Oklahoma State Representative Jim Olson, a Republican, filed HB 2962 on January 2, 2024. It did not pass. This would have required every publicschool classroom in the state to prominently display a copy of the Ten Commandments written in the original King James Version style (Okhouse. gov/posts/news).
Attempting to justify his bill, Rep. Olson said, “The Ten Commandments was referenced by the Founding Fathers as a code of morality and was taught in public schools for hundreds of years” (Oklahoma.gov).
Similar efforts in the past were overruled by the Supreme Court as violations of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from endorsing or establishing any religion (Stone v. Graham, November 17, 1980).
My first thought when learning of Rep. Olson’s bill was, “He needs to learn American history. His statement about the Founding Fathers is not accurate.”
It is true that some schools posted the Ten Commandments. Durant Public Schools did, and one was placed in my classroom after the School Board authorized it sometime about year 2000. Was that legal?
The Founding Fathers were influenced by various philosophical and religious ideas, and their views on morality were diverse. Some were deeply religious and believed in the moral teachings of the Ten Commandments. Others, however, were more secular and emphasized natural law, reason, and Enlightenment principles as the basis for morality and governance.
The Constitution makes no mention of Christianity, Judaism, or any other religion. That is significant, as explained below.
Most of the Founding Fathers owned slaves, many of whom were Muslim. One of them, a well-educated man named Omar Ibn Said (1770-1864) was captured in 1807 and brought by slave ship to Charleston, South Carolina. He was sold to James Owen, the future president of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad. Said was treated kindly by Owen and became fluent in the English language (blackpast.org/ African-american-historyu/said-omaribn- 1770-1864/).
Among Said’s work was the translation of the Quran into the English language. Thomas Jefferson owned a 1734, two-volume copy of this, and it is in the collection of the Library of Congress (Monticello.org/education/Thomas-jefferson encyclopedia/quran/).
Here is the implication of knowing this part of American history. Slave owners learned it was beneficial to understand the culture of their slaves. Thomas Jefferson was no exception.
Jefferson wrote in his autobiography, in the part about his Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, that he desired to “ protect the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohometan, the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination” (smithsonianmag.com/institution/ why-thomas—Jefferson-owned-qur).
The Founding Fathers, who debated long and hard on the writing of our Constitution, remembered the monarchies of Europe and the dangers of forced religion upon their citizens. They attempted to prevent that from happening then, or ever, in the United States of America.
Jefferson and his colleagues were aware of numerous religions. They held many various beliefs themselves. They did not wish to leave the door open for one of those to be the official religion of the government. If one could, so might another if it gained enough power. That is important to remember. If Christians could do it, so could any other religion.
In my view, Christian Nationalism’s effort to require the Ten Commandments in public schools is a direct and ominous threat to undo what our Founding Fathers sought to protect. Attempts to put a religious symbol, such as the Ten Commandments, in our schools are steps down that slippery slope.
Why the Ten Commandments? That is something out of the Old Testament and the Law of Moses. Each of the Ten, and others also, mandated death by stoning as punishment for breaking one (Leviticus 20:10-27, Numbers 15:32-36).
If the desire is to put something of a religious nature in classrooms that would teach students good codes of morality, the Golden Rule, “Treat others as we wish to be treated,” is the basis of a harmonious society.
Years of teaching lead me to believe students could benefit from learning the Beatitude principles of being peacemakers, merciful, humble, loving to see the right thing prevail, and having pure hearts (Matthew 5-10, NIV). Parents are responsible for teaching those by word and example.
A true follower of Jesus desires to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, and shelter those in need (Matthew 25:35-36 NIV). These are the basics of Christian living. A mannequin in a store window obeys many of the Ten Commandments—the “you shall not” ones.
Christianity calls for positive virtues and actions, such as in the parable of the Samaritan. Jesus told of a man who was beaten, robbed, and left for dead. A priest and a Levite, who were leaders of the religion of Judaism, passed by and did nothing. They did not violate one of the Ten Commandments. It was the Samaritan who followed the concepts that Jesus taught who came to the man’s rescue. He treated someone as he wished to be treated himself.
That example alone shows why the Golden Rule would be better to display than the Ten Commandments.
The Founding Fathers respected others’ beliefs, as should we. Jefferson wrote about the various religious and cultural differences and the need to protect those. America is home to many more beliefs now than in Jefferson’s day.
Even among Christians, numerous doctrinal interpretations exist, some of which are unacceptable to others. The First Amendment was crafted to prohibit any one of these from exerting authority over the others and becoming a state religion. That is why the separation of church and state is essential.
The Governor of Louisiana signed legislation requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in the state (npr.org/2024/06/19/louisiana-10-commandments-law-publicschool- classrooms). This is a growing trend.
The forced posting of the Ten Commandments in our publicschool classrooms is a violation of the First Amendment, as the Supreme Court has ruled, and is disrespectful toward others who have different beliefs.