Texas Senate approves bill requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments
Texas Senate passes bill requiring all classrooms to post the Ten Commandments on the wall in all classrooms
- The bill requires Texas schools to prominently display the Ten Commandments
- It was introduced by Senator Phil King, who said the text was part of American heritage
- It will now go to the House for consideration, but would face legal challenge
The Texan Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would force public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
It now goes to the state House of Representatives for consideration.
Religious hardliners cheered the victory, but it sparked immediate criticism that it was an unconstitutional move to end the separation of church and state.
The bill was introduced by Senator Phil King and requires schools to prominently display the Christian text.
He said it was just part of American heritage.
‘[The bill] will remind students across Texas of the importance of America’s fundamental foundation,” he said at a hearing, according to the Texas grandstand.
A tablet of the Ten Commandments, which is located on the grounds of the Texas Capitol Building in Austin. On Thursday, the Texan Senate passed a bill to display the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms
It specifies the text to be used and says it should be ‘readable to a person with average vision anywhere in the classroom’.
If it gets through the House and is signed into law, it will almost certainly face a legal challenge.
But King has argued that the Supreme Court paved the way for his bill with its ruling on the case of Joe Kennedy, a Washington state high school football coach who was fired for praying during football games. The court said he prayed as a private individual, not as a district employee.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick welcomed the passage of the bill.
“Allowing the Ten Commandments and prayer into our public schools is one step we can take to ensure that all Texans have the right to freely express their sincere religious beliefs,” he said.
“I believe that you cannot change the culture of the country until you change the culture of humanity. By bringing the Ten Commandments and prayer back to our public schools, our students can become better Texans.”
The bill was introduced by Senator Phil King and requires schools to prominently display the Christian text in classrooms
But “Separation of church and state” quickly became trending on Twitter as social media users voiced their concerns.
“Conservatives pretend to love the Constitution, but completely ignore the separation of church and state,” said author Brian O’Sullivan.
“Their raging hypocrisy knows no bottom.”
The Texan Senate also passed a bill requiring schools to set aside time for prayer.