The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed Texas to display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
The court found that the law “looks nothing like a historical religious establishment,” explaining that it “does not tell churches or synagogues or mosques what to believe or how to worship or whom to employ as priests, rabbis, or imams. It punishes no one who rejects the Ten Commandments, no matter the reason. It levies no taxes to support any clergy. It does not co-opt churches to perform civic functions.”
They further wrote that students “are neither catechized on the Commandments nor taught to adopt them. Nor are teachers commanded to proselytize students who ask about the displays or contradict students who disagree with them.”
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“Because the Texas law has none of the elements of a founding-era establishment of religion, the district court erred in ruling that the law violates the Establishment Clause,” the court wrote.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated the ruling. “This is a major victory for Texas and our moral values,” he said in a statement. “My office was proud to defend SB 10 and successfully ensure that the Ten Commandments will be displayed in classrooms across Texas. The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it’s important that students learn from them every single day.”
In November, U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia ruled that the law violates the Establishment Clause. “It is impracticable, if not impossible, to prevent Plaintiffs from being subjected to unwelcome religious displays without enjoining Defendants from enforcing S.B. 10 across their districts,” he wrote.
This article originally appeared on American Faith and is reposted with permission.
