Texas Ten Commandments Law Halted: Double Standards in America’s Classrooms

Ten Commandments, Shutterstock

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new law in Texas requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms. Senate Bill 10, signed earlier this year by Governor Greg Abbott, was scheduled to take effect on September 1. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has already pledged to appeal.

U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery ruled that the law violates “both the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment,” according to the ACLU.

In his order, Judge Biery wrote:

“[T]he displays are likely to pressure the child-Plaintiffs into religious observance, meditation on, veneration, and adoption of the State’s favored religious scripture, and into suppressing expression of their own religious or nonreligious background and beliefs while at school.”

Applause from Secular Groups

The decision was celebrated by groups opposing religion in public life. Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor stated:

“It is gratifying to see the federal court honoring our First Amendment, with the wisdom to understand how wrong it would be to impose bible edicts on public students as young as kindergartners. Religious instruction must be left to the parents, not the state, which has no business telling anyone how many gods to have, which god to have or whether to have any gods at all.”

Pushback from Texas Leaders

Faith-based advocates argue the ruling will not stand. Texas Values President Jonathan Saenz responded on X, saying SB 10 will ultimately pass constitutional muster and become law statewide:

Breaking! Rogue Judge Strikes Down Texas 10 Commandments Law. My quote: “Most U. S. Supreme Court and 5th Circuit Court of Appeals case victories that preserve America and religious freedom, always start with a bad lower court ruling, and it will be the same here for the Texas… pic.twitter.com/mf2VqBRASb

— Jonathan Saenz (@jonathansaenzTX) August 20, 2025

America’s Heritage

Victory for the ACLU and Judge Biery may be short-lived if higher courts lean on history and tradition. America’s spiritual foundation stretches back to the pilgrims, who fled England to worship God freely. The Constitution’s First Amendment never prohibited the state from promoting religion, but rather protected citizens from government interference in worship.

Christianity was so deeply woven into early American life that Justice Joseph Story, one of the nation’s most influential jurists, wrote:

“Now, there will probably be found few persons in this, or any other Christian country, who would deliberately contend, that it was unreasonable, or unjust to foster and encourage the Christian religion generally, as a matter of sound policy, as well as of revealed truth. In fact, every American colony, from its foundation down to the revolution, with the exception of Rhode Island… did openly, by the whole course of its laws and institutions, support and sustain, in some form, the Christian religion; and almost invariably gave a peculiar sanction to some of its fundamental doctrines.”

Judge Biery argues that the displays would “pressure” children into religious observance. At most, they encourage moral reflection.

Double Standards in the Classroom

Over the past decade, public schools have increasingly displayed transgender and LGBTQ flags on walls and in classrooms — symbols that many parents believe conflict with their Christian values. If these flags are permitted, critics ask, why should the Ten Commandments — the foundation of much of Western law and morality — be barred?

The Ten Commandments teach basic moral standards: prohibitions against murder, adultery, and theft, among others. Few would argue these values are harmful. Opposition stems not from their content, but from the association with Christianity.

The ACLU, for example, defends LGBTQ “rights” in schools, stating on its website:

“The First Amendment protects your right to express yourself in public schools. That includes bringing a same-sex date to prom or any school event and talking about LGBTQ topics. Your right to be yourself in school includes the right to be transgender or non-binary, and to transition at school.”

Notably, no record exists of the ACLU filing lawsuits against rainbow flags in classrooms.

Classrooms across the country continue to display LGBTQ symbols on their walls. In many cases, teachers openly promote LGBTQ-aligned values that stand in contrast to the Christian principles held by many parents. A recent post by Libs of TikTok highlighted this trend, showing a teacher displaying a transgender flag alongside a compilation of books centered on Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ-focused curriculum.

Melanie Ramirez, a woke activist first-grade teacher at @PittsburgUSD is covering her room in LGBTQ and DEI propaganda after Trump issued an EO to end radical indoctrination in schools.

Her school can now be stripped of its funding for violating Trump’s EO. pic.twitter.com/bbybuWrNSB

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 31, 2025

More Than Constitutionality

This case is not simply about the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments. It represents a larger battle over America’s spiritual heritage and the direction of education. By striking down SB 10, Judge Biery is siding with a movement that seeks to uproot history, tradition, and the values on which the nation was founded.

With state leaders like Attorney General Ken Paxton committed to appeal, Texas supporters believe the law will ultimately prevail and the Ten Commandments will once again hang in classrooms across the state.

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