Texas Becomes Largest State to Require Religious Display in Public Schools
Governor Greg Abbott has signed a new law mandating that all Texas public school classrooms display the Ten Commandments, making Texas the largest state in the country to impose such a requirement. The law, passed with ease by the Republican-led legislature, is already drawing fire from civil liberties advocates and religious leaders who say it violates the Constitution’s separation of church and state.
The law requires each classroom to prominently feature a 16-by-20-inch poster of a specific English-language version of the commandments, despite known differences in how various denominations interpret and translate the text.
Conservative Push to Put Religion in Schools
Abbott also signed an accompanying bill allowing schools to set aside time during the day for voluntary prayer or religious reading—part of a broader national push by Republican lawmakers to inject more religion into public education.
Supporters argue the Ten Commandments are a foundational part of American legal and educational history. “The focus of this bill is to look at what is historically important to our nation educationally and judicially,” said Rep. Candy Noble, a Republican co-sponsor of the legislation.
But critics see the law as a clear government endorsement of religion. Dozens of Christian, Jewish, and interfaith leaders sent a joint letter to lawmakers opposing the bill, warning it alienates the nearly 6 million Texas students—many of whom come from diverse religious or non-religious backgrounds.
Legal Challenges Are Already Mounting
Texas’ decision follows the path of Louisiana and Arkansas, which passed similar laws—both of which are now tangled in legal battles. Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law has already been struck down twice in federal court as unconstitutional, most recently by a panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which also hears cases from Texas.
Despite that precedent, Texas Attorney General Liz Murrell said she is ready to defend the law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. “We will not back down,” she said.
Abbott, who as Texas Attorney General in 2005 successfully argued to keep a Ten Commandments monument on state Capitol grounds, appears ready for another fight over the same issue—this time inside classrooms.
A Clash of Values in the Classroom
Opponents say the mandate not only forces religion into secular spaces but disrespects the religious freedom of students and families who may not follow Judeo-Christian teachings. They warn the policy may pressure schools and educators into compliance while stoking division over which version of the commandments is deemed “correct.”
Texas has nearly 9,100 public schools—meaning this law could impact millions of students and thousands of educators. And with lawsuits looming, the outcome could set a powerful legal precedent for religious expression in schools nationwide.
