‘The Pulpit is Sacred’: Dallas Faith Leaders Sue to Block Ten Commandments Bill

Dallas-based faith leaders are suing to block a “religiously coercive” bill that requires Texas public schools to display posters of the Ten Commandments. The plaintiffs are all parents, suing on behalf of themselves and their minor-age children, and allege that S.B. 10 “unconstitutionally pressures students” into observing the state’s “mandated religious scripture.”

The Texas Education Agency, TEA commissioner Mike Morath, and a handful of Dallas school districts are named as the lawsuit’s defendants, The Texas Tribune first reported.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the highly controversial S.B. 10 into law last week. Barring legal challenges, it’s scheduled to take effect on Sept. 1 — but may face further scrutiny in courts, just like similar bills in Louisiana and Arkansas.

If S.B. 10 passes, Texas students will be “unconstitutionally coerced into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture,” the lawsuit alleges. “They will be pressured to suppress their personal religious beliefs and practices, especially in school, to avoid the potential disfavor, reproach, and/or disapproval of school officials and/or their peers.”

“The pulpit is sacred — not a platform for political propaganda,” one plaintiff writes.

The lawsuit argues that S.B. 10 violates the First Amendment’s “fundamental religious-freedom principles” (and cites a moment when bill author Rep. Candy Noble (R-Lucas), during an April 30 hearing, "refused to acknowledge” the constitutional separation of church and state).

But one of the plaintiffs’ biggest gripes, it seems, is that S.B. 10 bill encroaches upon their parental rights.

“[One plaintiff] views these displays as religiously coercive, usurping his parental role in directing his children’s religious education, values, and upbringing,” the lawsuit reads.

“The ability to direct and guide their child’s spiritual development is an essential aspect of [another set of plaintiffs’] religious exercise,” the lawsuit further alleges. “S.B. 10 will significantly interfere with and burden their ability to carry out this religious exercise.”

Last month, the ACLU and other Texas-based civil liberties organizations announced plans to sue the state over S.B. 10, although they have yet to file suit.