Tag: Ten Commandments

Tennessee Bill Would Encourage Schools to Display Ten Commandments, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution in Classrooms

Tom Pappert
Classroom with US Flag

Legislation submitted to the Tennessee State House of Representatives on December 19 would allow Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and public school charters to adopt policies allowing the display of the Ten Commandments, the U.S. Constitution, and Declaration of Independence in classrooms.

According to its summary, House Bill 47 by State Representative Michael Hale would give entities governing Tennessee’s schools the opportunity to publicly display, “the Ten Commandments, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of Tennessee, the Bill of Rights,” and other historical documents at a “prominent location in each school building.”

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Federal Judge Strikes Down Louisiana Law Mandating Ten Commandments in Classrooms as ‘Unconstitutional’

Daily Caller News Foundation
Louisiana AG

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily halted a Louisiana mandate requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom by Jan. 1, deeming the law “unconstitutional on its face.”

U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles in Baton Rouge ruled that the statute had a clear religious purpose and dismissed state arguments that the commandments’ historical relevance justified their display, according to Politico. He said that no other key documents, including the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, are mandated for display in schools.

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Red State Schools Reluctant to Follow Mandate Requiring Bibles Be Taught in Classrooms

Daily Caller News Foundation

Oklahoma school districts have not changed their curriculum despite a mandate requiring the Bible to be taught during the 2024-2025 school year, according to the New York Times.

Oklahoma Education Superintendent Ryan Walters mandated in June that all schools are required to teach the Bible, including the Ten Commandments, in the upcoming school year. The school districts in Oklahoma have been slow implementing the mandate, as some teachers stated that there has been no direction, the NYT reported.

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Christian and Conservative Professors Divided over Louisiana’s New Ten Commandments Law

Admin
Jeff Landry

Political science professors at conservative and Christian colleges are split over the constitutionality of a new Louisiana law that requires all public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

The law already faces a legal challenge from several families as well as left-leaning and atheist activist groups while Christian and conservative Louisiana lawmakers applaud the law.

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Commentary: China Replaces Ten Commandments with Socialist Propaganda

Admin

Congregations in China’s officially recognized Protestant church have been forced to replace God’s commandments to Moses with a quotation about the triumph of socialism, according to a religious liberty watchdog. The action literally substitutes socialism as an idol, in violation of the First Commandment. The Chinese government’s attempt to change the teachings of the 60,000-church Three-Self Patriotic Movement unmasks how socialism crushes religious liberty and reduces Christians to subservience – or elevates them to martyrdom.

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Arkansas Man Arrested For Destroying Ten Commandments Monument At State Capitol

Wendy Wilson

An Arkansas man has been arrested for plowing a vehicle into the Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the State Capitol in Little Rock less than a day after it was installed. Michael Reed of Van Buren is accused of destroying the moment around 5:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to Fox 16 News. He posted a video on his Facebook page depicting the incident and featuring only one word: “Freedom.” The 32-year-old was arrested in 2014 for driving into a Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma Capitol. Reed told authorities that Satan made him crash his car into the statue, and that he was bipolar and had been off his medication. He was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The Arkansas monument was installed on Tuesday, having gone through a final stage of approval last month. The approval by the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission was largely a formality because the Arkansas General Assembly had passed legislation in 2015 allowing for the privately-funded monument. The display has been a source of controversy and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas has threatened to sue. Earlier this year, state lawmakers blocked a proposal for a Baphomet statue pushed by the Satanic Temple as a response…

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Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore Names Campaign Chairman For Senate Race

Wendy Wilson

  Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is running for the U.S. Senate and this week announced that a former chairman of the Alabama Republican Party will lead his campaign. Moore, a conservative Christian known for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses and for promoting courthouse displays of the Ten Commandments, is running for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ former Senate seat. Bill Armistead was state GOP chairman from 2011 to 2015 and served two terms in the state Senate starting in 1994. Armistead shares Moore’s conservative values and is a vocal opponent of gay marriage, reports AL.com. “Bill will help us engage the real people of Alabama who are frustrated by establishment politics in Washington and want a senator who will be their voice,” Moore said in a press release. Moore was suspended as chief justice last year after he told probate judges they had to uphold the state’s ban on gay marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 struck down laws banning same-sex marriage in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. Moore has maintained that the federal government does not have constitutional authority to redefine marriage. In April, Moore resigned as chief justice to run for the Senate in a special election…

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Arkansas Approves Final Plans For Ten Commandments Monument At Capitol

Wendy Wilson

An Arkansas commission has approved a privately-funded display of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state Capitol. The Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission voted Thursday to approve the monument, which weighs more than 6,000 pounds and is more than 6 feet tall, according to the Associated Press. Last week’s approval was largely a formality. In 2015, the Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation allowing a display of the Ten Commandments to mark their influence in American law, but at no expense to the state. The Arkansas-based American History and Heritage Foundation raised more than $26,000 for the monument, which is set to be installed next month. “This is part of who we are, it’s history,” Republican state Sen. Jason Rapert told reporters at the Capitol. Rapert sponsored the 2015 legislation in the General Assembly. The monument is a replica of one at the Texas Capitol that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005. Even so, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas has threatened to sue.

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