鈥淭his is actually printed by the official printer of Congress,鈥� said Barton, a best-selling author and . Barton has spent the last 40 years arguing that the separation of church and state is a myth 鈥� and has built a multimillion-dollar media and lobbying operation to influence public opinion and shape laws around the belief that the United States was founded as .听

At in April, Barton appeared before the Texas House education committee and testified in favor of legislation, since signed into law, requiring that posters of the Ten Commandments be placed inside every classroom in the state鈥檚 nearly 9,100 public schools by September. With him, Barton brought a small collection of books he claims were foundational to the country鈥檚 public education system until the 20th Century.

Barton isn鈥檛 just a primary pitchman for the Ten Commandments law in Texas, his home state, an investigation by 社区黑料 reveals. His fingerprints appear on 28 bills that have cropped up before the legislatures in 18 states this year. A data analysis of the bills exposes how their language, structure and requirements are inherently identical. In dozens of instances, they match model legislation pitched by Barton verbatim. 

At the Texas hearing, Barton鈥檚 eyes fixated on the cover of the rare 1782 Aitken Bible. 

鈥淚t also says it鈥檚 鈥榓 neat Edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools,鈥欌�� he continued. 鈥淚t has the Ten Commandments.” 

In actuality, Barton lifted language calling on Congress to sanction a Bible that could also be for Christian nationalists have for years  the Revolutionary-era printing includes a government promotion of Christianity. Barton has long been accused of , and in 2012, the Christian publisher of his bestselling book on Thomas Jefferson because “basic truths just were not there.”

Texas is one of three states in the last two years to pass a law requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in public schools. The mandates are part of a coordinated nationwide effort to overturn forbidding Kentucky from requiring Ten Commandments displays in classrooms. 

As the influence of Barton and the burgeoning Christian nationalist movement find favor in state legislatures, and with 鈥� who cites Barton as a 鈥減rofound influence鈥� 鈥� the lobbyists and lawmakers behind the state Ten Commandments bills told 社区黑料 they鈥檙e confident the current Supreme Court鈥檚 conservative super-majority is on their side, too.

The analysis by 社区黑料 reveals how language in virtually every state bill matches model legislation created by Project Blitz, a Barton-steered Christian 鈥渂ill mill鈥� that鈥檚 long  with legislative templates that promote Christianity in public schools, and restrict abortion. 

A dozen bills specify, for example, that the Ten Commandments displays must be hung in a 鈥渃onspicuous鈥� location. Another 11 specify they should be at least 11-by-14 inches in size. Nearly all of the bills 鈥� 25 鈥� mandate a Christian version of the religious and ethical directives be displayed as a 鈥減oster or framed.鈥� 社区黑料 tallied 96 instances where bills introduced this year match Project Blitz鈥檚 model legislation, including template bills to require the or the phrase in public schools.

Among the architects of Project Blitz is the Barton-founded influence machine, The flurry of state bills were introduced after WallBuilders 鈥� the name is an Old Testament reference to 鈥�  convened its annual national conference of state legislators in November where the model legislation was promoted.  

After Louisiana passed its first-in-the-nation Ten Commandments law last year, new mandates approved in Arkansas and Texas this year follow the same Project Blitz template.

鈥楴o such thing as separation of God and government鈥�

Texas state Sen. Mayes Middleton is the joint author of  the state’s new Ten Commandments law and the author of another new law permitting a in public schools statewide. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed both in June. 

Middleton, whose district southeast of Houston includes his hometown of Galveston, acknowledged Barton’s influence over not just his own legislative agenda, but Texas’ broader conservative movement. Barton previously served as vice chair of the state Republican Party. 

