Ten Commandments law wins in court: Will idol-worship and adultery rates fall in Texas schools?

Texas may require schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a federal appeals court ruled this week, reports Jaden Edison of the Texas Tribune. On a 9-8 vote, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the law does not establish an official state religion.

A Ten Commandments monument sits at the Texas Capitol. Photo: Paul Weber/AP

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery had blocked the law from taking effect, saying it favors Christianity and could interfere with families' "exercise of their sincere religious or nonreligious beliefs in substantial ways."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that the "Ten Commandments played a significant role in the nation's history and heritage," writes Edison.

A similar Louisiana law was struck down by a federal court last year. It's very, very likely the issue will go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Reason's Nick Gillespie wonders: What's the point of telling middle schoolers not to commit adultery?

Well, it will expand their vocabulary. Many of my (Jewish) religious school classmates thought "adultery" was something done by adults, which, though technically true, is an inadequate definition.

I recall a lively discussion about "Thou shalt not steal." Is it OK to steal food if your family is starving? And, naturally, we spent a lot of time on "thou shalt not kill," discussing self-defense and soldiers in combat and the difference between "kill" and "murder."

"Covet" was another vocabulary word. I remember the snickers over that one, because our version said "thou shalt not covet," among other things, "thy neighbor's ass." We thought that was hysterical.

America's moral code is being reframed by progressive hipsters, writes Graeme Wood in The Atlantic. Stealing -- avocados from Whole Foods, art from the Louvre, whatever -- is "resistance," argue streamer Hasan Piker and New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino in a New York Times podcast. But ordering coffee in a plastic cup is not.

All three come from wealthy families, writes River Page at The Free Press. "Much has been written about luxury beliefs, but this is a luxury crime: For the rich, shoplifting can be a cheap thrill, because they can bail themselves out of jail immediately — forgoing the no-show firing that would await regular workers — and hire a lawyer if they need to."