Image: Tompkins Harrison Matteson (1848), “The First Prayer in Congress (1774)”: Depicts Reverend Jacob Duché leading delegates, including George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Adams, and Richard Henry Lee, in prayer and reading from Psalm 35.
When Americans debate whether the Ten Commandments have a legitimate place in public education, the discussion is often reduced to one question: Are the Ten Commandments religious? The answer is unquestionably yes.
But that is not where the question ends.
The more complete question is: Have the Ten Commandments played a significant role in the history of Western civilization, American government, education, and the development of our understanding of law and morality?
History would say yes, unequivocally, yes!
America’s Founders did not view government and morality as separate philosophies or talking points. Many of the nation’s early leaders openly discussed the relationship between religion, morality, law, and the preservation of liberty.
George Washington addressed this connection in his First Inaugural Address in 1789, writing:
“…the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”
Seven years later, Washington made the connection even more directly in his Farewell Address:
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”
These statements demonstrate that Washington understood the nation’s political success to be connected to morality and religious principles.
John Adams was even more explicit about the Ten Commandments.
In A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, published in 1787, Adams wrote:
“If ‘Thou shalt not covet’ and ‘Thou shalt not steal,’ were commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free.”
Adams directly connected two of the Ten Commandments with civilization and political freedom.
He made the connection between morality and government again in 1798:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Quincy Adams continued this historical understanding. In an 1813 letter to his son, he described the law given at Sinai, otherwise known as the Ten Commandments, as “a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code”.
He described these laws as principles “essential to the existence of men in society”! It was the Ten Commandments our founders identified as the foundation to which our country was founded, understanding that without this moral code, a people simply could not be governed.
These statements do not establish that the United States Constitution was simply copied from the Ten Commandments. It was not. American law developed from many sources, including English common law, classical political philosophy, natural-law thought, and Enlightenment ideas.
But they do establish something historically important: leading American statesmen understood biblical moral principles, including the Ten Commandments, as relevant to civilized society, morality, and self-government.
The relationship between biblical teaching and American education also predates the modern public-school system.
The New England Primer, first published in the seventeenth century, became one of the most widely used educational books in colonial and early America. It combined reading instruction with religious and moral lessons.
Later, the McGuffey Readers became some of the most influential textbooks in American education. More than 120 million copies were eventually sold, and generations of American children encountered biblical stories, moral teachings, and religious references through these readers.
This does not mean every American school taught the Ten Commandments in exactly the same way, nor does it mean that America’s founders established a government-sponsored religious school system.
It demonstrates something more important: religious texts and ideas were part of the intellectual and educational environment in which American culture developed.
The Ten Commandments cannot simply be removed from that history because they are religious.
The U.S. Supreme Court has itself recognized that the Ten Commandments possess historical significance.
In Van Orden v. Perry (2005), the Court considered a display of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol. Chief Justice William Rehnquist described the Ten Commandments as having “undeniable historical meaning.”
The Court recognized that Moses has traditionally been viewed not only as a religious figure but also as a lawgiver, and that the Ten Commandments have played a role in the development of legal and political thought.
The Court had previously addressed mandatory classroom displays in Stone v. Graham (1980), striking down Kentucky’s requirement that the Ten Commandments be posted in every public-school classroom. Importantly, however, the Court acknowledged that the Bible could appropriately be studied in public schools for its literary, historical, or cultural significance.
The constitutional question, therefore, is not whether the Ten Commandments can ever be studied in public education. They plainly can. The question is the purpose and context in which our state government incorporates them into education.
Tennessee has a particularly strong historical basis for treating the Ten Commandments as a document worthy of historical study.
Tennessee law recognizes the importance of teaching historically significant documents and protects the teaching of American history even when those documents contain religious references.
That principle is important because American history itself contains religious language.
The Declaration of Independence refers to “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” speaks of rights endowed by the “Creator,” and appeals to “the Supreme Judge of the world.”
The writings of the Founders likewise contain frequent references to God, Providence, biblical morality, and religion.
