WASHINGTON, April 21 - In a closely divided decision on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit held that Texas may mandate the display of the biblical Ten Commandments in public school classrooms across the state. The court voted 9-7 to uphold Texas Senate Bill 10, a statute enacted last year that requires a poster of the Ten Commandments to be placed in a visible location in every public elementary and secondary classroom.
The majority opinion, written by Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan and joined by Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod and seven other judges, concluded that the law does not run afoul of the U.S. Constitution's bar on government establishment of religion nor its protection for the free exercise of religion. The opinion emphasized that the statute does not direct houses of worship on doctrine or practice, and that it imposes no punishment on those who reject the Ten Commandments.
"The Texas law 'does not tell churches or synagogues or mosques what to believe or how to worship or whom to employ as priests, rabbis, or imams,'" the opinion stated. "It punishes no one who rejects the Ten Commandments, no matter the reason."
The appeals court's verdict reverses a preliminary injunction that had prevented the Texas law from taking effect. That injunction had been issued by a lower court judge who had blocked enforcement of the measure while litigation proceeded.
Those who brought the challenge included families described as multifaith and nonreligious. They argued that the U.S. Constitution protects parents' and children's rights to determine religious instruction, and that the state law infringed on those rights by imposing a religious display in public classrooms.
A lead attorney for the challengers, Jon Youngwood, issued a statement expressing disappointment with the decision and indicating plans to pursue further review. Youngwood said the ruling "goes against fundamental First Amendment principles and binding U.S. Supreme Court authority." He added that "The First Amendment safeguards the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when and if to provide their children with religious instruction."
Youngwood said the plaintiffs "anticipate asking the Supreme Court to reverse this decision and uphold the religious-freedom rights of children and parents."
In response, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the appeals court decision "a major victory for Texas and our moral values." Paxton said the "Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it’s important that students learn from them every single day."
Not all members of the 5th Circuit agreed with the outcome. In a dissent, Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez argued that the appeals court should have followed a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a nearly identical Kentucky law. Ramirez's dissent highlighted the tension between the majority's interpretation and precedent from the nation's highest court.
With the preliminary injunction reversed, the Texas statute is no longer blocked by the lower court's order. The challengers' stated intention to seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court means the legal dispute is likely to continue, leaving the ultimate resolution of the constitutional questions unsettled.
The case centers on competing claims about government authority, religious displays in public institutions, and the rights of families to choose religious instruction for their children. How those claims proceed through the courts will determine whether the law remains in force statewide and could shape legal clarity on similar statutes elsewhere.