Latest news with #ProtestantChristians
The Hill
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Lawsuit challenges Texas law requiring 10 Commandments in classrooms
Two lawsuits have been filed against a Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms. On Wednesday, 16 Texas families filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms, alleging a violation of the separation of church and state. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, also argued the law violated the First Amendment and right to free religious exercise. The law requires posters to be hung in a 'conspicuous place' in the classroom and that the commandments are 'in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the room.' It also requires the commandments followed by Protestant Christians to be displayed. 'As a rabbi and public-school parent, I am deeply concerned that S.B. 10 will impose another faith's scripture on students for nearly every hour of the school day,' said plaintiff Rabbi Mara Nathan. 'While our Jewish faith treats the Ten Commandments as sacred, the version mandated under this law does not match the text followed by our family, and the school displays will conflict with the religious beliefs and values we seek to instill in our child.' The lawsuit is made up of Christian, Jewish, Hindu and nonreligious families represented by the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. The Hill has reached out to the governor's office for comment. This is the second lawsuit filed against the law, following another in June filed by a group of faith leaders that also alleged First Amendment violations. The legal battles will likely follow a similar issue in Arkansas, after a law was passed requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms. A federal appeals court recently upheld a lower court ruling to block the Arkansas law, setting up a potential battle at the Supreme Court.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How faith groups feel about the ethics of the Trump administration
As President Donald Trump marked the 100th day of his second term in the White House this week, the country reflected on the political turbulence of the past three months and the economic uncertainty that lies ahead. Several polls fielded in April found that Trump remains a polarizing figure, including in red states and in major Christian groups. A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics survey conducted in mid-April by HarrisX showed that the share of registered voters in Utah who strongly approve of Trump's job performance (30%) is the same as the share who strongly disapprove (30%). A new poll from Pew Research Center highlighted a similar divide among U.S. Christians. For example, the survey showed that Protestant Christians in the U.S. can be nearly equally divided by their approval ratings for Trump, with 48% saying they disapprove of the way he's handling his job as president and 50% saying they approve. U.S. Catholics lean more toward disapproval. Nearly 6 in 10 (58%) of members of this faith group are unhappy with Trump's work so far, while 42% of Catholics approve. In addition to asking about Trump's performance, Pew asked about the ethics of his administration. The survey found that just 37% of U.S. adults rate the administration's ethical standards as either excellent (16%) or good (21%). Among religious respondents, white evangelical Protestants stand out for their belief that the Trump administration is guided by strong ethical principles. 'Around seven-in-ten White evangelicals rate the ethics of top Trump administration officials as good (35%) or excellent (34%),' Pew reported. Among mainline Protestants and Catholics, those who rate the administration's ethics as fair or poor outnumber those who gave a more positive assessment. That's even more true if you zoom in on nonwhite Protestants and Catholics, Pew found. Just 9% of Black Protestants and 25% of Hispanic Catholics rate the ethics of the Trump administration as excellent or good. Pew's survey was fielded April 7-13 among 3,589 U.S. adults. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
