Texas County Tells Atheist Organization It Will Not Remove Ten Commandments Monument From Courthouse

Articles | June 16, 2026 | by Catholics for Catholics

Share

The answer to the group was an unequivocal rejection.

By Catholics for Catholics

That’s the answer attorneys for a Texas county panel gave to an atheist legal organization when they demanded that a newly installed Ten Commandments monument be razed down immediately, according to a story by The Christian Post.

In May, the Rockwall County Commissioners Court undraped a Ten Commandments monument outside the county’s historic courthouse, where state and local officials were joined by local pastors to dedicate the memorial.

But on May 27, the atheist legal organization Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), sent a letter to Rockwall County to protest about the public ceremony’s use of “Christian prayers and speeches from religious and political figures,” and argued the ceremony was a government endorsement of religion.

In the letter, FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line highlighted the monument’s use of the King James Bible translation and argued it “prominently displays explicitly religious commandments, including directives to worship the biblical god exclusively, avoid ‘graven images’ and observe the Sabbath.”

“Far from serving a neutral historical purpose, the monument’s approval, presentation and unveiling demonstrate a coordinated governmental effort to promote a particular religious viewpoint,” wrote Line.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has demanded that Rockwall County remove its new Ten Commandments monument. Our response?

“If the FFRF and similar organizations wish to see these Ten Commandments removed, we echo the words of our Texas Forefathers to Col. Ugartechea… pic.twitter.com/C2kUOYUrQV

— First Liberty Institute (@firstliberty_) June 16, 2026

Line claimed that the monument, donated by the American History & Heritage Foundation, encroaches upon the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. In the letter he called for the monument’s immediate removal.

Line contended that the First Commandment by itself was a violation of the U.S. Constitution. “The First Commandment alone makes it obvious why the Ten Commandments should not be posted on government property. The government has no business telling residents which god they must have, how many gods they must have, or that they must have any god at all.”

But in a response letter, First Liberty Institute, a freedom advocacy group stated that the county will not take out the display and noted that the monument was virtually identical to the one upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court at the Texas state Capitol.