Ten Commandments – Opinions

June 26, Mark Chancey, professor of religious studies at SMU Dallas, for a commentary critical of the Louisiana law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. Published in The Hill under the heading Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is dangerously wrong on history and religion: https://tinyurl.com/bdepz87h

Louisiana’s new law to mandate display of the Ten Commandments in public schools manages to mangle both history and the Ten Commandments themselves.

It justifies its mandate by suggesting the Founding Fathers would have favored it, citing a quotation it attributes to James Madison: “We have staked the whole future of our new nation upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.”

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May 17, Mark Chancey, professor of religious studies at SMU Dallas along with co-author Marc Zvi Brettler of Duke University, for a piece critical of Texas legislation that would require public schools to display the Ten Commandments. Published in the Austin American-Statesman under the heading The Ten Commandments Bill: Thou shalt not play favorites: https://tinyurl.com/u9c545mn

The Ten Commandments bill passed through the Texas State Senate last month faster than the Hebrews through the Red Sea. The bill, which requires public schools to display the commandments, is now under consideration in the House. Its journey thus far has revealed considerable confusion about the commandments, the Constitution, and the “Thou shalts” and “Thou shalt nots” of religious freedom.

That confusion was evident from the moment Sen. Phil King (R-Weatherford) introduced it. The commandments are a foundational “American tradition,” King argued. “If you go to the U.S. Supreme Court you’ll also notice when you walk in, as an establishment of its role in law and liberty, the Ten Commandments is posted above the Justices and in the doors.”

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