Although most Texans identify as Christian, the Pew Research Center found that 4% adhere to other faiths and 18% are “unaffiliated.” When the state endorses religious dogma in public places, it is violating the religious liberty of dissenters.
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, a language that might as well be Greek to most Texas schoolchildren. So which English translation of the Ten Commandments will be mandated for display? The Fifth Commandment,, is most commonly rendered as “Thou shalt not kill.” But that would prohibit capital punishment, a venerable Texas institution. The commandment to honor the sabbath and keep it holy states, “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work.
If these objections seem frivolous, that’s appropriate, since SB 1515 itself is not a serious policy proposal for improving citizenship or education. It’s political red meat, and we would all be better off if that were banned from our political diets.