Tell Texas RepublicansVICTORY: The Ten Commandments don't belong in public schools

Posted: May 4, 2023

Christian-nationalist politicians in Texas are pushing a wave of devastating bills that would gut the separation of church and state in public schools -- and if they succeed, far-right governments in other states are certain to follow suit.

[VICTORY UPDATE May 25, 2023: According to the Texas Tribune, "A bill requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in Texas classrooms is dead after failing to get a vote by the House before a crucial Tuesday night deadline." Thank you to everyone who spoke out! Unfortunately, other theocratic attacks on religious liberty and equal rights continue to sail through state legislatures -- including Texas legislation to replace public school counselors with chaplains. We must capitalize on the momentum from this new win and keep fighting the unholy Christian-nationalist agenda.]

The Texas State Senate passed three bills in April bringing theocracy to the state's school system, including one that would require teachers to post the King James Version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

When the bill's opponents raised First Amendment objections based on the Constitution's Establishment Clauses, Republican co-author Sen. Mayes Middleton parroted a harmful, far-right talking point: "The separation of church and state, that’s not an actual doctrine."

We've got news for Sen. Middleton: Hundreds of years of jurisprudence and scholarship prove that the Establishment Clause is very real -- and a recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that a clear majority of American Christians support the separation of church and state.

Let's show Texas Republicans that a nationwide movement of pro-democracy Christians rejects this Christian-nationalist effort to indoctrinate our children with right-wing theology.

Sign the petition:

Dear Texas state legislators,

This spring, legislative bodies in the state of Texas passed three bills designed to push conservative Christian theology in public schools -- including one requiring classrooms to post the King James Version of the Ten Commandments. As concerned Christians and Americans, we ask that you reverse course and repeal these bills immediately.

All three of these pieces of legislation run directly contrary to the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause, the well-established legal doctrine requiring the separation of church and state. They are also coercive and hostile to students in Texas schools who do not belong to a conservative Christian faith tradition. Jesus never forced himself on anyone, and there's nothing loving or Christ-like about pressuring children in this way. Please take action to repeal these unconstitutional and uncharitable bills now.

Thank you.

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