鈥淥f course, WallBuilders is very supportive of the bill,鈥� Middleton told 社区黑料, as were the conservative legal groups and the . 鈥淎nd, of course, all of their missions is to advance religious liberties, especially in the public realm where there is no such thing as separation of God and government.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Founded by Barton in 1988, WallBuilders promotes theories 鈥� 鈥� about Christianity鈥檚 central role in the formation of the United States through its podcasts, books and a museum with 鈥渙ne of the largest private collections of United States historical documents.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Through WallBuilders鈥� lobbying arm, the Pro-Family Legislative Network, Barton leads and at its annual conferences at a four-star waterfront resort in suburban Dallas. It was at this gathering where Indiana Rep. J.D. Prescott, a Republican, got the idea for Ten Commandments legislation in his state, he told 社区黑料. 

Prescott   requiring a 鈥渄urable poster or framed picture鈥� of the commandments in each library and classroom at all public schools statewide. The legislation ultimately failed to garner support. Bills in other states also failed to gain traction, including in South Dakota where the bill鈥檚 critics 鈥� including some Republicans 鈥� said a government mandate was the wrong way to spread Christianity and ran afoul of the Constitution. 

鈥淥ur early common school system was really designed to teach biblical principles in the Bible, so it鈥檚 just getting back to that point,鈥� said Prescott, who described himself as a 鈥渟tudent of history.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; 

The Pro-Family Legislative conference offers lawmakers scholarships and discounted hotel rates to attend the event. In at least one instance,   filed a disclosure form reporting that he had received $859.47 from the Pro-Family Legislative Network, including $500 reimbursing him for air fare, to attend the November 2024 conference. 

Prescott told 社区黑料,  鈥淚 learned a lot of it at a WallBuilders conference hosted by David Barton. They鈥檝e got a great conference for legislators down in Texas every November. I did look at the WallBuilders model legislation and it鈥檚 a good place to start.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Not everyone鈥檚 Ten Commandments

Experts said the bills seek to do more than require 鈥渄urable鈥� Ten Commandments posters in every public school classroom. The campaign is part of a broader, well-organized and deep-pocketed assault, they argue, on the separation of church and state.

Although WallBuilders isn鈥檛 required to disclose its donors, the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy analyzed federal tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service to . In 2021, WallBuilders reported $5.9 million in revenue and $6.3 million in total assets. 

The group relies heavily on , a tax loophole that allows anonymous supporters to contribute to contentious causes without scrutiny.  For example, donor-advised funds have been exploited by far-right activists to of women and the LGBTQ+ community, according to a 2023 investigation by openDemocracy.

Mercury One, a nonprofit founded by high-profile conservative pundit and media personality Glenn Beck, is both and primary sponsor of Barton鈥檚 annual Pro-Family Legislative Conference to brief elected officials 鈥渙n pressing issues from a constitutional perspective.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Barton, who didn鈥檛 respond to multiple requests for comment, describes himself as a self-taught historian and the owner of the largest private collection of historical documents about the Founding Fathers. His critics pan the graduate of the Oral Roberts University as a discredited pseudohistorian and propagandist. 

Barton is 鈥渢he granddaddy of Christian nationalist disinformation,鈥� constitutional attorney Andrew Seidel, who serves as vice president of strategic communications at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told 社区黑料.

John Fea, an American history professor and history department chair at Messiah University, a private evangelical Christian institution in Pennsylvania, accused Barton of cherry-picking historical information to present a misleading portrayal of the past, one that bolsters his own present-day political agenda. 

鈥淭his is clearly an attempt by Christian nationalists to try to advance their own version of what America should be,鈥� Fea said, noting that even as historians challenge Barton, he鈥檚 amassed influence among Republican lawmakers interested in leveraging a distorted accounting of history for political gain. 

鈥淏arton provides that history for these lawmakers. It adds a certain depth, even though it鈥檚 hollow.鈥�

Darcy Hirsh, the senior director of government relations and advocacy at the nonprofit National Council for Jewish Women, said the Ten Commandments laws present an attack on 鈥渢he strict wall of separation鈥� between church and state. 

