nation鈥檚 highest court. In June, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, among the nation鈥檚 most conservative, struck down Louisiana鈥檚 Ten Commandments display mandate, finding it 鈥減lainly unconstitutional.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Parents with diverse religious identities are being backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State in challenging the laws. In a complaint filed in Arkansas, parents allege students will be 鈥渦nconstitutionally coerced into religious observance鈥� and 鈥減ressured to suppress their personal religious beliefs.鈥�

Fea, the evangelical historian, told 社区黑料 the far-right campaign isn鈥檛 about the Ten Commandments鈥� place in the nation鈥檚 founding but about advancing the influence of Christianity in society. 

鈥淭hey鈥檙e using this historical argument to disguise the fact that they believe that somehow 鈥� and I don鈥檛 know how this happens, by osmosis or whatever 鈥� a student sitting in a classroom where the Ten Commandments is displayed will somehow buy into those ideals and values and become more Christian,鈥� he said. 

鈥楾he hostility is gone鈥�

At the Texas House education committee hearing in April, Barton held up a second book. This one was much smaller than the first, but just as old and, Barton testified, just as significant.

Barton lectured the Republican-controlled state legislature on The New England Primer, a widely used . The book, he said, drilled first graders with 43 questions about the Ten Commandments. 

Then he introduced a third book, and a fourth. 

鈥淭he courts have pointed to the Ten Commandments as the reason we have all types of laws,鈥� Barton testified. 鈥淪o there鈥檚 a lot of history and tradition for that document that鈥檚 not there for other documents.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Barton鈥檚 prop-focused presentation isn鈥檛 just scripted 鈥� it鈥檚 well rehearsed. This year, the 71-year-old has traveled across the country with his books and a small team of collaborators to spread the gospel of Christian nationalism. Like the bills before the state legislatures, Barton鈥檚 speech was replicated again and again. 

As Barton testified on the Ten Commandment bills nationally, legislative sponsors routinely parroted his talking points, not just about Christianity鈥檚 role in the country鈥檚 origin, but the Supreme Court鈥檚 support for their movement.

During his recent appearances in Nebraska and other states, Barton鈥檚 testimonies invoked the court鈥檚 2022 opinion upholding the rights of a Washington state high school football coach to lead prayers with his team on the 50-yard line after games. 

Prescott, the Indiana lawmaker, said he became interested in introducing his bill after learning of the implications of the coach鈥檚 Supreme Court victory. 

To Barton and other members of his coalition, the court鈥檚 opinion in creates a clear path to require Ten Commandments in schools 鈥� and inject Christianity into other facets of public life 鈥� by proving they鈥檙e part of a longstanding traditional practice. 

In finding for Coach Kennedy, the Supreme Court its 1971 opinion ruling that religious displays don鈥檛 violate the Constitution if they have significant secular or nonreligious purposes. The court鈥檚 new standard revolves around whether the religious displays are part of historical practices. In other words, the heart of Barton鈥檚 pitch. 

鈥淭hat is the new standard, so the hostility is gone,鈥� he . 鈥淪howing that this is something that is longstanding practice, you go back to The New England Primer.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Bought and paid for 鈥� according to specs

Even as bill proponents championed states鈥� rights as one legal justification for their Ten Commandments display mandates, Middleton, the Texas legislative leader,  said there is a key benefit to the near-identical requirements in the bills across the 18 states. 

鈥淲e just wanted uniformity in these displays. We thought that was important,鈥� the oil company president and cattle rancher told 社区黑料. 鈥淥bviously, these are primarily going to be donated as well, so it鈥檚 probably going to be primarily private funds funding these.鈥�

Project Blitz model legislation devises a funding scheme that revolves around donated displays without the reliance on public funds 鈥� a provision that appears in 16 states鈥� bills. Others invoke the model legislation by encouraging donated displays, but broaden the mandate so schools are also free to spend taxpayer dollars to comply.

Mirroring the Project Blitz model legislation, the new Arkansas law requires the Ten Commandments display be composed of a 鈥渄urable poster or framed copy鈥� of the document and that it be 鈥減rominently鈥� positioned in each public classroom and library across the state. The law also stipulates that the posters should be donated by outside groups, meaning the same private entities who had a hand in crafting the specifications, supporting the bills and getting them on legislators’ radars, will also be the ones buying the versions of the Ten Commandments that wind up in schools.

Even as the Louisiana law is caught up in federal court, religious groups who lobbied for the law鈥檚 passage and have close ties to the WallBuilders have plans to donate the displays set to appear in classrooms across the state. 

In April, First Liberty Institute and The Louisiana Family Forum announced that Patriot Mobile, which describes itself as 鈥淎merica鈥檚 ONLY Christian conservative wireless provider,鈥� had donated 3,000 Ten Commandments displays 鈥渁s part of a project to provide, at no cost to the Louisiana taxpayer, displays in schools throughout Louisiana.鈥�

The two new Texas laws are part of a broader push this year as Republican lawmakers in pursue bills that bolster the presence of religion in public schools 鈥� legislation critics contend violates the Constitution. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment states 鈥淐ongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,鈥� or favor one over another. Proponents of the policies in Texas and other conservative states have framed the laws as a matter of religious freedom and believe the Supreme Court is on their side. 

