by First Liberty • 3 minutes
In just the course of the past week, First Liberty has learned of two alarming attacks on religious freedom happening in Texas, where we are headquartered.
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Vows to End Religious Accommodation for Judges
Shortly after the midterm elections, newly elected Democrat Maggie Ellis, the next Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, stated her intention to eliminate a religious accommodation that allows judges to publicly refrain from performing a marriage that conflicts with his or her sincerely held religious beliefs.
Chief Justice Ellis’s position would require that a judge perform all marriage ceremonies or none at all.
“It’s sad that an incoming Justice’s first public statement is one against religious freedom,” said First Liberty President, CEO & Chief Counsel Kelly Shackelford. “Religious freedom and accommodation are fundamental rights rooted in the history and tradition of America.”
First Liberty has won in litigation on this very issue. We successfully represented Judge Dianne Hensley, a Justice of the Peace whose Christian faith forbids her from officiating same-sex marriage ceremonies.
To ensure that all residents of McLennan County had access to low-cost wedding ceremonies, Judge Hensley compiled a referral list of local wedding officiants who would perform same-sex ceremonies at her price. Despite her efforts and no complaints from the public, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct sanctioned Judge Hensley for her referral solution and accused her of violating certain canons of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.
In October 2025, the Texas Supreme Court unanimously adopted a comment to the judicial canons prohibiting the Commission from punishing judges who opted out of performing marriages that conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs.
On January 9, 2026, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Commission has no authority under state law to discipline judges who refuse to perform same-sex weddings for moral or religious reasons.
“The new Chief Justice is off to a regrettable start,” Shackelford continued. “First Liberty stands ready to defend any judge affected by this policy.”
Legislation Filed to Remove Ten Commandments from Public Schools
On Monday, State Senator Jose Menendez—a Democrat representing District 26—pre-filed a bill for the 2027 legislative session that would repeal the Texas requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms.
In April, the 5th U.S. Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, upheld the Texas Ten Commandments Law, concluding that it violates neither the Establishment Clause nor the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
First Liberty submitted a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the display of the Ten Commandments. We filed on behalf of 46 members of Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Chip Roy.
“The Ten Commandments are a part of the nation’s history and tradition; banning them from schools because they are religious is not justified by the Constitution, and it undermines a comprehensive education for America’s students,” Shackelford explains.
First Liberty’s recent U.S. Supreme Court victories in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association and Kennedy v. Bremerton School District make clear that displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools is constitutional.
The Lemon test—a bad precedent that stifled religious freedom for more than 50 years—was rejected by the Supreme Court in The American Legion, our case involving the Bladensburg Peace Cross displayed on public property in Maryland. That ruling mandated a presumptive lawfulness for established symbols, displays and practices.
In Kennedy—involving praying football Coach Joe Kennedy—the Court rejected Lemon entirely and created a new test, writing that “the Establishment Clause must be interpreted by ‘reference to historical practices and understandings.’”
As the Supreme Court has explained, the Ten Commandments “have an undeniable historical meaning,” including “historical significance as one of the foundations of our legal system,” and such “acknowledgments of the role played by the Ten Commandments in our Nation’s heritage are common throughout America.”
Even so, opponents of religious liberty are relentless. They took the first opportunity available to file legislation aiming to tear down thousands of Ten Commandments posters in Texas classrooms.
Those who want to ban such displays are wrong—both under our Constitution and history.
Each effort to advance religious liberty is being met with resistance and lawsuits. Many of these groups are incredibly well-funded—and you can be sure their attacks will not stop anytime soon. This is a fight that will only intensify.
Please give to First Liberty today. Your gift is essential in this fight—it’s the difference maker that will help us win more cases and continue changing the future of our country.