鈥淎ny efforts to perpetuate the falsehood that the United States is a Christian nation is something that we find deeply alarming,鈥� Hirsh said. Requiring a protestant Christian version of the Ten Commandments in schools, she said, is 鈥渆xclusionary and coercive鈥� to children from diverse backgrounds. 
鈥淎 Protestant interpretation of the Ten Commandments is different than the Jewish interpretation of the Ten Commandments, in fact, they are numbered differently,鈥� she said. Constitutional protections separating church and state, she said, are critical to the country鈥檚 democratic society.

鈥淚t’s that protection that has really allowed the Jewish community and other minority faith communities to flourish in the U.S.鈥�

The laws successfully passed in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas now face lawsuits from parents alleging they violate the separation of church and state. The issue could soon appear again before the nation鈥檚 highest court. In June, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, among the nation鈥檚 most conservative, struck down Louisiana鈥檚 Ten Commandments display mandate, finding it 鈥減lainly unconstitutional.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Parents with diverse religious identities are being backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State in challenging the laws. In a complaint filed in Arkansas, parents allege students will be 鈥渦nconstitutionally coerced into religious observance鈥� and 鈥減ressured to suppress their personal religious beliefs.鈥�

Fea, the evangelical historian, told 社区黑料 the far-right campaign isn鈥檛 about the Ten Commandments鈥� place in the nation鈥檚 founding but about advancing the influence of Christianity in society. 

鈥淭hey鈥檙e using this historical argument to disguise the fact that they believe that somehow 鈥� and I don鈥檛 know how this happens, by osmosis or whatever 鈥� a student sitting in a classroom where the Ten Commandments is displayed will somehow buy into those ideals and values and become more Christian,鈥� he said. 

鈥楾he hostility is gone鈥�

At the Texas House education committee hearing in April, Barton held up a second book. This one was much smaller than the first, but just as old and, Barton testified, just as significant.

Barton lectured the Republican-controlled state legislature on The New England Primer, a widely used . The book, he said, drilled first graders with 43 questions about the Ten Commandments. 

Then he introduced a third book, and a fourth. 

鈥淭he courts have pointed to the Ten Commandments as the reason we have all types of laws,鈥� Barton testified. 鈥淪o there鈥檚 a lot of history and tradition for that document that鈥檚 not there for other documents.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Barton鈥檚 prop-focused presentation isn鈥檛 just scripted 鈥� it鈥檚 well rehearsed. This year, the 71-year-old has traveled across the country with his books and a small team of collaborators to spread the gospel of Christian nationalism. Like the bills before the state legislatures, Barton鈥檚 speech was replicated again and again. 

As Barton testified on the Ten Commandment bills nationally, legislative sponsors routinely parroted his talking points, not just about Christianity鈥檚 role in the country鈥檚 origin, but the Supreme Court鈥檚 support for their movement.

During his recent appearances in Nebraska and other states, Barton鈥檚 testimonies invoked the court鈥檚 2022 opinion upholding the rights of a Washington state high school football coach to lead prayers with his team on the 50-yard line after games. 

Prescott, the Indiana lawmaker, said he became interested in introducing his bill after learning of the implications of the coach鈥檚 Supreme Court victory. 

To Barton and other members of his coalition, the court鈥檚 opinion in creates a clear path to require Ten Commandments in schools 鈥� and inject Christianity into other facets of public life 鈥� by proving they鈥檙e part of a longstanding traditional practice. 

In finding for Coach Kennedy, the Supreme Court its 1971 opinion ruling that religious displays don鈥檛 violate the Constitution if they have significant secular or nonreligious purposes. The court鈥檚 new standard revolves around whether the religious displays are part of historical practices. In other words, the heart of Barton鈥檚 pitch. 

鈥淭hat is the new standard, so the hostility is gone,鈥� he . 鈥淪howing that this is something that is longstanding practice, you go back to The New England Primer.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Bought and paid for 鈥� according to specs

Even as bill proponents championed states鈥� rights as one legal justification for their Ten Commandments display mandates, Middleton, the Texas legislative leader,  said there is a key benefit to the near-identical requirements in the bills across the 18 states. 

