Wed Jun 25 20:00:58 UTC 2025: **News Article:**
**Texas Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Classrooms Faces Legal Challenge**
A coalition of Christian and Muslim faith leaders has filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas, challenging a new law that mandates the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. Governor Greg Abbott recently signed the bill into law, positioning Texas as the largest state to impose such a requirement.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, argues that the law violates fundamental principles of religious freedom enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The plaintiffs contend that the law would subject nearly six million students across Texas’s 9,100 public schools to daily “religious mandates.” They further emphasize that Texas public school students come from diverse religious backgrounds, or none at all, and should not be subjected to state-sponsored religious displays.
The lawsuit also draws on the principle of “separation of church and state,” a long-held legal concept derived from the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits government endorsement of religion.
The move comes after similar efforts in other conservative-led states. Louisiana passed a similar law earlier this year, but it was blocked by a federal appeals court. Arkansas also passed a similar law in April, which several groups say they plan to challenge.
Proponents of the Texas law, like bill sponsor Candy Noble, argue that the Ten Commandments have historical and judicial significance beyond their religious context.
The Texas law specifies that public schools must display a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in English, measuring at least 16 by 20 inches.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation have also vowed to challenge the law, calling it “religiously coercive” and an infringement on families’ right to direct their children’s religious education.
First Piper 