(RNS) — A federal judge temporarily halted a Texas law requiring public schools to display a version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, echoing faith leaders and others who argue the statute violates both the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment.
In a ruling on Wednesday (Aug. 20), Judge Fred Biery, who was appointed in the Western District of Texas by former President Bill Clinton, said the law is “not neutral with respect for religion.” The law was signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in June and is slated to take effect on Sept. 1.
The Ten Commandments in stained glass at Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Junction City, Ohio. (cropped image courtesy of Nheyob)
“By design, and on its face, the statute mandates the display of expressly religious scripture in every public school classroom,” Biery wrote. “The Act also requires that a Judeo-Christian version of that scripture be used, that is exclusionary of other faiths.”
The ruling was applied narrowly to a select group of 11 school districts tied to the plaintiffs, although they include parts of highly populous areas such as Houston and Austin.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton lamented the decision, telling CNN that “the Ten Commandments are a cornerstone of our moral and legal heritage, and their presence in classrooms serves as a reminder of the values that guide responsible citizenship.”
But the judge’s reasoning echoed critics who lambasted the law, including pastors and rabbis who joined a lawsuit filed by parents from an array of faiths challenging its legality.
“As a rabbi and public school parent, I welcome this ruling,” Rabbi Mara Nathan, a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement. Nathan serves as senior rabbi at Temple Beth-El, a Reform Jewish congregation in San Antonio. “Children’s religious beliefs should be instilled by parents and faith communities, not politicians and public schools.”
Opponents of the law argue it violates the provision of the U.S. Constitution that bars the establishment of a national religion. They argue the Texas law not only promotes Scripture sacred to a small number of faiths, but also privileges a particular form of faith as the law requires schools to present a version of the passage from the King James Version of the Bible — a translation rejected by some Christians and virtually all major Jewish traditions. Jews also often number the Ten Commandments differently than some Christians who, in turn, number them differently than other Christians.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group that defends separation of church and state, celebrated the ruling. Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement that “religious instruction must be left to parents, not the state.”
Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, also lauded the ruling, saying it “sends a third strong and resounding message across the country that the government respects the religious freedom of every student in our public schools.”
Interfaith Alliance, a national, multireligious advocacy group, likewise applauded the decision.
“This ruling is a victory for the Constitution, for Texas families, and for true religious freedom,” the Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, said in a statement. “Public schools should never be used to impose one religious viewpoint on all students. … As a pastor, a parent of children in public school, and an American, I applaud the court for defending the constitutional promise of religious freedom for all.”
A group of Texas Republicans has campaigned to require the display of Ten Commandments in public schools since at least 2023, when a similar bill failed amid widespread criticism across the state.
At the time, Texas state Sen. Phil King, the Republican lead author on the initial Ten Commandments bill, argued displaying the passage in schools would remind students of the “fundamental foundation of American and Texas law.”
But other Texas lawmakers, such as state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat and Presbyterian seminary student, blasted the bill as part of a “Christo-fascist movement.”
Biery appeared unmoved in his ruling by arguments such as King’s.
“There is also insufficient evidence of a broader tradition of using the Ten Commandments in public education, and there is no tradition of permanently displaying the Ten Commandments in public-school classrooms,” the judge wrote. He also noted that public schools did not exist during the founding of the United States, and that when a state finally permitted public schools to hang the Ten Commandments in 1927, it was “immediately struck down.”
Other states have also taken up the cause — Louisiana passed a nearly identical law last year, as did lawmakers in Utah and Arizona — but their efforts have consistently been met with roadblocks. Utah lawmakers dialed back their version of the bill, which eventually passed, and the Arizona governor vetoed that state’s Ten Commandments bill. Louisiana’s law was immediately challenged in court and was deemed “plainly unconstitutional” by a unanimous federal appeals court in June.
Oklahoma has also introduced similar legislation, but the state’s superintendent, Ryan Walters, has taken a slightly different approach: Last year, he ordered public schools to keep a copy of the Bible in every classroom and incorporate Scripture into lesson plans. Educators have vowed to defy the order, however, and the measure is being challenged in court by a group of parents that includes a pastor.