The Ten Commandments belong within that larger historical story.
Tennessee’s current law also expressly addresses the educational display of the Ten Commandments alongside foundational American documents. This reflects the argument that students should be able to encounter historically significant texts in their proper context and understand their influence on American culture.
The Ten Commandments are religious. They are also historical.
They are foundational to the Judeo-Christian tradition and an important part of Western civilization. They were known and discussed by the nation’s Founders. Washington spoke of the “eternal rules of order and right.” Adams specifically identified “Thou shalt not covet” and “Thou shalt not steal” as principles necessary for a society to become civilized and free. John Quincy Adams described the Sinai law as both a civil and municipal code as well as a moral and religious one.
Those are not modern political arguments. They are historical evidence from the people who helped establish the American constitutional system.
Teaching students about the Ten Commandments does not require teaching them to believe the Ten Commandments.
Students can study the Magna Carta without becoming medieval English nobles. They can study the Declaration of Independence without being required to adopt every philosophical proposition surrounding the American Revolution. They can study the Constitution without becoming constitutional lawyers.
Likewise, students can study the Ten Commandments as a historically significant document without being required to practice Judaism or Christianity.
The purpose of education is not to erase the religious elements of American history. It is to understand them. Leftists are completely ignorant when it comes to our founding. Because they do not know our history, they rely on baseless arguments and name calling, as a recent school board member in Hamilton County did this week, when he referred to the districts who vote to enforce our state’s law as “moron school board(s)”.
If Tennessee wants its students to understand the forces that shaped Western civilization, American government, and Tennessee’s own heritage, then the Ten Commandments deserve to be examined honestly and in context.
The Ten Commandments can be both sacred Scripture and a historical document. Those two descriptions are not contradictory. They are part of the historical story itself.
If you’re interested in leading the charge in your county to have these historical documents posted in your public schools, let us know. At least six counties have already voted to approve them, can you help us continue this important task?
The Ten Commandments: A Historical Document in American and Tennessee Education
Image: Tompkins Harrison Matteson (1848), “The First Prayer in Congress (1774)”: Depicts Reverend Jacob Duché leading delegates, including George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Adams, and Richard Henry Lee, in prayer and reading from Psalm 35.
When Americans debate whether the Ten Commandments have a legitimate place in public education, the discussion is often reduced to one question: Are the Ten Commandments religious? The answer is unquestionably yes.
But that is not where the question ends.
The more complete question is: Have the Ten Commandments played a significant role in the history of Western civilization, American government, education, and the development of our understanding of law and morality?
History would say yes, unequivocally, yes!
America’s Founders did not view government and morality as separate philosophies or talking points. Many of the nation’s early leaders openly discussed the relationship between religion, morality, law, and the preservation of liberty.
George Washington addressed this connection in his First Inaugural Address in 1789, writing:
“…the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”
Seven years later, Washington made the connection even more directly in his Farewell Address:
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”
These statements demonstrate that Washington understood the nation’s political success to be connected to morality and religious principles.
John Adams was even more explicit about the Ten Commandments.
In A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, published in 1787, Adams wrote:
“If ‘Thou shalt not covet’ and ‘Thou shalt not steal,’ were commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free.”
Adams directly connected two of the Ten Commandments with civilization and political freedom.
He made the connection between morality and government again in 1798:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Quincy Adams continued this historical understanding. In an 1813 letter to his son, he described the law given at Sinai, otherwise known as the Ten Commandments, as “a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code”.
He described these laws as principles “essential to the existence of men in society”! It was the Ten Commandments our founders identified as the foundation to which our country was founded, understanding that without this moral code, a people simply could not be governed.
These statements do not establish that the United States Constitution was simply copied from the Ten Commandments. It was not. American law developed from many sources, including English common law, classical political philosophy, natural-law thought, and Enlightenment ideas.
But they do establish something historically important: leading American statesmen understood biblical moral principles, including the Ten Commandments, as relevant to civilized society, morality, and self-government.
