Missouri considers mandatory Ten Commandment displays in schools amid religious revival

Missouri lawmakers are considering legislation requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in school classrooms, amid a national shift to allow more religious references in the public square.

Senate Bill 594 would require each school district and charter school board to display the commandments in “every building and classroom under their jurisdiction,” starting in 2026.

The displays would be required to be on posters at least 11 by 14 inches in a “large, readable font.” School boards could purchase the displays or accept donations for them.

Missouri’s effort comes after Louisiana passed a law last year to require the Ten Commandments in public schools – the first state effort of its kind in recent decades. A federal court is currently weighing the legality of Louisiana’s law, as opponents have argued it violates separation of church and state and imposes religious beliefs on children.  

Louisiana’s legislation sparked similar efforts in other states including Montana, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. While several of those efforts failed in state legislatures, Texas’ Senate recently passed the legislation.  

The state bills come amid what some observers have called a “shift in religious liberty” and a “seismic change” happening across the country – due in part to recent Supreme Court decisions that have sparked a religious revival in public life. 

First Liberty Institute, a legal organization dedicated to religious liberty issues, has said recent court decisions and state efforts to protect religion in schools amount to an “astonishing comeback for religious liberty.”  

“As an attorney who’s been fighting for religious freedom for over 30 years, I believe we’re at the start of the biggest legal and cultural shift for religious freedom we’ve seen in our lifetime,” First Liberty President Kelly Shackelford said.  

“Something truly special is happening that could possibly ignite a major revival for faith in our nation.” 

President Donald Trump has publicly supported the displays, as the Lion has reported, calling it a step toward a “desperately needed” revival of religion.  

Proponents of displaying the Ten Commandments in schools have frequently pointed to the important historical and educational component of the religious text.  

“Religious symbols have been a fixture of American public life since before the Founding,” Becket, a religious liberty law firm, writes. For centuries, it notes, local governments have included “religious elements in their flags, seals, and buildings to commemorate history and culture and to acknowledge the beliefs of their citizens.” 

In Missouri, a recent committee hearing on the bill drew fierce opinions, with Democratic lawmakers and civil liberties groups opposing it – but proponents resolutely pointing out the societal need for it 

“I honestly believe that when prayer went out of schools, and religion was removed from schools, that guns came in and violence came in,” the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Jamie Burger said, the Columbia Missourian reported. 

Another Republican, state Sen. Rick Brattin, defended the bill, saying it was God “who gave us this amazing nation” and “we need to be able to reflect and look at that.”