On the same day Abbott took those steps to legislate religion in public schools, a federal appeals court in New Orleans found a similar law requiring Ten Commandments displays in Louisiana classrooms was unconstitutional.

In Texas, and throughout the South in particular, the new laws have garnered overwhelming support from the public, the shows. While 52% of adults nationally said they favor allowing teachers to lead prayers that refer to Jesus, 81% felt that way in Mississippi and 61% did in Texas. In the Lone Star State, 38% of adults opposed having teachers lead Christian prayer. 

The latest results are 鈥渁 lot higher than what we鈥檙e used to seeing鈥� among Americans who 鈥渨ant to see the end of church-state separation or public displays [of the Ten Commandments],鈥� Chip Rotolo, a research associate at Pew focused on religion, told 社区黑料. 

Views on Christian prayers in public school, by state

% who say they oppose/favor allowing public school teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to Jesus

Note: The blue and orange bars show the confidence intervals around each estimate at a 95% confidence level. In the 16 states with unbolded names, the shares saying they favor and saying they oppose Christian prayers in public schools are not significantly different.
Source: Religious Landscape Study of U.S. adults conducted July 17, 2023-March 4, 2024

Jonathan Covey, the policy director at the nonprofit lobbying group Texas Values, told 社区黑料 he wasn鈥檛 surprised by the survey results as people turn to religion as an 鈥渙pportunity for moral clarity鈥� and to find 鈥渃omfort and encouragement in difficult times.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

鈥淭he country wanting to see the involvement of religion in civic society, that has been a good thing, and we鈥檝e seen that the Supreme Court has said that the Establishment Clause doesn鈥檛 demand a strict government neutrality towards religion,鈥� Covey said. 鈥淎ctually to the contrary, it’s always been understood that religion has a place in American civic society.鈥�

Texas Values lobbied the state legislature to get the new laws across the finish line. One requires a 16-by-20-inch poster of the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom statewide. The second allows public schools to provide students and educators time during the school day to pray or read the Bible or other religious texts.  

Jonathan Saenz, the group鈥檚 president, called the new Ten Commandments requirement 鈥渁 Texas-sized blessing,鈥� noting in a statement that it 鈥渟tands shoulder to shoulder with partner organizations鈥� and is prepared to fight 鈥渁gainst any court challenges brought against it.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; 

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a nonprofit that opposes government policies intertwined with religion, over the Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms. The group has against a similar Arkansas requirement signed into law in April. In that lawsuit, seven Arkansas families with children in public schools 鈥� and who identify as Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, Humanist, agnostic, atheist and nonreligious 鈥� allege the law imposes one religious perspective on all students. 

Meanwhile, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, considered among the nation鈥檚 most conservative, issued blocking Louisiana鈥檚 Ten Commandments law. The judges found the requirement to install a Protestant version of the commandments violated the Establishment Clause. 

Constitutional attorney Andrew Seidel, who serves as vice president of strategic communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the Fifth Circuit鈥檚 ruling made clear that 鈥渢he separation of church and state is the best protection for religious freedom that we have.鈥�

鈥淭hese Ten Commandments displays are meant to tell the viewer 鈥� the captive kindergartener or third grader or seventh grader 鈥� which God is approved by the government, which God to pray to, which religion is correct,鈥� Seidel told 社区黑料. 鈥淭hat is inappropriate for a public school classroom, as inappropriate as it is clear that that tells the Buddhist students that they鈥檙e wrong, the Muslim kid that their religion is false, the Hindu child that their gods are fallacious, and the non-religious and atheist and agnostic kids are told by the state they鈥檙e misguided.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Religion is partisan

Results from the Pew study reflect a political split on support for the separation of church and state. Opposition to teacher-led prayer at school was strongest in Democratic strongholds like Massachusetts and California and highest in Washington, D.C., at 69%. Across 22 states, majorities of adults supported school prayers led by teachers. Opponents were in the majority in 12 states and the District of Columbia, and in 16 states, the share of respondents who supported school prayer was not statistically different from those in opposition. The nationally representative survey of nearly 37,000 U.S. adults, taken between July 2023 and March 2024, has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.8 percentage points. 

Rotolo, the Pew research associate, said he found the regional patterns particularly interesting. While support was strongest in the South, 鈥測ou see right down the whole West Coast, most people oppose seeing Christian prayer in school.鈥�

Pew , when 46% of adults said teachers should not be allowed to lead students in any kinds of prayers, a practice that saw support at the time from just 30% of respondents. However, 23% said they had no opinion on the issue. The latest survey didn鈥檛 give respondents an opportunity to choose 鈥渘either.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

鈥淛ust by posing the question differently, we actually see some different results,鈥� Rotolo said, acknowledging that the change could also reflect a shift in public opinion over the last four years. It鈥檚 also possible that some respondents who said they support school prayer in the recent survey 鈥渕ay not have particularly strong opinions about this鈥� and may have chosen 鈥渘either鈥� if given the option. 