鈥淲e just wanted uniformity in these displays. We thought that was important,鈥� the oil company president and cattle rancher told 社区黑料. 鈥淥bviously, these are primarily going to be donated as well, so it鈥檚 probably going to be primarily private funds funding these.鈥�

Project Blitz model legislation devises a funding scheme that revolves around donated displays without the reliance on public funds 鈥� a provision that appears in 16 states鈥� bills. Others invoke the model legislation by encouraging donated displays, but broaden the mandate so schools are also free to spend taxpayer dollars to comply.

Mirroring the Project Blitz model legislation, the new Arkansas law requires the Ten Commandments display be composed of a 鈥渄urable poster or framed copy鈥� of the document and that it be 鈥減rominently鈥� positioned in each public classroom and library across the state. The law also stipulates that the posters should be donated by outside groups, meaning the same private entities who had a hand in crafting the specifications, supporting the bills and getting them on legislators’ radars, will also be the ones buying the versions of the Ten Commandments that wind up in schools.

Even as the Louisiana law is caught up in federal court, religious groups who lobbied for the law鈥檚 passage and have close ties to the WallBuilders have plans to donate the displays set to appear in classrooms across the state. 

In April, First Liberty Institute and The Louisiana Family Forum announced that Patriot Mobile, which describes itself as 鈥淎merica鈥檚 ONLY Christian conservative wireless provider,鈥� had donated 3,000 Ten Commandments displays 鈥渁s part of a project to provide, at no cost to the Louisiana taxpayer, displays in schools throughout Louisiana.鈥�

The vote was eight to seven, with one member recently appointed by Republican to fill a vacant seat breaking the tie. 

Those who decided to put the program on a list of approved curricula said they don鈥檛 think the lessons push Christianity.

鈥淭here’s a line between indoctrination or evangelism and education,鈥� said Will Hickman, a Republican board member from Houston. 鈥淚n my view, these stories are on the education side.鈥�

But Democrat Staci Childs, who also represents the Houston area, pointed to Louisiana, where a a state law requiring public school classrooms to display the 10 Commandments, as a sign of the potential legal battles ahead.

That ruling is 鈥渃losely aligned to what will happen if some kindergarten or first grade student鈥檚 parents were upset about what they were learning in class,鈥� she said. 

The vote came after a day of public comments over the proper role of the Bible in curriculum at a time when evangelical Christians are gaining political strength. also see the incoming Trump administration as a chance to further advance their faith in the realms of education and public policy. Supporters of the state-developed curriculum, first unveiled in May, say it鈥檚 culturally relevant and presents Jesus and other biblical figures in their historical context. As an added incentive, the state will pay districts up to $60 per student to adopt the materials.

Critics, however, maintain that even with recent revisions, the lessons remain biased toward Christianity, are sometimes misleading and teach complex topics better suited for older children. Others warn that the materials overstep parents鈥� rights to make decisions about the role of religion in their kids’ lives. 

鈥淎ll those controversies are gonna bubble up at the local level,鈥� said Eve Myers, a consultant for HillCo Partners, a lobbying and government relations firm whose clients include publishers. Districts with , she said, would likely favor the program, called Bluebonnet Learning, 鈥渂ecause it’s aligned with their values,鈥� and those with diverse student populations would see resistance. 

Tuesday鈥檚 action was technically preliminary, but board members are not expected to change their positions before a final vote Friday. While Leslie Recine, appointed by Abbott just two-and-a-half weeks ago, had nothing to say during the board鈥檚 discussion, her vote proved crucial to the curriculum鈥檚 passage.

Democrat Aicha Davis, who expressed opposition to the curriculum earlier this year, vacated the seat Aug. 1 after winning election to the state House in the primary. Abbott could have appointed a replacement then, but waited until Nov. 1.

, also a Democrat, ran unopposed to fill Davis鈥� seat. She sought to have Secretary of State Jane Nelson, also an Abbott appointee, certify the results in time for her to join the board for Tuesday鈥檚 vote. But Nelson didn鈥檛 complete the process in time.

