The Tennessee House of Representatives voted 75-17 on Thursday to allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms across the state.¶
House Bill 0047 also requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed alongside other documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the Constitution of Tennessee, and the Bill of Rights. The bill was sponsored by Representative Michael Hale, R-Smithville.¶
Republican Praise¶
All but four of the votes in favor of the bill came from Republicans, including Representative Monty Fritts, R-Kingston. He not only advocated for the bill during but also expressed his admiration for Hale’s “courage and caring” to sponsor the bill.¶
“When we were young men, this wouldn't have been a conversation, and we know that nature hates a vacuum, and unfortunately, by the misdeeds of getting men decades ago, we found ourselves where this has become a conversation,” Fritts said. “The pure fact of the matter is our Tennessee constitution asserts that every man has a natural and indefeasible right to worship ‘Almighty God.’ That's the same one whose finger wrote those commands in the stone. It doesn't mention any of the other false gods, it just mentions Almighty God. So thank you for your courage, for standing up.”¶
Representative Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, echoed some of Fritts’s points, stating that posting the 10 Commandments could inspire children to ask questions and have their own moral and ethical discussions.¶
“I, for one, think that teaching our kids about the Ten Commandments might make our society a better place to live, (talking about) don't steal, don't covet, honor your father and mother and the other ones to go with it,” Cepicky said. “It is a reflection, or lack of a reflection, of our society right now, of where we are, and I applaud you for doing this. And I hope all 147 school districts will do this to make sure our kids ask questions, and in education, we should be inspiring our kids to ask questions.”¶
Recent Context¶
According to Stateline, Republicans in 15 states introduced legislation in 2025 to require the Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms.¶
Tennessee now joins a list of other states attempting to pass similar laws, including Texas and Louisiana, which are both navigating their own appeals processes. Arkansas also has a law on the books requiring all public schools and universities to display the 10 Commandments.¶
Democratic Pushback¶
Representative Harold Love, D-Nashville, who is also a pastor, was among the 17 Democrats voting against the bill.¶
"I have a little bit of a concern about the message it may send to other faith traditions where children in the school are enrolled that even though we're posting it as a historical document, that it may give the indication that their different faith tradition is not as honored as the faith tradition coming out of the Ten Commandments," Love said.¶
Representative Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, also echoed those concerns while disclosing his own Christian faith, stating that while displaying the 10 Commandments would not be compulsory under the bill, children and possibly their parents could have no say in the matter because they are required to attend school.¶
“One of the problems that we run into, colleagues, is everyone's taxes are paying for public education, whether you are Christian, whether you are an atheist, whether you are Muslim, whether you are Jewish, no matter what your religious beliefs are, you're paying for public education,” Pearson said. “In addition to that, in the United States of America, public education, or education for children, is compulsory.”¶
The bill still needs approval in the State Senate. As of Friday, that chamber has yet to schedule a committee vote on its version of the bill.¶
