A Judge recently struck down a Texas law, modeled after one in Oklahoma that was also ruled unconstitutional, requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
This effort surfaces every few years, as Christian Nationalists try to use government buildings to send a message that only certain people are “real Americans.” Given the periodic eruption of this effort, I thought I’d just share what I’ve previously posted about these efforts–and why they are blatantly inconsistent with the Bill of Rights.
Way back in 1997, I wrote:
If I believed passionately that everyone would be better off for reading the Ten Commandments, what would I do?
I would probably start by distributing leaflets containing the Ten Commandments everywhere I could–on street corners, at the grocery store, at sports and entertainment events. I might ask local churches and individuals to erect replicas of the Ten Commandments on their lawns or porches.
I would ask local newspapers to reproduce them; if the papers would not do so as a contribution, I would try to raise the money to buy a paid advertisement, which would stress the importance of the Commandments to the development of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
I would use the Internet to find others who agreed with me on the importance of widespread distribution, and would engage them in my project. Or I might sell tee shirts printed with the Commandments if I could afford that or could raise the money.
I would find a group of young people to form a Ten Commandments Club, to spread the word. Or I might hold a rally, and bring in people to speak about the importance of the Ten Commandments in their lives.
And of course, I would do my very best to live up to the principles of the Commandments and other great religious precepts. (“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” comes to mind; there are many others.)
Every single one of these methods for promoting the Ten Commandments and righteous behavior is protected by the Free Exercise Clause.
If, however, all I really want is for my government to send a message that my particular beliefs are the proper ones, I won’t bother with any of these time-consuming activities. I will petition my local county officials to post the Commandments so that everyone visiting a public building will know who really belongs in this country and who doesn’t. It will be important that my document appear on government-owned buildings, so it will be very clear what my government approves–and by implication, what (and who) it doesn’t.
Unfortunately for those who wish to be more equal than others, the First Amendment forbids government from issuing such endorsements, just as it would forbid the passage of laws requiring the posting of the Bill of Rights in all churches. The First Amendment protects our right to advocate in the public square, but it forbids us to enlist the help of the 800 pound gorilla– the public sector.
And about that “sacred” text? In 2024, I wrote,
Most of us have seen the news that Louisiana now requires posting the Ten Commandments in that state’s schoolrooms. What I hadn’t seen reported–until I read a fascinating article from Salon–is that the version to be posted comes not from the Bible, but from Hollywood. Rather than go to any of the biblical texts, Louisiana opted for Cecil B. DeMille’s, taking the version to be posted from “The Ten Commandments.”
Well, Christian Nationalists aren’t known for consulting original texts. Or for honesty.
The cited article quoted a scholar who pointed out that The Ten Commandments recounted in Exodus 34 are nothing like the list with which most people are familiar. It starts off: “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you.”
As he noted, the version passed by the State Senate doesn’t appear in any Bible. It is a “highly Christianized version” with “Judaic elements removed.”
As I concluded in that post, Christian Nationalism has two goals: to signal to the MAGA base that they are culture warriors fighting “leftism, Marxism, woke-ism, state-sponsored atheism or whatever else scares conservative white Americans;” and as a distraction from Republican policy failures. It’s notable that US News recently ranked Louisiana dead last among all 50 states, and 47th in education.
The Christian Nationalist’s Ten Commandments agenda stands for the proposition that America is a Christian nation, and Christians (of the right variety) should control every facet of it.
It’s hard to get more unAmerican than that.
I was totally unaware of the “modified” Ten Commandments being posted in public schools! However, I’m not
shocked at the far right’s audacity. Regardless of the version used, the constitution clearly states that there is a separation of church and state. Posting any version of the 10 commandments (that Trump and his syncopaths create) is unconstitutional!
I wrote my words into Gemini AI (or A1 if you’re our educational secretary) and Gemini refined, and while longer, I approve of the document, especially my conclusion:
Our Unconstitutional Motto: Why “In God We Trust” Fails a Pluralistic Nation
For millions of Americans, the phrase printed on our currency is not a unifying statement of national identity, but a daily reminder of exclusion. “In God We Trust” is a declaration that overtly favors monotheistic, specifically Christian, belief, fundamentally contradicting the secular principles upon which our nation was founded. It is an offense to all who do not subscribe to that specific worldview, including Atheists, Humanists, and followers of polytheistic faiths like Hinduism or non-theistic paths like Buddhism and Taoism.
So, how did this exclusionary phrase become our national motto? It was not the wisdom of the founders, but the reactionary fervor of the Cold War. In 1956, the federal government officially adopted the motto as an ideological cudgel against the Soviet Union, whose Marxist-Leninist doctrine embraced state atheism. The original, more inclusive de facto motto, “E Pluribus Unum” (“Out of many, one”), was conveniently set aside. The message was clear: American identity was now officially tied to a belief in God, a move that weaponized religious patriotism to draw a moral line against our geopolitical foe.
