INDIANAPOLIS (INDIANA NEWS SERVICE) - Indiana lawmakers let a bill tied to the Ten Commandments quietly die at a key deadline.
The measure would have protected teachers’ rights to display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms alongside documents such as the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
State Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, authored the bill and said the proposal focused on access to historical documents, not promoting religion.
“By adding the Ten Commandments to this protected writing list, it requires a copy of the Ten Commandments to be maintained in the school library,” she said. “It does not have to be posted; it doesn’t have to be hanging up; it just has to be maintained.”
The bill said teachers could display the document but could not read it aloud when students were present. Supporters said the goal was access, not promotion of religion. Opponents warned the proposal could blur lines between church and state and make some students feel excluded.
The Rev. Timothy McNinch, a Presbyterian pastor and assistant professor of the Hebrew Bible at Christian Theological Seminary, testified against the bill.
“How are Hoosier first graders supposed to understand on their own what to make of commands about adultery or graven images or Sabbath keeping or coveting your neighbor’s property, such as their wife?” he said.
After committee approval in late January, the bill needed a full House vote this week to stay alive. It never came up. Lawmakers could still revive similar language later as an amendment to another bill during the second half of the session, but for now, the proposal sits on the sidelines.
Joe Ulery wrote this article.
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