In a state already embroiled in high-profile legal battles over religion in public education, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has ignited a fresh round of controversy by urging public schools to dedicate time for prayer and Bible reading—specifically encouraging the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer from the King James Bible. This move comes on the heels of a federal judge’s decision to temporarily block a recently passed law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in every public classroom, a law that had been set to take effect as students returned for the fall semester in September 2025.
According to reporting from the Houston Chronicle, Paxton’s office issued a statement this week that went beyond the voluntary periods of prayer and Bible reading already approved by Texas lawmakers. “In Texas classrooms, we want the Word of God opened, the Ten Commandments displayed, and prayers lifted up,” Paxton said, his endorsement printed on government letterhead beneath a copy of the Lord’s Prayer. He didn’t mince words about his motivations, declaring, “Twisted, radical liberals want to erase Truth, dismantle the solid foundation that America’s success and strength were built upon, and erode the moral fabric of our society.”
Paxton’s call is rooted in Senate Bill 11, passed earlier in 2025, which allows for voluntary prayer and Bible reading in public schools. The law took effect alongside the now-stalled Ten Commandments display mandate. While Paxton frames his advocacy as a defense of America’s founding values, critics contend that his approach privileges Christianity in taxpayer-funded institutions and crosses a constitutional line.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) responded sharply, arguing that Paxton’s push is not about religious freedom but about state-sponsored Christianity. “Texas schools don’t need the government telling kids to pray—much less which prayer, or which god,” the group said in a statement. In a letter urging Paxton to retract his statement, the FFRF asserted, “The ‘solid foundation’ of our country is not biblical truth, but rather our secular Constitution that protects the rights of all Americans, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, the nonreligious, and everyone else, to believe as they choose without government interference or favoritism.”
The legal landscape is far from settled. Last month, District Judge Fred Biery issued an order blocking the Ten Commandments law, arguing that such displays are likely to pressure students “into religious observance, meditation on, veneration, and adoption” of the state’s favored religious doctrine while “suppressing expression of their own religious or nonreligious background and beliefs.” The law, signed by Governor Greg Abbott, would have required all public elementary and secondary schools to display a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in each classroom. Paxton’s office has appealed the decision, setting the stage for what could become a Supreme Court showdown over the boundaries of church and state in public education.
This debate is not unique to Texas. Lawmakers in Arkansas have advanced similar legislation, and Oklahoma’s chief school official has mandated copies of the Bible and the Ten Commandments in all classrooms, ordering “immediate and strict compliance.” Last year, a federal judge in Louisiana paused a comparable law after civil rights groups anticipated a fierce legal fight, signaling a nationwide push from conservative groups to insert Christian teachings into public education and, in some cases, to direct public funds toward religious schools.
Legal scholars are divided on the implications of Paxton’s call. Perry Dane, a professor at Rutgers School of Law, noted that opposition to government-mandated prayer is not just the domain of “left-wing, crazy atheists,” but has a long history among devout religious Americans who value the separation of church and state. Dane referenced Thomas Jefferson’s famous letter to the Danbury Baptists, which introduced the phrase “a wall of separation between church and state.”
On the other hand, Richard Garnett, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, argued that Paxton’s statements do not, by themselves, violate the law. “Even if it’s kind of an endorsement of a particular religion, like, ‘Hey, I’m a Baptist, and I really like the Lord’s Prayer,’ that’s permissible,” Garnett told the Houston Chronicle. “It’s not coercing anybody to engage in anything because he’s just kind of expressing his own views.”
But not everyone is convinced the matter is so benign. Critics of Senate Bill 11, including the ACLU of Texas, warn that the law could lead to religious coercion or the exclusion of students who do not share the promoted beliefs. “Promoting religious practice in public schools is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and an abuse of government power,” said Caro Achar, the ACLU’s engagement coordinator for free speech, in a statement issued in May 2025. “SB11 could lead to religious coercion or exclusion by pressuring students to participate in religious activities they may not believe in, just to avoid being left out or bullied.”
Nelson Tebbe, a law professor at Cornell University, raised further constitutional concerns. He told the Houston Chronicle that Paxton’s statement is “patently unconstitutional,” since it seeks to promote a particular type of Christianity. “Because of the way that the statute is worded—and the attorney general’s statement is even clearer in this regard—I think there is a legitimate concern that this policy is not motivated by a secular purpose, but instead motivated for a religious purpose,” Tebbe said. He added, “His statement kind of encourages a particular approach, but it’s not law. And it doesn’t have the force of law.”
Paxton, who has previously identified as a member of the Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, has cultivated a reputation as a champion for “religious liberty.” His priorities—such as defending the Ten Commandments law and supporting further restrictions on abortion access—reflect the concerns of many Christian voters in Texas. State Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston, author of SB11, has argued that the U.S. Constitution contains no explicit reference to “separation of church and state,” even though the First Amendment prohibits the government from establishing a religion or impeding its free exercise.
Meanwhile, the broader national context is shifting. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court reached a surprise 4-4 tie in a case that could have allowed Oklahoma to open the first taxpayer-funded Catholic public charter school. The deadlock, caused by Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s recusal, left a lower court’s ruling in place and blocked the school’s opening—for now. This unresolved case, coupled with the ongoing legal battles in Texas and other states, signals that the future of religion in public education is far from settled.
As Texas schools prepare for a new academic year under a cloud of legal uncertainty, the debate over prayer, Bible reading, and religious displays in classrooms shows no sign of quieting down. With passionate voices on all sides and the courts yet to deliver a final word, the state remains at the forefront of a national reckoning over the role of faith in America’s public institutions.