North Dakota Republicans seek to display Ten Commandments in all classrooms

The North Dakota GOP has introduced House Bill 1145, which proposes displaying the Ten Commandments in all public school and higher education classrooms.

State Sen. Jose Castaneda (R-Minot), one of HB 1145’s 12 cosponsors, argued that it is important for everyone to see the Ten Commandments.

“It just seemed not only important and necessary, and it just kind of dovetailed into being able to put the Ten Commandments back into the public square,” Castaneda told Fargo’s WDAY-TV.

Since the Ten Commandments are a main doctrine of Christianity and Judaism, opponents of the bill argue that it violates the separation of church and state section of the U.S. Constitution. Cody Schuler of the American Civil Liberties Union told WDAY’s Isak Dinesen that public schools are “not for religious instruction.”

“Really, by the state putting into law mandating one particular version of a religious document, it is showing preference, and that would be a violation, in our opinion, of the separation of church and state,” Schuler continued.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

HB 1145 was pre-filed before the North Dakota state legislature began its 2025 session on Tuesday and has yet to be assigned to a committee.