Current Events > Texas Senate passes bill requiring 10 Commandments, prayer and Bible reading

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Public schools in Texas would have to prominently display the Ten Commandments in every classroom starting next school year under a bill the Texas Senate approved Thursday.
Senate Bill 1515 by Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, now heads to the House for consideration.
This is the latest attempt from Texas Republicans to inject religion into public schools. In 2021, state Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Mineola Republican, authored a bill that became law requiring schools to display donated In God We Trust signs.
King said during a committee hearing earlier this month that the Ten Commandments are part of American heritage and its time to bring them back into the classroom. He said the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for his bill after it sided with Joe Kennedy, a high school football coach in Washington state who was fired for praying at football games. The court ruled that was praying as a private citizen, not as an employee of the district.
[The bill] will remind students all across Texas of the importance of the fundamental foundation of America, King said during that hearing.
The Senate also gave final passage to Senate Bill 1396, authored by Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, which would allow public and charter schools to adopt a policy requiring every campus to set aside a time for students and employees to read the Bible or other religious texts and to pray.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement that both bills are wins for religious freedom in Texas.
I believe that you cannot change the culture of the country until you change the culture of mankind, he said. Bringing the Ten Commandments and prayer back to our public schools will enable our students to become better Texans.
Matt Krause, a former Texas state representative and attorney with the First Liberty Institute, the organization that represented the Washington coach, said the Kennedy case was a victory in religious freedom and this bill would be protected.
The Kennedy case for religious liberty was much like the Dobbs case was for the pro-life movement, he said. It was a fundamental shift.
In opposition to the bill, John Litzler, general counsel and director of public policy at the Texas Baptists Christian Life Commission, said at the committee hearing that the organization has concerns about taxpayer money being used to buy religious texts and that parents, not schools, should be having conversations about religion with their children.
I should have the right to introduce my daughter to the concepts of adultery and coveting one's spouse, Litzler said. It shouldnt be one of the first things she learns to read in her kindergarten classroom.

Bringing the Ten Commandments and prayer back to our public schools will enable our students to become better Texans.

What a load of shit wish I never settled down here

Seriously. That quote just shit on every religion besides Christianity.

More proof that the "Parental Rights" Movement is a fucking sham

When are they simply going to ban schools and mandate 16 hours of church a day?

Bringing the Ten Commandments and prayer back to our public schools will enable our students to become better Texans.

How this could be said with a straight face is astounding... "Better Texans" is definitely not a compliment...

What happened to separation of church and state?

What happened to separation of church and state?

A similar law was struck down in Kentucky by the supreme court in 1980. Who knows how today's supreme court will respond to this, however.

Fewer Americans are going to church.

Thats the conclusion of a new study from the American Enterprise Institute. The share of Americans who attend church regularly is now less than one-in-four, while the share who never attend has increased by eight percentage pointsjust since 2018.

Its the latest in a series of headlines suggesting that (numerically, at least) Christianity is on the decline in the United States. In less than fifty years, Christianity will likely no longer be the majority religion in the United States, according to a recent Pew Research Center report.

Moreover, the last decade has seen more young adults in particular leave organized religions than any time before. In terms of the church in the U.S., a 2020 Barna survey noted: The share of practicing Christians has nearly dropped in half since 2000.

People are giving up on Christianity, writes Daniel Silliman of Christianity Today. They will continue to do so. And if youre trying to predict the future religious landscape in Americathe question is not whether Christianity will decline. Its how fast and how far.

For several years now, the three of us have had a front row seat to the changing dynamics of the American church, especially from the perspective of predominantly white evangelical institutions. Weve been grieved by the conditions cited by those leaving, including scandals that have marred the churchs reputation, high-profile leadership failures, and partisan divisions. Weve watched people we know and love walk away from churches or the Christian faith altogether, with many giving no indication they plan to return.

Yea that's gonna be challenged

Joe Biden needs to pack the courts now before it's too late.

with feinstein out of commission getting anything done is going to be impossible.
repubs going to make it like a trial through hell to replace her.

Separation of church and state wtf happened to that shit

Display them written in Hebrew.

So Seperation of Church and State be damned?

this is just yet another attempt to get rid of it. because they don't believe is should exist, not because they think it doesn't.

And it amazes how these kind of politicians are in office considering the fact that America's foundation is built upon that very stance of Seperation of Church and State. How much damage religion caused in Europe centuries ago and this country wanted to be free from that.