Decades later, this blatant violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause persists, shielded by a flawed and frustrating legal doctrine. When challenged, the lower courts have consistently dismissed the issue by labeling the motto a form of “ceremonial deism.” They argue, as one analysis puts it, that the phrase is merely a “patriotic or ceremonial slogan that ‘bears no true resemblance to a governmental sponsorship of a religious exercise.'” This is a legal fiction—a semantic loophole that asks non-believers to accept that a direct appeal to a deity on their money has no religious significance. To tell an Atheist, a Buddhist, or a Hindu that the phrase “In God We Trust” is not religious is an insult to their intelligence and their own deeply held convictions.
Worse yet, the Supreme Court has consistently refused to grant a hearing to any case challenging the motto. This is a dereliction of judicial duty. By allowing lower court rulings to stand, the Court avoids confronting a constitutional contradiction that affects every citizen. They formalize their inaction by arguing the motto doesn’t legally compel belief, ignoring that its very presence is a form of government endorsement that alienates and marginalizes a significant portion of the populace. This is not judicial prudence; it is cowardice.
The damage of this 1950s-era thinking extends far beyond our currency. The decision to brand America as a “nation under God” in opposition to “godless communists” created a dangerous political binary that continues to poison our civic discourse. That same mentality is alive today in the rhetoric that casts political opponents not merely as wrong, but as morally and spiritually corrupt—as leftist “demon-worshippers” fighting against a righteous “rugged individualism.” This divisive framework, which equates collective good with evil and individualism with divine will, is a direct legacy of that Cold War maneuver.
It is time to restore our nation’s true motto. “E Pluribus Unum” perfectly encapsulates the American experiment: a unified whole created from a beautifully diverse collection of people, cultures, and beliefs. It is a motto of inclusion, strength, and genuine patriotism. “In God We Trust” is a relic of a fearful past, a symbol of division, and a constitutional failure that we can no longer afford to ignore.
I didn’t realize the United States government had the power to rewrite the Bible…or our own history for that matter. The Christian Nationalists do not follow either version as far as I can see; add those self proclaimed rights to the current Republican party and their powers to end democracy, Rule of all Laws and ignore the Constitution of the United States of America and they have proclaimed their leader as their God and his administration as his disciples, all of whom rule by fear in their terrorist actions of taking over the nation one American city at a time. What is the status of our government in the American Territories at this point? Will they be provided with paper towels to resolve their disasters themselves?
It occurred to me this morning as I watched the military stalking the streets of Washington, D.C., we must remember they did not ask to be there so we must use caution in our response to them as Trump sends more and more troops to more and more cities. I spoke with a young Mexican woman recently who told me she is more afraid of going out on the streets of Indianapolis than when she lived in California. And our delegation of armed National Guard military control hasn’t arrived yet so it must be the people in Indianapolis who cause her fear.
“The Christian Nationalist’s Ten Commandments agenda stands for the proposition that America is a Christian nation, and Christians (of the right variety) should control every facet of it.”
“It’s hard to get more unAmerican than that.”
Ironic, isn’t it? A teacher is told to take down a poster of “everyone is welcome here” with various colored hand prints – I believe it was in Utah. But it is perfectly acceptable to require the “Ten Commandments” put up in a classroom. I thought this ten commandments poster stuff was settled a long time ago – not allowed, not required in public schools. Ditto with prayer. Ditto with signing loyalty oaths for teachers (had to sign one in 1970 so don’t tell me they didn’t exist). How about the Declaration of Human Rights instead? If a teacher posted that – would that be allowed?
Power-Advantage-Wealth- rule- Courts don’t reflect the interests of “the people “ and Never Have- change is possible When Pressure is Strong Enough – the Powerful usually lead and our Divisions keep us from Sustained Necessary Efforts- hopefully We will prevail with Loving and Forceful Resistance.
“The Rights Of Man” should be revisited; it was recognized by the European countries seeking sovereignty who fought Hitler and his Fascist Gestapo. America came late to the game but we were there; we are now a nation at war with itself and Trump’s “Final Solution” will become a 2nd Holocaust if we do not take full action NOW. We need for form underground groups state-by-state as Europe did nation-by-nation; to build a solidarity across their continent.
Once again, religion and the “true believers” who try to foist it on others , come to the rescue of civilization, the truth, the rule of law and, for want of a better all-encompassing summary, SANITY.
It’s nothing more than tribalism run amok. Read how history keeps tripping over religious zealotry to destroy civilizations, communities and families. It doesn’t get more destructive than that.
I have often wondered why some Christians are so incompetent at teaching their children about their religion they expect the government to do it for them. Perhaps they should require special training for adults before they are allowed to join a congregation (or become parents).
“In God We Trust” was Truman’s idea, Believe, maybe Ike’s, to distinguish us from the “Ungodly” Commies, initially meant as nothing more than that. But, memes, and such take on their own lives. And we are stuck with it.