Rotolo said the favorability of teacher-led prayer in public schools was dominant among Republicans, at 70%.  Just 34% of Democrats were in support. Older Americans were also significantly more likely to allow educator-led prayers in schools than recent high school students. 

Support also varied drastically between racial groups. Among Black respondents, 67% supported teacher-led prayer compared to 50% of white adults. Just 36% of Asian Americans were in favor. 

Seidel, of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said he wasn鈥檛 particularly surprised to see the Pew survey results, in part because it reflects a 鈥渃oordinated assault on the separation of church and state right now鈥� amid attempts by lawmakers across the country 鈥渢o promote Christian nationalism.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

鈥淭hose folks in the minority, whether it be religion or nonreligious, are the biggest supporters of separation of church and state because they know what it is to have a government impose their religion on them,鈥� Seidel said.

Meanwhile in 2023, in the nation to allow school districts to hire religiously affiliated chaplains to provide counseling services to students. As of April, has hired a full-time religious chaplain while more than two dozen others have opted out of the measure. In 2021, Texas lawmakers required schools to display any 鈥淚n God We Trust鈥� signs donated to them by private organizations, and in 2024, the State Board of Education that relies heavily on biblical teachings. 

The efforts to bolster religion in schools, including in Texas and Louisiana, could again appear before the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority. In 1980, the high court be displayed in classrooms, finding the displays served no secular purpose and ran afoul of the First Amendment. 

This time, Republican lawmakers are banking on a more favorable court makeup. In 2022, the Supreme Court found the First Amendment protected a Washington high school football on the field after games. Last month, an evenly divided Supreme Court blocked the opening of a religious charter school in Oklahoma, which would have been the nation鈥檚 first. If Justice Amy Coney Barrett had not recused herself in that case, some believe there would have been a majority permitting the school.

Covey, of the nonprofit Texas Values, said recent Supreme Court opinions have begun to abandon the 1980 opinion against the Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky schools. The court鈥檚 opinion upholding the Washington football coach鈥檚 right to pray on the field, he said, was 鈥渢he nail in the coffin.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Come September, every public school classroom in Texas could be required to display the Ten Commandments under a requirement that passed the Texas legislature Wednesday 鈥� part of a larger push in Texas and beyond to increase the role of religion in schools.

passed the Senate 28-3, despite a federal court ruling that a similar Louisiana law violated a constitutionally required separation of church and state.

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The bill preliminarily passed the House 88-49 on Saturday 鈥� the Jewish Sabbath day. The Ten Commandments forbids work on that day, Rep. noted in an effort to highlight legislative hypocrisy. The lower chamber鈥檚 initial 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.

On Sunday, the House passed the bill 82-46, but clarified in it that the state would be responsible for any legal fees if a school district were to be sued over the policy. The bill now goes to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it.

Sponsored by Sen. , a Republican from Weatherford, the bill requires every classroom to visibly display a poster sized at least 16 by 20 inches. The poster can鈥檛 include any text other than the language laid out in the bill, and no other similar posters may be displayed.

鈥淚t is incumbent on all of us to follow God鈥檚 law and I think we would all be better off if we did,鈥� Rep. , a Republican from Lucas who is carrying the bill in the House, said during the floor debate Saturday.

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.

That movement fueled Texas鈥� push to require signs if they were donated by a private foundation 鈥� signed into law in 2021. In 2024, the State Board of Education approved Bible-infused teaching materials.

This session, lawmakers have advanced bills that , and one that would require teachers to use the terms 鈥淎nno Domini鈥� (AD) 鈥� Latin for 鈥渋n the year of the Lord,鈥� and 鈥淏efore Christ鈥� (BC) when expressing dates.

Proponents of King鈥檚 bill also say making the Ten Commandments more prominent in schools will combat what movement leaders see as a generations-long moral decline.

Texas is one of 16 states where lawmakers have pursued the Ten Commandments bills.

Although the Supreme Court , supporters in Texas and beyond find support in the current makeup of the court鈥檚 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 鈥� as in the Kennedy case 鈥� is different from displaying the Ten Commandments in the classroom.

Last June, a federal court struck down a 鈥� the first state this decade to pass such a law. The state is appealing the decision.

鈥淭he constant presence of a sacred text in the room with them is effectively telling them, 鈥楬ey, these are things you should read and obey,鈥欌�� Tuttle said. 鈥淭hat’s not the state’s job 鈥� to do religious instruction.鈥�

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 could mean that the Court, for now, is not throwing out that principle.

During Texas legislative committee hearings, opponents from free speech and civil rights groups 鈥� 鈥� said the policy could send a message of exclusion to students of other faiths or those who don鈥檛 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.

鈥淧ublic schools are not supposed to be Sunday school,鈥� said spokesperson Clay Robison.

鈥� who is studying to become a minister 鈥� raised concerns in House floor discussions Wednesday that the First Amendment forbids imposing a state-sponsored religion.

