First Amendment, pluralism both undermined in decision to uphold Ten Commandments mandate for Texas classrooms
Hollman: Children must be allowed to learn without the state directing faith and religious practice
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Karlee Marshall | [email protected]
WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals broke with precedent and said that the state of Texas may require the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. The 9-8 decision in Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights ISD is the first decision on the merits upholding such a statute and presents issues ultimately to be decided by the Supreme Court.
Holly Hollman, chief legal officer for BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty), issued the following statement:
The 5th Circuit’s decision to allow Texas to mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom disregards long-standing precedent and narrows the First Amendment in ways that undermine one of its central purposes: keeping the government out of essential matters of religion. Compelling students to observe a government-mandated religious text undermines the very pluralism that religious freedom depends on. When the state mandates a religious text on every classroom, it is not just decorating a wall; it places the government’s weight behind one religious tradition at the expense of all others.
BJC supports the parents and families who challenged this law, and will continue to stand with them if and when this controversy reaches the United States Supreme Court. We are gratified that one of the dissenting opinions cited our amicus brief in the related Louisiana case, Roake v. Brumley, recognizing that students “will be confronted with the State’s religious instruction every minute of every day and cannot ‘opt out’ from this pervasive messaging.”
Religious freedom is not a relic of the past. It depends on children being allowed to learn without the state directing them in matters of faith and religious practice.
Rooted in a Baptist commitment to soul liberty, BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty) is a 90-year-old organization building a movement toward a just society that cultivates and expands religious freedom for all. BJC is the home of Christians Against Christian Nationalism.
