Texas’s latest Ten Commandments decision disregards religious freedom

Suppose a state mandated that signs be posted in every public school classroom declaring “Jesus is Lord.” Wouldn’t that violate the First Amendment’s ban on establishments of religion? 

Until last month, the answer was clearly yes. But after a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, who knows? That court has announced, and likely sent toward a sympathetic Supreme Court, a previously unheard-of interpretation that practically nullifies the Establishment Clause — the constitutional prohibition against the establishment of a religion. 

A Texas statute mandating the posting of the Ten Commandments in every classroom in the state had been blocked by a federal district court and by a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals. But those panels can be overruled by all 17 Fifth Circuit judges, who voted 9-8 to uphold the law.

Judge Kyle Duncan’s opinion defies a 1980 Supreme Court precedent with identical facts. But its problems are deeper than that. The ruling makes it impossible to challenge official declarations of religious orthodoxy.

The Ten Commandments appear in different forms — without numbering — in Exodus 20, Exodus 34 and Deuteronomy 5. At least 13 passages in those verses command or forbid different things.

The Protestant King James Bible (and the Texas legislature) says “thou shalt not kill,” while the Jewish Bible reads “thou shalt not murder,” potentially with different implications for pacifism and capital punishment. 

Catholics read one passage as “You shall not carve idols for yourselves,” and deem it an illustration of “You shall not have other gods besides me.” That permits statues of the saints, the Virgin Mary and Jesus. But King James (and the Texas legislature) read the prohibition on “graven images” as a........

© The Hill