鈥淢y 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,鈥� the Austin lawmaker told the Tribune. 鈥淚’m a Christian who firmly believes in the separation of church and state.鈥�

This article originally appeared in at . The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Testing constitutional limits, Republicans in at least 15 states have introduced legislation this year that would require the Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms.

GOP lawmakers are attempting to follow Louisiana, which last year became the first state in the country to have such a requirement in the modern era. That law is currently blocked in five public school districts as a lawsuit makes its way through the courts; other districts are expected to comply with the law.

The federal lawsuit argues that the law violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states, 鈥淐ongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.鈥� The case is likely heading to the U.S. Supreme Court. In December, 18 Republican state attorneys general supporting Louisiana鈥檚 law to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is currently hearing the case.

Republican state lawmakers also have introduced bills that would require prayer, Bible reading or chaplains in public schools.

The Ten Commandments are the basis of Judeo-Christian doctrine. In Jewish and Christian theology, God gave the commandments directly to the Prophet Moses, as described in the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Supportive state legislators say the commandments are a historical example of law and not purely religious in nature. But while there are commandments that prohibit murder and stealing, some declare that there are no other gods above God, and that people must observe the Sabbath.

So far this year, no state has enacted legislation requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in public schools. Measures in Mississippi and Oklahoma died in committee. In Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, they failed after passing out of one legislative chamber. Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs similar GOP-led legislation last year.

Although Republicans dominate the legislature in each of those states, the bills have been a hard sell for Christian lawmakers who say they also value the Constitution.

鈥淪o, if we put the Ten Commandments up, which are Christian commandments, then we鈥檙e actually violating the plain language of our Constitution in our First Amendment,鈥� Montana state Sen. Jason Ellsworth, a Republican, earlier this month, as reported in the Daily Montanan.

Eight Republicans joined every Democrat in the Montana Senate to defeat the measure.

鈥楢 new day for religious freedom鈥�

In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court that Kentucky鈥檚 law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools was unconstitutional.

However, 45 years later, supporters of these measures believe there鈥檚 a new legal pathway considering the makeup of the nation鈥檚 high court. The Supreme Court now has a 6-3 conservative majority, with three of its members appointed by President Donald Trump in his first term.

鈥淚t is now a new day for religious freedom in America,鈥� Republican state Sen. Bob Phalen, who sponsored the Montana bill, during a committee hearing last month. 鈥淭he Supreme Court鈥檚 approach on religious displays has evolved over time.鈥�

Indeed, in 2022, the Supreme Court鈥檚 conservative majority in favor of a Washington state public school football coach who prayed with his team on the 50-yard line. Images of Moses and the Ten Commandments also appear in many U.S. government buildings, including the Supreme Court and the Capitol.

Bills requiring the display of the Ten Commandments are just one example of Republican state lawmakers attempting to insert religious doctrine into the school day.

On Tuesday, the Republican majority in the Kentucky Senate passed that would require schools to have a moment of silence at the beginning of each day, lasting at least one minute. It now heads to the state House. School staff would be prohibited from telling students how to use the time, but critics 鈥� including the ACLU and some members of the state's Jewish community 鈥� say students to pray.

In Texas, Republican senators this session legislation that would allow school districts to require every campus "to provide students and employees with an opportunity to participate in a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text" each day. That bill is sitting in committee.

In Idaho, a bill that Bible readings in schools is also in committee.

In Oklahoma, the state鈥檚 top education official last year that the Bible would be incorporated into school curricula. The ACLU in October Oklahoma over the proposal. The suit is ongoing.

And in Nebraska, that would allow local public school boards to hire chaplains is sitting in committee.

The U.S. Supreme Court school-sponsored prayer and Bible readings in 1963.

How it looks in Louisiana

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill last month to public schools, colleges and universities for how to comply with the novel law, which took effect in the new year.

The guidance came with four example posters 鈥� one including images of Moses and Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents a Louisiana district.

Requirements include that the posters of the Ten Commandments must be at least 11 inches by 14 inches and must be donated to schools; there is no legal penalty for not displaying the canonical edict.

Murrill also advised that the posters be included next to other historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence.

Murrill said the law was 鈥減lainly constitutional.鈥� A federal district court judge disagreed last year when he blocked the law, which 鈥渦nconstitutional on its face鈥� and 鈥渙vertly religious.鈥� It seems likely the U.S. Supreme Court will decide which side prevails.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

that would have required South Dakota public schools to display and teach the Ten Commandments failed to clear its final legislative hurdle Monday at the Capitol in Pierre as the state House to reject it.

State representatives engaged in a lengthy, impassioned debate. Opponents said the bill represented an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion, and warned of legal challenges.

Rep. David Kull, R-Brandon, referenced out-of-state support for the bill, including from Texas-based , which says it works to protect the nation鈥檚 鈥淏iblical foundation.鈥�

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鈥淢ake no mistake, this bill is an experiment, and we鈥檙e the lab rats, and the leading scientists from out of state are driving us,鈥� Kull said. 鈥淭he beauty for them is they aren鈥檛 at risk. Their money isn鈥檛 at risk 鈥� ours is.鈥�

A similar bill adopted by Louisiana is being in court.

