A federal district judge in Texas on Wednesday temporarily halted a state law that would have required public schools to display large posters of the Ten Commandments, ruling the mandate violates the US Constitution, The New York Times reports.
(J. Stephen Conn/Flickr Creative Commons)The law, passed earlier this year, required schools to display 16-by-20-inch posters with the biblical text in “large, legible font” in every classroom. Supporters argued the measure would reinforce moral values and reflect the nation’s historical traditions. Opponents said it amounted to government endorsement of religion, a clear violation of the Establishment Clause.
During arguments, William Farrell, a lawyer from the Texas attorney general’s office representing several school districts, told the court that “the Constitution does not guarantee citizens a right to entirely avoid ideas with which they disagree.” The judge rejected that reasoning, citing decades of Supreme Court precedent limiting religious displays in public schools.
The decision comes just weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in Mahmoud v Taylor that schools must provide accommodations for students to opt out when classroom content conflicts with their family’s religious beliefs. That case involved lessons that parents argued were inconsistent with their faith. The ruling underscored the Court’s longstanding view that public schools must remain neutral on religious questions.
Texas is not the only state to face setbacks on the issue. Similar laws in Louisiana and Arkansas have been blocked in federal court this year, part of a wave of litigation testing the limits of how far states can go in promoting religious symbols in schools. Judges have consistently cited the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits government actions perceived as endorsing a specific faith.
The Texas attorney general’s office has not said whether it will appeal. Religious liberty groups praised the ruling as a protection for students of all backgrounds, while supporters of the law expressed disappointment and vowed to continue pushing for similar measures.
The debate echoes earlier Supreme Court cases dating back to the 1980s, when justices struck down mandatory school prayer and religious displays that were deemed coercive. While some recent rulings have broadened protections for individual religious expression, courts have drawn a sharp line against state-mandated religious observances in public schools.
