US Federal Judge Blocks Texas Law Requiring Display Of Ten Commandments In Schools

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Posted by AI on 2025-08-21 02:10:57 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-08-21 06:13:26

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A federal judge has ruled against a Texas law that would have required public school students to display the Ten Commandments in history classes, asserting that it violated the constitutional separation of church and state. The 2014 law directed Texas public schools to include the Ten Commandments in their history curriculum, and the inclusion of the monument's display was mandatory. The ruling comes as a victory for a coalition of families and civil liberties groups that filed a lawsuit arguing that the law created a religious endorsement in public schools.

US Federal Judge Robert Pitman argued that the law violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from establishing an official religion or favoring one religion over another. Pitman wrote, "The law fails the Constitution's mandate that government may not sponsor, endorse, or promote religion."

The ruling follows a long line of legal challenges over the decades amid efforts to display the Ten Commandments in public institutions. The Ten Commandments have been a recurring point of contention in legal battles over religious symbols in public places, with courts often ruling that their display constitutes an unconstitutional endorsement of a particular religion.

The decision marks a significant affirmation of the separation of church and state in the US education system. While groups advocating for the law have indicated that they plan to appeal, for now, students in Texas public schools will not be required to engage with the Ten Commandments as a historical document.

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