Democrat introduces bill to force teachers to recite the Ten Commandments every day
A Democrat from the US state of Mississippi has introduced a bill which would make it compulsory for teachers to recite the Ten Commandments every day.
Representative Credell Calhoun’s bill would make it a requirement for teachers to read out the Ten Commandments in the first hour of the school day.
As well as being read out, the Ten Commandments would also be displayed in every auditorium, cafeteria and classroom in prominent posters, if the bill were to pass.
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In addition, “In God we trust” would also need to be displayed in all areas of each school.
As activists have pointed out, the bill is unconstitutional and highly unlikely to pass.
But one requirement is included which would not be in breach of the Establishment Clause which forbids the federal government from supporting one particular religion.
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A 60-second “moment of reflection” would be held during the first part of the day.
As the bill does not specify that the reflection period be used for prayer, that section could survive.
If passed, Mississippi would join 36 other US states which require a secular moment of reflection at some point in the school day.
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But Calhoun is not the first politician in recent history to try and force religious requirements in schools where it would be unconstitutional.
An investigation last year showed that failed anti-gay Senate candidate Roy Moore was secretly in receipt of a six-figure-salary from the charity he founded.
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The Foundation for Moral Law aims to “restore the knowledge of God in law and government” and is said to have financially supported Moore after his first removal from the state Supreme Court.
This first removal came for his refusal to remove a statue of the ten commandments from the state courthouse.
Showing a lack of understanding of both trans people and basic maths, Moore once stated that a marriage between two transgender people is actually a marriage between four people.
The former judge once claimed that same-sex marriage would ‘destroy the country’saying: “They’re toying with something that’s like dynamite, that will destroy our country. I think eventually, over a period of time, it will.”
In 2016, he was removed from the Alabama Supreme Court for repeated ethics violations after multiple attempts to prevent equal marriage in the state.
But in a surprise twist, Moore lost out in Alabama to Democrat Doug Jones.
And shortly afterwards, Jones’ son opened up about being gay.