The South Dakota bill originally mandated that all public school classrooms feature 8-by-14-inch posters of the Ten Commandments with a three-part, 225-word statement explaining their historical significance. The bill was amended during the Monday debate to require only one display for each school, but the House rejected the bill even with the amendment.

Additionally, schools would have been required to incorporate lessons on the commandments at least once during elementary, middle and high school as part of civics and history classes.

Supporters of the bill said the Ten Commandments played a fundamental role in shaping American law and culture.

Rep. John Hughes, R-Sioux Falls, was among the lawmakers who said the commandments are needed in schools. He said the Judeo-Christian worldview is under attack.

鈥淥ur system of public education instructs our children that no god is responsible for how we came to be, for what purpose we were created, and for what becomes of us when we breathe our last breath on this earth,鈥� he said.

Rep. Tim Goodwin, R-Rapid City, said he supported the bill even though the religious leaders and public school superintendents he talked to were against it.

Goodwin said he prayed about the bill and experienced a calmness that influenced his vote.

鈥淭he calmness had a voice saying to me, if one person comes to Christ because the Ten Commandments are posted, vote yes,鈥� he said.

Rep. Keri Weems, R-Sioux Falls, said a government mandate is not the right way to spread Christianity.

鈥淭his is brought about by relationships,鈥� she said, 鈥渘ot words on a wall.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com.

NEW ORLEANS 鈥� Three judges on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals considered arguments Thursday over a state law that requires displays of the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public school classroom.

A group of nine parents, each on behalf of their children, sued to block the law shortly after the Louisiana Legislature and Gov. Jeff Landry approved it last spring. A lower court ruled in November the requirement violates the First Amendment鈥檚 prohibition against establishing a state-approved religion.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill appealed that ruling, which the 5th Circuit decided only applied to the five school districts that are among the defendants in the case. For every other district, at the start of this month.

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The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State are also representing the plaintiffs in the case. The law firm Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett is providing its services to the parents at no cost.

In addition to the five school districts, Louisiana Education Superintendent Cade Brumley and members of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are defendants.

Judge Catharina Haynes led the hearing conducted via Zoom because of the winter weather. She  questioned why the law was approved when Solicitor General Benjamin Agiu帽aga presented his arguments.

鈥淚鈥檓 respectful of the Ten Commandments, and I think everybody is,鈥� said Haynes, federal court appointee of former President George W. Bush. 鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 mean it has to be put in every classroom in a state under the First Amendment.鈥�

Agui帽aga said the law鈥檚 language notes the historical significance of the commandments in the foundation of the U.S. legal system merits their display in classrooms.

In addition to defending the law, Agui帽aga argued the plaintiffs filed their lawsuit too hastily because the displays had not yet been posted and no children had been harmed. The judges must rule first on whether the parents had the right to sue before considering the merits of their case.

Agui帽aga cited a 2007 ruling from the 5th Circuit in the case Staley v. Harris County, which involved a memorial display outside a Texas courthouse that included a Bible. Appellate judges first upheld a lower court ruling that deemed the monument unconstitutional, but the 5th Circuit later reversed its decision. The ruling declared that because the monument was being refurbished, it wasn鈥檛 clear yet what it would look like or whether it violated the First Amendment.

Jonathan Youngwood, an attorney for the plaintiffs, countered that legal theory in First Amendment cases does not require plaintiffs to be harmed before they seek relief.

He also stressed the religious intent of the law鈥檚 author, Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, who he quoted as saying: 鈥淚t is so important that our children learn what God says is right and what he says is wrong.鈥�

Youngwood also noted 鈥渞eligious references鈥� to God and the Sabbath day in the first four commandments, which he said violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

鈥淥f course the Ten Commandments are worthy of great respect and are profoundly meaningful to many, many people, and they have a place in our society,鈥� Youngwood said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have a place in this form in public schools.鈥�

Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, an appointee of President Joe Biden, asked Agui帽aga if he could cite any prior court decisions that allowed displays of the Ten Commandments in a school setting. He could not but instead referenced a ruling that allowed students who are Jehovah鈥檚 Witnesses to abstain from the Pledge of Allegiance.

鈥淭he fact that they are allowed under the First Amendment to opt out of participating in the pledge doesn鈥檛 mean that they can also request that the flag be taken down or that the pledge not be said,鈥� Agui帽aga said.

Judge Haynes voiced some skepticism of Agui帽aga鈥檚 reference to the Staley case, noting that few people are compelled to go to a courthouse while children are required to go to school.

Judge James Dennis, who former President Bill Clinton appointed to the federal bench, also heard arguments Thursday.

Haynes said the appellate judges would do their best to render a decision in the near future.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

OKLAHOMA CITY 鈥� An Oklahoma lawmaker says he hopes new House leadership will support a better outcome for his resurrected bill to display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.

Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, has refiled the bill after it failed last year. would require a poster or a framed copy of the Ten Commandments to be posted in a conspicuous place in every public school classroom in Oklahoma, a state where the .