I, also, did not realize that the original commandments were different from those being pushed upon us. But, the idea that the religious shakers and movers lie through their blasphemous teeth is not new. Presumably, since they think that they are doing their god-thing’s work they believe they can manipulate as much as they see fit, which does not say much about their image of that god-thing; He/she/It would also stoop to BS?
Constitution? Nah, god-thing first.
You’re raising an excellent point, Mitch. If god-thing’s plan is to create a species of mindless, obedient minions…why not create them as such?
The oligarch-funded neo-conservative political movement is all about a few people living here with an outsized need to control the many who live here.
It explains the bromance between Putin and Trump.
To gain power, they divide we, the people. Their strategy is to corral those who don’t like the Constitution’s equal rights into a pen filled with fiction.
Unfortunately for freedom, the pen was large enough in 2024 (a year that will forever live in infamy) to carry the national Presidential Electoral College vote, the State Senatorial majority, and the House district majority.
That happened primarily because a NYC mob boss with a lifetime of conning others out of what was best for them, and instead what was best for him, upped his game to con enough of this nation to halt our national allegiance to the Constitution and turn it into, by lying, allegiance to him as a person.
“Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war.”
Ofc course, the supreme irony is that the Ten Commandments are Jewish. Christ proclaimed two:
Love God
Love thy Neighbor
Yes, Bob, but they do not care about such “inconvenient truths.”
Thank you, Pam
Just read the Commandments, in the Hebrew Bible…nothing like those being pushed by the blasphemous!
Note, of course, that there are actually two different versions of the Ten Commandments even within the original Torah (the one you’re familiar with is from Exodus chapter 34, yes, but the other one in Deuteronomy chapter 5 has some very substantial differences that will be obvious even if you read them in translation. But the thing that really honks me off, as a highly-educated Jew (honestly, I have to remember to use the English words for things in this context) is that the message sent by posting the Ten Commandments in government buildings and imposing them upon public school students is not some kind of “be a good person” or anything. It is the message of a bully: “We the Christian Right Wing have control over your government and your schools. We own your texts and we decide what they mean. You have no power here. You are only welcome as long as you do what we want. Not only should you not complain, you should thank us for being so nice to you. We could do worse.”
I attended Catholic schools for 17 years. Never once did I see the Ten Commandments posted on the wall. Thank heaven!
I was taught both the 10 Commandments and the Golden Rule.
Being naturally pragmatic, I found the Golden Rule to be the liberal incarnation of all others rules and laws and is all the guidance I need.
It’s got to be made known that in US people have the freedom to follow a religion if they choose to. As long as that belief system doesn’t impose on others and is helping them cope with their life’s issues in a positive way.
I don’t think that children should be brainwashed that they have to believe all church teachings or risk eternity in Hell. That’s fear and coercion that children should not be burdened with. One’s belief is a free choice that as an adult can be made.
Since state voucher money is going into parochial schools, I think the constitution and bill of rights needs to be posted in the classrooms. Religion classes by choice only. Thomas Paines “The Rights of Man” would be good, required reading.
I just saw an article about how in Shelby County a group of church goers removed LGBTQ books by taking them out of the library and never returning them. However, there are people in the same county raising money to put those books back into the library.
Beyond the fact, pointed out by Aimee, that the Hebrew Bible has two versions, if you number them, you find further divisions.
Since a more accurate translation is “ten sayings”, you will find that the “first commandment” in Judaism is more like “I am the lord your god”. Christians, looking for commandments had to stretch the line to include the “no other gods” phrase and then scrambled to figure out nine others.
Catholics and Protestants came up with two different solutions.
One of the rounds of state legislative efforts to post the 10 commandments in Indiana schools included tightly prescribed measurements of the posted, framed document to be donated by the Heritage Foundation to all Hoosier public schools (not to private or parochial schools). The Heritage Foundation version was what sounds like the Hollywood version of the 10 commandments. It was a composite version who someone other than God had meshed together.
A theology professor from Butler University came to testify against this state legislation, noting that there are at least 100 different versions of the 10 commandments. He cited differences between Protestant and Catholic versions as well as differences between Christian and Jewish versions. So his question was – how could government maintain neutrality and avoid establishing its approval of any one religion’s version if public schools posted just one of the 100+ versions?
All Democrats and a couple of Republicans left the committee meeting after this testimony, denying the chairman – who supported this legislation – a quorum. Nevertheless, the chairman took a vote and passed the bill out of his committee, in violation of House rules.
Somehow the chairman convinced the Speaker to let him bring this bill to the House floor, where the Chairman said at the microphone that he had complied with House rules to pass the bill from committee. At that point, the ranking minority committee member who had left the committee meeting to deny quorum came to the microphone to note the lack of a committee quorum to move this bill out of committee and to ask ‘wasn’t it against the 10 commandments to violate House rules and then ‘bear false witness’ about it?’.
After a quick conversation with the Speaker, the committee chair withdrew the bill.