JD Vance Defends Texas Ten Commandments Law, Says Biblical Principles Are Foundational to American Society
By Finish The Race Newsroom
Vice President JD Vance is defending a controversial Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, rejecting arguments that such displays are inherently unconstitutional and arguing that the moral principles contained in the biblical commandments are deeply connected to America’s history and legal traditions.
Speaking during an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Vance addressed the debate surrounding Texas Senate Bill 10, which requires public elementary and secondary schools to display a copy of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
The law has faced legal challenges from families and religious organizations arguing that government-mandated displays violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.
Vance, however, pushed back against the idea that acknowledging the Ten Commandments in a public school setting automatically constitutes an unconstitutional establishment of religion.
His broader argument was that the principles expressed in the Ten Commandments—including prohibitions against murder, theft, and bearing false witness—have played a foundational role in the development of Western civilization and American legal culture.
The debate raises a question that has divided Americans for decades:
What role, if any, should America’s biblical heritage play in public education?
Texas Law Reignites National Debate
Texas’ Ten Commandments law is part of a broader national debate over religious expression in public institutions.
Supporters argue that the Ten Commandments are not merely religious teachings but historically significant principles that have influenced Western law and morality.
Opponents argue that requiring their display in public school classrooms amounts to government endorsement of religion and could make students from other religious backgrounds feel excluded.
Those competing arguments are now being tested in federal court.
The controversy also comes as the U.S. Supreme Court’s approach to Establishment Clause cases has shifted in recent years. In 2022, the Court moved away from the longstanding “Lemon test” that had shaped many church-state disputes, emphasizing instead an analysis rooted more heavily in historical practices and understandings.
That changing legal landscape has encouraged states such as Texas and Louisiana to revisit questions surrounding religious displays in government institutions.
The final constitutional status of these laws remains a matter for the courts.
But the cultural debate extends far beyond constitutional law.
It touches on a much larger question:
Can a society maintain a moral framework while disconnecting itself from the worldview that helped shape that framework?
The Ten Commandments and American Culture
Christians should be careful not to oversimplify America’s religious history.
The United States is not a church.
The Constitution does not establish Christianity as the nation’s official religion.
Americans have historically represented many different Christian denominations and, increasingly, many different religious beliefs.
At the same time, it is historically undeniable that biblical ideas profoundly influenced generations of Americans and helped shape the nation’s understanding of morality, justice, human dignity, personal responsibility, and law.
The Ten Commandments include foundational moral prohibitions recognized throughout American society:
Do not murder.
Do not steal.
Do not bear false witness.
Honor father and mother.
Do not covet what belongs to another.
Christians recognize these commands as more than historical artifacts.
They are part of God’s revealed moral law.
Yet Scripture also teaches something that political debates can sometimes overlook.
Knowing God’s commandments is not the same as obeying them.
And displaying God’s law is not the same as possessing a transformed heart.
God’s Law Reveals Our Need for Christ
The Ten Commandments hold tremendous importance in Scripture.
They reveal God’s holy character.
They establish moral standards.
They expose human sin.
But they cannot save sinners.
Paul explains in Romans 3:20 that through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
The Law functions like a mirror.
It shows us what righteousness looks like—and then reveals how far we fall short.
Consider only a few of the commandments.
“You shall not murder.”
Jesus taught that sinful anger reveals the murderous condition of the human heart.
“You shall not commit adultery.”
Jesus taught that lust itself reveals adultery within the heart.
“You shall not bear false witness.”
Who among us can claim never to have lied?
“You shall not covet.”
Who has never desired something belonging to another?
When honestly examined, the Ten Commandments do not give humanity a reason to boast.
They silence our boasting.
They reveal our guilt.
And ultimately, they point us toward our desperate need for a Savior.
That is where Christians must ensure that discussions about the Ten Commandments do not end with politics.
The Gospel must remain central.
America Needs More Than Commandments on a Wall
Christians may reasonably support efforts to acknowledge the historical influence of the Bible and the Ten Commandments in American society.
They may also participate in debates about religious liberty, constitutional law, and public education.
But believers should never confuse cultural recognition of Christianity with genuine Christian conversion.
America’s greatest spiritual need cannot be solved simply by placing the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
A plaque cannot regenerate a heart.
A law cannot produce repentance.
A government cannot create genuine faith.
Only the Gospel has the power to transform sinners.
Jesus Christ lived the perfectly righteous life that none of us could live.
He fulfilled God’s Law completely.
He died on the cross, bearing the punishment deserved by sinners.
He rose from the dead.
And He now offers forgiveness and eternal life to everyone who repents and trusts in Him.
That message must remain at the center of the Church’s mission.
Christians Should Engage Without Losing the Gospel
The debate surrounding Texas’ law is unlikely to disappear soon.
Courts will continue considering constitutional arguments.
Politicians will continue debating the proper relationship between faith and government.
Parents will continue discussing what children should encounter in public schools.
Christians should participate thoughtfully in those conversations.
We should defend religious liberty.
We should teach the historical influence of Christianity accurately.
We should resist attempts to erase biblical faith from America’s history.
And we should confidently proclaim that God’s moral truth does not change simply because cultural attitudes change.
But our greatest hope must never rest in government.
It must rest in Jesus Christ.
The Ten Commandments can reveal what righteousness requires.
They can expose what sin has broken.
They can remind a culture that objective moral truth exists.
But only Christ can save.
As America debates whether the Ten Commandments belong on classroom walls, Christians have an even greater responsibility:
Make sure God’s Word is being taught in our homes.
Make sure our children understand the Gospel.
Make sure our churches faithfully proclaim the whole counsel of God.
Make sure our own lives demonstrate obedience to the truths we want society to respect.
Because ultimately, the most powerful argument for biblical truth is not simply a commandment hanging on a wall.
It is a life transformed by Jesus Christ.
The legal battle over Texas’ Ten Commandments law will continue.
But the mission of the Church remains unchanged.
Proclaim the truth.
Defend religious liberty.
Teach the next generation.
Preach the Gospel.
And point people—not merely to God’s Law—but to the Savior who perfectly fulfilled it.