鈥淭he Ten Commandments is one of our founding documents,鈥� Olsen said. 鈥淚t was integral and central to the life of the founders and to our people in general during the founding of the nation, and for us to give our children an honest history of how things really were, I think that needs to be included.鈥�

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Louisiana requiring school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. Enforcement of the law is blocked in five Louisiana school districts after a .

In 2015, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ordered the removal of a statue of the Ten Commandments from the state Capitol, finding it a violation of the state Constitution. A year later, Oklahoma voters upheld the state Constitution鈥檚 prohibition against spending public funds for religious purposes.

Despite the Louisiana ruling and past decisions in Oklahoma, Olsen said he believes his bill has a viable legal future in light of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

The Court in 2022 of a high school football coach praying with players at games. In doing so, the Court abandoned its long-standing , which it had used to measure compliance with the First Amendment and church-state separation.

Olsen鈥檚 bill will have to gain significantly more traction than it did last year for it to become law in Oklahoma.

His previous bill died early in the 2024 legislative session after it failed to get an initial hearing in a House committee on education appropriations. The panel鈥檚 chairperson who declined to hear the bill, Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, is one of several leading House Republicans who are no longer in office because of term limits.

Olsen said he is 鈥渃autiously optimistic鈥� that new House leaders will be supportive.

McBride鈥檚 successor at the head of the education appropriations committee, Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, said it would be premature to comment on whether he would give the bill a hearing. He said he hasn鈥檛 read the legislation nor has it been assigned yet to a committee for review.

Oklahoma鈥檚 top education official, state Superintendent Ryan Walters, advocated for the legislation last year. Walters called the Ten Commandments a 鈥渇ounding document of our country鈥� and an 鈥渋mportant historical precedent.鈥�

Since then, Walters in every classroom and . Several district leaders have said they won鈥檛 comply, and a .

Walters鈥� administration of Lee Greenwood鈥檚 God Bless the USA Bible, which the state superintendent said he would place in AP government classrooms. He also that include 40 references to the Bible.

鈥淭he breakdown in classroom discipline over the past 40 years is in no small measure due to the elimination of the Ten Commandments as guideposts for student behavior,鈥� Walters said about Olsen鈥檚 bill last year. 鈥淚 will continue to fight against state-sponsored atheism that has caused society to go downhill.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.

A Louisiana law that will require schools to place displays of the Ten Commandments in every classroom is 鈥渃oercive鈥� and 鈥渦nconstitutional,鈥� according to the federal judge who issued an order Tuesday that stops the law from taking effect Jan. 1.

Nine families have sued the state, arguing the new law amounts to the state endorsing a religion and conflicts with the First Amendment.

Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill, who is defending the law that GOP Gov. Jeff Landry signed, maintains the Ten Commandments have historic standing as a foundational document for U.S. law.

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鈥淲e strongly disagree with the court鈥檚 decision and will immediately appeal,鈥� Murrill said in a statement sent through her spokesman.

In a social media later in the day, the attorney general noted the ruling applies only to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the four parish school boards that are named defendants in the lawsuit.

鈥淪chool boards are independently elected, local political subdivisions in Louisiana,鈥� Murrill wrote. 鈥淥nly five school boards are defendants, therefore the judge only has jurisdiction over those five. This is far from over.鈥�

The new law requires 11-by-14-inch displays along with an accompanying 鈥渃ontext statement鈥� that explains the commandments鈥� role in education. It applies to any school that accepts state money, including colleges and universities. The schools are not compelled to spend money on the posters though they can accept donated materials.

U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, a federal court appointee of President Barack Obama to Louisiana鈥檚 Middle District Court in Baton Rouge, said in his that the plaintiffs would more than likely prevail in their case. He wrote that the law amounts to coercion because families must ensure their minor children attend school.

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The American Civil Liberties Union, which is among the organizations representing the plaintiffs, called the ruling 鈥渁 victory for religious freedom.鈥� The plaintiffs include non-Christian and nonreligious families.

鈥淭his ruling will ensure that Louisiana families 鈥� not politicians or public school officials 鈥� get to decide if, when and how their children engage with religion,鈥� said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, another group representing the plaintiffs. 鈥淚t should send a strong message to Christian Nationalists across the country that they cannot impose their beliefs on our nation鈥檚 public school children. Not on our watch.鈥�

Defendants in the case include Louisiana K-12 Superintendent Cade Brumley, members of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the school boards from East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Tammany and Vernon parishes.

The plaintiffs argue Louisiana鈥檚 law violates the long-standing precedent from Stone v. Graham, a 1980 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned a similar statute in Kentucky.

Landry welcomed a legal challenge of the new law before he signed it, predicting the Supreme Court would uphold the measure. He and other conservatives have been buoyed by a 2022 ruling from justices in favor of a high school football coach in Washington state who was fired after praying at midfield after games and allowing students to join him. After the 6-3 decision in Bremerton v. Kennedy, the coach was rehired at the school.