The relationship between biblical teaching and American education also predates the modern public-school system.
The New England Primer, first published in the seventeenth century, became one of the most widely used educational books in colonial and early America. It combined reading instruction with religious and moral lessons.
Later, the McGuffey Readers became some of the most influential textbooks in American education. More than 120 million copies were eventually sold, and generations of American children encountered biblical stories, moral teachings, and religious references through these readers.
This does not mean every American school taught the Ten Commandments in exactly the same way, nor does it mean that America’s founders established a government-sponsored religious school system.
It demonstrates something more important: religious texts and ideas were part of the intellectual and educational environment in which American culture developed.
The Ten Commandments cannot simply be removed from that history because they are religious.
The U.S. Supreme Court has itself recognized that the Ten Commandments possess historical significance.
In Van Orden v. Perry (2005), the Court considered a display of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol. Chief Justice William Rehnquist described the Ten Commandments as having “undeniable historical meaning.”
The Court recognized that Moses has traditionally been viewed not only as a religious figure but also as a lawgiver, and that the Ten Commandments have played a role in the development of legal and political thought.
The Court had previously addressed mandatory classroom displays in Stone v. Graham (1980), striking down Kentucky’s requirement that the Ten Commandments be posted in every public-school classroom. Importantly, however, the Court acknowledged that the Bible could appropriately be studied in public schools for its literary, historical, or cultural significance.
The constitutional question, therefore, is not whether the Ten Commandments can ever be studied in public education. They plainly can. The question is the purpose and context in which our state government incorporates them into education.
Tennessee has a particularly strong historical basis for treating the Ten Commandments as a document worthy of historical study.
Tennessee law recognizes the importance of teaching historically significant documents and protects the teaching of American history even when those documents contain religious references.
That principle is important because American history itself contains religious language.
The Declaration of Independence refers to “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” speaks of rights endowed by the “Creator,” and appeals to “the Supreme Judge of the world.”
The writings of the Founders likewise contain frequent references to God, Providence, biblical morality, and religion.
The Ten Commandments belong within that larger historical story.
Tennessee’s current law also expressly addresses the educational display of the Ten Commandments alongside foundational American documents. This reflects the argument that students should be able to encounter historically significant texts in their proper context and understand their influence on American culture.
The Ten Commandments are religious. They are also historical.
They are foundational to the Judeo-Christian tradition and an important part of Western civilization. They were known and discussed by the nation’s Founders. Washington spoke of the “eternal rules of order and right.” Adams specifically identified “Thou shalt not covet” and “Thou shalt not steal” as principles necessary for a society to become civilized and free. John Quincy Adams described the Sinai law as both a civil and municipal code as well as a moral and religious one.
Those are not modern political arguments. They are historical evidence from the people who helped establish the American constitutional system.
Teaching students about the Ten Commandments does not require teaching them to believe the Ten Commandments.
Students can study the Magna Carta without becoming medieval English nobles. They can study the Declaration of Independence without being required to adopt every philosophical proposition surrounding the American Revolution. They can study the Constitution without becoming constitutional lawyers.
Likewise, students can study the Ten Commandments as a historically significant document without being required to practice Judaism or Christianity.
The purpose of education is not to erase the religious elements of American history. It is to understand them. Leftists are completely ignorant when it comes to our founding. Because they do not know our history, they rely on baseless arguments and name calling, as a recent school board member in Hamilton County did this week, when he referred to the districts who vote to enforce our state’s law as “moron school board(s)”.
If Tennessee wants its students to understand the forces that shaped Western civilization, American government, and Tennessee’s own heritage, then the Ten Commandments deserve to be examined honestly and in context.
The Ten Commandments can be both sacred Scripture and a historical document. Those two descriptions are not contradictory. They are part of the historical story itself.
If you’re interested in leading the charge in your county to have these historical documents posted in your public schools, let us know. At least six counties have already voted to approve them, can you help us continue this important task?
Like this article?
Anne Lowery
Anne Lowery