A group of Texas families and faith leaders filed a lawsuit to try and block a bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public classroom.
The federal lawsuit claims that the new measure is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state. Texas is the latest and largest state to try to implement the mandate, but it has faced legal challenges in other areas.
Displaying the Ten Commandments
On Friday, a federal appeals court blocked a similar law from taking effect in Louisiana, and some families have already sued proposed Arkansas legislation trying to do the same. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit in Texas comprise a group of Christian and Nation of Islam faith leaders and families.
The lawsuit names the Texas Education Agency, state education Commissioner Mike Morath, and three Dallas-area school districts as the defendants. It noted that the government's job is to govern and that the Church's responsibility is to minister, according to the Associated Press.
The law about displaying the Ten Commandments in school classrooms is one of many efforts where lawmakers, particularly conservatives, are trying to insert religion into educational institutions. Supporters of the proposal argue that these are part of the foundation of the United States' judicial and educational systems and should be displayed.
On June 21, the Texas governor signed the Ten Commandments measure into law and enacted a measure that mandated school districts to give students and staff a daily voluntary period of prayer or time to read a religious text during school hours.
Exercising Religious Freedom
After Abbott signed the law, public schools were mandated to post a 16-by-20-inch poster or framed copy of a specific English version of the commandments inside classrooms. This is even though translations and interpretations could change based on denominations, faiths, and languages, CBS News reported.
The latest lawsuit also argues that the bill interferes with parenting styles and forces children to religious mandates even if their families follow different faiths and religions. It noted that the law is inconsistent with the fundamental religious freedom principles upon which the nation was founded.
President and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Rachel Laser, said that the Texas law, similarly to the Louisiana law, flies in the face of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
On the other hand, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said her state is planning to appeal the latest court ruling to the full 5th Circuit bench, and if need be, the Supreme Court, as per the Houston Public Media.