鈥淚 cannot wait to be sued,鈥� the governor said at a June fundraiser for Republicans in Tennessee.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on and .

Opponents of a that requires displays of the Ten Commandments in Louisiana classrooms point out that its language includes a quote attributed to one of the nation鈥檚 founding fathers that he didn鈥檛 actually say.

But that may not matter if a federal judge finds testimony one expert gave Monday in court irrelevant.

Those comments came Monday during arguments for a lawsuit that seeks to block the law from taking effect Jan. 1. U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, heard from a professor who called into question whether the Ten Commandments is a historical document that influenced America鈥檚 founding, as supporters of the law claim.

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While many see the legislation only for its provisions requiring classrooms to display a Ten Commandments poster, its other and perhaps more significant purpose, as evidenced in itself, is to try to establish an official record that ties the origins of U.S. law to a Protestant Christian doctrine. If its advocates succeed, the Louisiana law could revise a national historical record that has long supported the separation of church and state.

The problem is that some of what lawmakers placed into the legislation is flat out fake and based on myth, according to Steven Green, professor of law, history and religious studies from Willamette University, who testified on behalf of a group of parents challenging the constitutionality of the Louisiana mandate. The parents filed the lawsuit with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups.

Judge deGravelles heard arguments Monday on whether Green should be allowed to testify as an expert witness in the case and whether the court should grant a preliminary injunction to stop schools from complying with the new law before a decision is made or dismiss the case altogether.

The judge said he plans to rule on the matter by Nov. 15. School system leaders in the five parishes where the plaintiffs reside 鈥� East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Orleans, St. Tammany and Vernon 鈥� have agreed to hold off on placing the Ten Commandments posters in classrooms until mid-November and aren鈥檛 legally required to do so until Jan. 1, 2025.

The bill lawmakers passed earlier this year contains what it purports to be a quote from James Madison, the fourth president and the chief architect of the U.S. Constitution: 鈥�(w)e have staked the whole future of our new nation 鈥� upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.鈥�

Green, an expert on First Amendment issues involving school prayer, religious displays and the separation of church and state, told the court the quote cannot be traced back to any primary historical documents related to Madison or any peer-reviewed research papers from scholars who have studied him.

Several different versions of the quote exist online as people continue to tweak it for various reasons.

Green went on to discount many of the other passages in the bill, noting that none of America鈥檚 founding documents 鈥� such as the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights 鈥� make any mention of the Ten Commandments. The same holds true for the Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact and Northwest Ordinance, all referenced in House Bill 71.

Calvinist and Protestant church leaders published the early school materials, such as the New England Primers and McGuffey Readers, referenced in the legislation before a public education system was well-established. Those materials referenced the Ten Commandments only two or three times among hundreds of lessons and were eventually omitted as education became more secular over time, Green said.

There were many different religions and religious sects in the early American colonies, so Madison and the other founders were very aware that any establishment of religion or indication of religious favoritism would cause discord, Green said. Some of the nation鈥檚 early criminal laws are indirectly based on the principles of the Ten Commandments and other philosophical writings, but the historical record shows no direct connection between any religion and the founding of America, he said.

鈥淭he influence is indirect, at best,鈥� Green said. 鈥淲e have a lot of founding myths, and this is one of them.鈥�

The state, led by Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill, did not attempt to defend the historical accuracy of the claims within the bill while also not conceding to the plaintiffs鈥� version. Rather than try to refute Green鈥檚 testimony, the state鈥檚 lawyers argued that history is irrelevant at this juncture in the case, and the court should not allow Green to testify as an expert witness.

The attorney general鈥檚 team of lawyers also argued Green is biased because he previously served as the legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

While questioning Green under cross examination, the state鈥檚 lawyers tried several times to argue that he was testifying as a legal expert rather than a historian, but the judge seemed annoyed with the state鈥檚 lawyers for continuing to suggest it.

鈥淗e鈥檚 not qualified as a legal expert,鈥� deGravelles said emphatically. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I said about three times.鈥�

Other arguments from Murrill鈥檚 team could prove more persuasive at getting Green鈥檚 testimony struck from the record and winning a dismissal of the case. Her attorneys argued that the court should at least see the posters before ruling on whether to block the law.

The state鈥檚 lawyers pointed out that no case law exists in which a court has ever adjudicated an 鈥渋maginary鈥� religious display that no one has seen.

鈥淲e think it鈥檚 premature,鈥� Murrill told reporters following the hearing.

The plaintiffs鈥� lawyers argued that their clients include Catholic and Jewish families who shouldn鈥檛 be forced to look at Protestant scripture. The law requires the display of the Ten Commandments found in the King James Version of the Bible, which differs from the Catholic and Jewish scriptures. The state did not refute the claim that the posters are Protestant religious displays.

At one point in the hearing, the state鈥檚 lawyers presented an example of a Ten Commandments poster that would meet the minimum requirements set in the law. When the judge saw it, he noted the font was so small that it was nearly impossible to read from where he was sitting.

The law calls for the displays to be at least 11 inches by 14 inches.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on and .

