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***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only.
The Center Square [By Kim Jarrett]-
The Tennessee Senate passed House Bill 0047/SB0303, which would allow public school systems and charter schools to display the Ten Commandments, a portion of the Declaration of Independence and the preamble to the United States Constitution, amid questions from Democrats about the separation of church and state.
“Do you feel this piece of legislation is telling students who are not of Christian faith that they are less than because we are essentially requiring the posting of only one particular religious document versus others?” Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, asked the bill’s sponsor, Lebanon Republican Mark Pody.
“We are not forcing religion on anybody,” Pody said. “We are saying in the founding of this nation, the Ten Commandments was one of the founding documents, one of the founding guidance that our forefathers put into this nation.”
Covington Republican Paul Rose said House Bill 0047/SB0303 was a great bill.
“The folks that came over here were not Muslims. They were not Hindu. They were Christians, for the most part,” Rose said.
The Tennessee Constitution, not just the U.S. Constitution, opposes the state endorsement of a religion, Yarbro said.
“I think we would all be better off if this body spent more time trying to follow the 10 commandments rather than trying to post them in every school across the state,” Yarbro said.
The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill in February.
Laws requiring Ten Commandments displays in public schools have faced challenges in other states. A federal judge permanently blocked an Arkansas law that would have required elementary and secondary public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every library and classroom, The Center Square reported.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted an injunction barring a new Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms from implementation.
Also on Thursday, the Tennessee Senate passed a bill called the “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act,” which would allow school systems to teach on the “positive impacts” of religion on American history.
The bill’s prime sponsor said there was confusion about the separation of church and state. Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. president, went to church every Sunday, according to Rose.
“The iconic Washington Monument towers 555 feet above our nation’s capital and right on the top is an aluminum cap that says ‘Laus Deo,’ praise be to God,” Rose said.
Yarbro said he agreed that there is confusion about the separation of church and state.
“I think there are a lot of people on the left that do think you’re trying to protect the state from the church, but I actually think a lot of this is about trying to protect the church from the state,” Yarbro said. “Believers should have a real hesitation before our faith is used as an instrument to endorse the goings on, like of a certain politics or certain political systems or certain political ideologies.”
The bill passed 27 to 6 along party lines. The House version of the bill sponsored by Englewood Republican Mark Cochran is on the March 24 House Education Committee calendar.
2 Responses
Lucifer’s accursed dimmercraps HATE God and his people.
Democrats and groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State worry this advances “Christian nationalism”—infusing policy with one faith’s theology on issues like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, education e.g., the Ten Commandments displays or curriculum changes, and public funding for religious schools/charters. They argue unchecked religious influence could lead to discrimination e.g., exemptions allowing faith-based denials of services to LGBTQ+ people or in healthcare, loss of pluralism in diverse America, and historical-style oppression where government picks winners among religions. The Democrats know they are aligned with the Devil on this subject, so they fight it very hard. Groups like the ACLU and Center for American Progress frame this as dismantling founders’ intent for a secular public square that protects all beliefs equally. Critics of the Democratic emphasis counter that “separation of church and state” is not in the Constitution—it’s a shorthand that has been stretched too far into hostility toward public faith expression. Founders allowed religion in culture, government buildings, and schools; they mainly wanted to prevent a national established church like Europe’s (or early colonial theocracies). Strict separation, they argue, excludes religious voices from public life, weaponizes the Establishment Clause against conservative Christians, and ignores the Free Exercise Clause’s protection of faith in action. They point out Democrats’ own use of faith-based rhetoric (e.g., progressive pastors or values drawn from faith) while accusing the left of secular overreach on social issues. Polls show Republicans are more open to “accommodation” (religion in public without full establishment), viewing Democratic alarms as exaggerated or anti-religious.