A judge struck down a law that was set to go into effect on Sept. 1 that would have required schools in Texas to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery said the Republican-led legislation that was signed into law in June by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott concerns the long-held principle of separation of church and state. In his opinion filed on Wednesday, he related his ruling to recent rulings in Arkansas and Louisiana, where judges also barred similar laws.
The display of the Ten Commandments in Texas reflects Protestant traditions and is derived from the King James Bible. Following Abbott’s signing of the bill, S.B. 10, into law, 16 Texas families with religious and nonreligious backgrounds filed a lawsuit arguing that “permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Texas public-school classroom — rendering them unavoidable — is plainly unconstitutional.”
“The displays will pressure students, including the minor-child Plaintiffs, into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture. The displays will also send the harmful and religiously divisive message that students who do not subscribe to the Ten Commandments — or, more precisely, to the specific version of the Ten Commandments that S.B. 10 requires — do not belong in their own school community, pressuring them to refrain from expressing any faith.”
Plaintiffs include religious backgrounds ranging from Judaism, Baptist and Hindu faiths and are being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Since the judge’s ruling, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he would appeal the court’s decision.
“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. Texas will always defend our right to uphold the foundational principles that have built this nation, and I will absolutely be appealing this flawed decision,” Paxton said in a statement, per CBS News.
Texas state Sen. Mayes Middleton, who is running for state attorney general, posted on social media, accusing Biery of being an activist judge following his ruling, and that if he were the attorney general, he would “fight back against the atheists to make sure we have the Ten Commandments in every classroom. I’m confident the 5th Circuit will overturn this decision that applies to just 1% of school districts!”