An agreement has been reached to temporarily stop Louisiana schools from placing the Ten Commandments in every classroom while a case from parents who oppose a new law requiring the displays works its way through court.

U.S. District Judge John DeGravelles of Louisiana鈥檚 Middle District in Baton Rouge signed off on a Friday between the parent plaintiffs and the state to keep the religious displays out of schools at least until Nov. 15. A new state law calls for the Ten Commandments to be in place by Jan. 1, 2025, in every K-12 public school classroom and at all colleges and universities that accept state money. Posters and framed images, which have to be at least 11-by-14 inches, could have started going up as soon as classes start next month.

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According to the federal court docket, DeGravelles, who former President Barack Obama appointed to the federal bench, has set a Sept. 30 date as a hearing date on the lawsuit.

In the meantime, the agreement also prevents the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education from fashioning any rules or guidelines regarding Ten Commandment displays at public schools until Nov. 15.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill鈥檚 office is defending the state against the lawsuit that the parents of nine public school students have filed. In a text message, agency spokesman Lester Duh茅 stressed that the agreement does not reflect unfavorably on the new law.

鈥淭he law is not 鈥榩aused,鈥� 鈥榖locked鈥� or 鈥榟alted,鈥欌�� Duh茅 wrote, in part. 鈥淎t the district court鈥檚 requests, the named defendants 鈥� agreed not to take public-facing compliance measures until November 15 to allow sufficient time for briefing, oral argument, and a decision.鈥�

In a subsequent text message, Murrill reiterated Duh茅鈥檚 statement.

鈥淭he judge declined expediting the briefing schedule because nothing would have occurred that justified it,鈥� Murrill added.

Gov. Jeff Landry has been a champion of the new law, most recently championing it in an interview with Nexstar Television at the Republican National Convention. He claimed the Ten Commandments would have against former President Trump over the weekend.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argue that the new law violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because it amounts to a state endorsement of religion.

Groups representing the plaintiffs include the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Their lawyers haven鈥檛 immediately responded to a request for comment.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on and .

A proposed law to require the display of the Ten Commandments in all Louisiana K-12 schools, colleges and universities advanced Wednesday in the Legislature, but it鈥檚 now more likely to face a legal challenge after it was amended to include private institutions.

If approved, Louisiana would be the first state to mandate that the Ten Commandments be placed in classrooms.

Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, has promoted her as way to provide moral guidance to students through a historical document she attributes as the source of all laws in the U.S. Schools would not have to spend their money to acquire posters of the Ten Commandments, but they would be required to display them if they are donated.

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The House sent the bill to the Senate with an 83-18 vote.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana opposes the legislation.

Opponents of the legislation see it as state-sanctioned religion, which the First Amendment prohibits. Horton was asked whether she saw a problem with people who hold religious beliefs besides Christianity or Judaism who don鈥檛 recognize the Ten Commandments as a moral compass.

鈥淚鈥檓 not concerned with Muslims. I鈥檓 not concerned with atheists,鈥� Horton said. 鈥淚 am concerned with our own children seeing what God鈥檚 law is.鈥�

Debate over Horton鈥檚 bill surpassed three hours on the House floor, with three failed attempts to amend it.

Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, sought to have the Golden Rule to accompany the Ten Commandments. It derives from the New Testament (Matthew 7:12) 鈥溾�n everything, do to others what you would have them do to you 鈥︹��

When asked, Horton said she did not know the origins of the Golden Rule. She objected to Landry鈥檚 amendment, which the House voted down.

Rep. Joy Walters, D-Shreveport, wanted a tagline reading 鈥淎frican American, A.D. 1750鈥� added to displays of the Ten Commandments because they weren鈥檛 considered applicable to Black people until the mid-18th century, she said. Her effort also failed.

Rep. Candace Newell, D-New Orleans, suggested the 42 laws of Ma鈥檃t be displayed in classrooms as well. Some religious historians suggest the Ten Commandments were plagiarized from principles linked to Ma鈥檃t, the Egyptian goddess of truth, justice and order, which were scripted some 2,000 years before Moses received the commandments.

Rep. Jason Hughes, D-New Orleans, was unsuccessful when he tried to remove the classroom display mandate from Horton鈥檚 bill, but he did get House members to amend it to require any school that receives state money follow the proposed law.

The addition was problematic for Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, who voted for Horton鈥檚 bill and told colleagues it would increase the odds that a non-religious private school would sue to block the law from being implemented.

Representatives who supported the proposal sought to straddle the line between forcing their religious beliefs into the public school setting and what they see as the need to provide guidance to students.

鈥淚 think the moral decline of our children is something we should be concerned about,鈥� Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs said.

Rep. Chad Brown, D-Plaquemine, cited Republican Gov. Jeff Landry鈥檚 inauguration speech from January to explain the need to remove any obstacles to education from the classroom.

鈥淲e need to 鈥榣et the teachers teach,鈥� Brown said, quoting the governor. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe this (the Ten Commandments) is in the curriculum.鈥�

Update: This report was updated to reflect Rep. Delisha Boyd鈥檚 vote change from no to yes.

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