Jewish Trivia: The Ten Commandments in schools
Published May 11, 2023
The Texas Senate recently passed a bill along party lines with 17 Republicans voting in favor and 12 Democrats opposed, which will require public schools to allow students and employees time every day to pray and to read the Bible.
The Senate also passed a bill along party lines which was authored by Republican Senator Phil King, which requires all public schools to display the Ten Commandments in a “conspicuous place” in each classroom in a “size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.”
These bills now go to the State House of Representatives for a vote, and if approved, to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature. Senator King stated that implementation of the Ten Commandments proposal will remind “students all across Texas of the importance of a fundamental foundation” of America. Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said that “bringing the Ten Commandments and prayer back to our public schools will enable our students to become better Texans.”
What was the reason that some opposed the Ten Commandments bill?
A. Oni Blair, executive director of The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, issued a statement saying that “this legislation could not be more blatant in its goal of promoting Christianity above other religions. Furthermore, it will lead to discrimination against those Texans who do not follow any religious creed and who should not be forced to view the words of Christian theology while in school. If the bill is signed by Governor Abbott we shall immediately begin legal proceedings to ensure the enforcement of the United States First Amendment, guaranteeing separation of church and state.”
B. Rabbi Nathan Grossman of the Orthodox Union called on Governor Abbott not to sign the bill should it reach his desk. “While we agree with the concept of children not being forbidden to express their religious beliefs in school, we feel that this bill is misguided. The Ten Commandments are the first ten of the 613 commandments given by God to the Jewish people. That they have been accepted by our Christian brethren only emphasizes the wisdom of these laws. However, the Ten Commandments as laid out in the Torah are not the same as the Ten Commandments according to Christian sources. The displaying in schools of the commandments as viewed by Christians is a direct assault on the beliefs of Jews and in particular the Jewish children of Texas.”
C. Beto O’Rourke, losing Democratic candidate for governor of Texas in the 2022 election, issued a statement saying, “I am a proud Irish-American, the descendant of Catholic immigrants who came to Texas 100 years ago. Through my family’s history I acutely understand the pain of religious conflict as it played out for so many generations in Ireland between Catholics and Protestants. And I know that the Ten Commandments that I learned in my catechism class is not the Ten Commandments that my Protestant and Jewish friends learned. This law will only further divide, rather than unite our communities, as well as the community of non-believers. This approach is not the approach that we should be taking in the great state of Texas.”
D. The Venerable Jan Hai of the Texas Buddhist Association in Houston, stated that his organization is opposed to the Ten Commandments legislation. “The values of the Ten Commandments are the values of Buddhism, as stated in our Five Precepts, where we commit, among other things, to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. But the first commandment states that ‘You shall have no other Gods before me.’ As Buddhists we do not believe in any kind of deity, so the Ten Commandments is simply not appropriate for our children to be exposed to every day in school.”
E. John Litzler, general counsel for the Texas Baptists Christian Life Commission, opposed the bill, noting that it is the responsibility of religious leaders, not the state, “to educate children on their religious freedom.” He then added, “I should have the right to introduce my daughter to the concepts of adultery and coveting one’s spouse. It shouldn’t be one of the first things she learns to read in her kindergarten classroom.”
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