On April 21, 2026, the5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruledin a 9-8 decision that Texas public schools are permitted underSenate Bill 10(2025) to display the King James version of Ten Commandments (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5), a ruling that clears the way for a legal battle with the Supreme Court.

The SCOTUS previously ruled inStone v. Graham(1980) that displaying religious posters in classrooms violates the First Amendment, specifically theEstablishment Clause.

During his first term, President Trump appointed six judges to the 17-member Fifth Circuit in New Orleans. The Fifth Circuit is considered the most “conservative” United States federal appeals court. The court covers Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

While backers in Arkansas and Louisiana support the ruling and say it reflects the nation’s historical foundations, opponents argue displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms is essentially a government endorsement of religion. According to the majority opinion, the requirement does not amount to religious coercion or does it violate the constitutional rights of students.

Proponents contend the Ten Commandments represent a crucial historical document that has significantly influenced the legal and moral frameworks of Western civilization and American history. They argue that the display serves a secular educational purpose by assisting students in comprehending the “fundamental concepts” of US law. In addition, supporters insist the display is passive and therefore does not amount to religious indoctrination.

However, asThomas Jeffersonpointed out in 1814, the Ten Commandments were not part of English common law, from which American law was derived. Jefferson noted that “Christianity was not introduced till the seventh century” in England, therefore it did not influence common law. Jefferson believed arguing the Ten Commandments served as the foundation of common law was a “manifest forgery” advocated by Puritan ideologues.

Jefferson’sletter to the Danbury Baptistsin 1802 emphasized the importance of establishing a “wall of separation between Church and State.” He contended that “religion is a matter solely between man and his God,” and that the government should only intervene in matters of action, not mere opinions.Jefferson wrotethat “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever.” The “wall of separation between Church and State” metaphor was used to describe the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

In the landmark ruling ofEverson v. Board of Education(1947), the Court determined that the Establishment Clause is among the liberties safeguarded by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, thereby rendering it applicable to state legislation and local ordinances. The clause was based on several precedents, including theConstitutions of Clarendon, theBill of Rights of 1689, and the first constitutions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Both Jefferson and James Madison advocated for the separation of church and state. In hisMemorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments, Madison opposed government-supported religion, while Jefferson’sVirginia Bill for Religious Freedom, passed by the Virginia Generally Assembly in 1786, underscored the separation. The document serves as a fundamental pillar of American religious freedom, asserting that individuals should not be compelled to support any particular church.

Madison and Jefferson, supported by religious dissenters such as Presbyterians and Baptists, worked to dismantle the Anglican Church in Virginia. These dissenters also advocated for the separation of religious institutions from government power. Jefferson and Madisoncontendedthat compelling citizens to support through taxation a faith they did not adhere to infringed upon their natural right to religious freedom.

Source: Global Research