Clark, who will represent Dallas and starts in January, told 社区黑料 that she should have cast the deciding vote and would have opted to remove Bluebonnet from the list.

鈥淚t鈥檚 disappointing that just days before the election, the governor chose to appoint someone else to serve temporarily in this seat,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t would have made a lot more sense to appoint the person who clearly was going to be elected by the voters in the district.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

The governor鈥檚 office did not respond to questions about the appointment.

She attended the public hearing in Austin Monday, but didn鈥檛 get a chance to speak. The comments stretched over eight hours, with passionate arguments on either side.

Compared to a September public hearing on the program, when testimony was overwhelmingly negative, Monday鈥檚 statements were more evenly split between opponents and those who say the curriculum will bolster students鈥� reading skills and teach students the Bible鈥檚 important place in Western civilization.

The First Amendment 鈥渄oes not demand strict governmental neutrality towards religion,鈥� Jonathan Covey, director of policy for Texas Values, said during his two minutes to speak to the board. 鈥淭here is nothing the U.S. Supreme Court has laid down requiring equal time or equal treatment among religious sects.鈥�

His group, which promotes biblical principles in public policy, recruited proponents of the curriculum to sign up to speak. Other , blowing a shofar and shouting 鈥淗allelujah,鈥� turned their demonstration outside the board鈥檚 chambers into a worship session. 

But critics called the program a politically motivated curriculum that would leave young children confused about complex matters of faith. Barbara Baruch, a member of the National Council of Jewish Women, San Antonio, urged board members to vote against the program by quoting from their biographies.

鈥淢r. [Tom]Maynard, you believe in a parent鈥檚 right to direct the education of their children. You also work very hard for your denomination. Please don’t let the government direct my children and grandchildren away from their denomination,鈥� she said. 鈥淢s. [Audrey] Young. I know you are married to a pastor. Ask him if he wants the government to teach religion to his congregants, starting at age 5.鈥�

Both Young and Maynard voted to keep Bluebonnet on the list. Maynard, a retired teacher and minister, said he was impressed by what he鈥檚 observed in districts that have piloted some of the lessons.

But Evelyn Brooks, a Republican opposed to the program, said there鈥檚 not yet enough evidence that the lessons improve reading outcomes.

鈥淲e want children to learn how to read and write well and do math without experimenting on them,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey deserve that.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Over the summer, the state made numerous edits based on input from the public, correcting factual errors, adding a few more mentions of other world religions and removing content that some members of the public, especially Jewish parents, found offensive. But a third grade unit on Ancient Rome still includes a lengthy passage on Jesus鈥� life, ministry and the Resurrection. And lessons on the nation鈥檚 founding still emphasize the evangelism of the colonists more than the separation between church and state. 

Other critics Monday said the authors of the curriculum did a poor job of using biblical material to teach both history and language arts. 

鈥淟essons still make numerous claims that are erroneous, made-up or just plain strange,鈥� Mark Chancey, a religious studies professor at Southern Methodist University, told the board. The state, he said. 鈥渃ontracted with people to write lessons about religion who did not know the material and did not treat it responsibly.鈥�

While the state originally contracted with Amplify, a leading curriculum provider, for its Core Knowledge Language Arts program, it hired a variety of curriculum companies and subject matter experts to further revise the program. Two of them worked for the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, which advocated for the program鈥檚 approval. The think tank also supports a 10 Commandments requirement for Texas classrooms, which failed in the legislature, but is a top priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick .

Brian Phillips, a spokesman for the foundation declined to comment until the final vote later this week. But in a foundation , former Gov. Rick Perry said he has high expectations of Bluebonnet. 

鈥淧assing that curriculum will have every bit as positive [an] effect as what we did back in the early 2000s that took Texas from 28th in the nation to 2nd in the nation in high school graduation rates,鈥� he said.

Because the biblical material 鈥� from the parable of the Prodigal Son to the Last Supper 鈥� is interwoven into larger language arts lessons, some said it might be hard for parents to request alternate lessons when they object to aspects of the curriculum.

鈥淚 do not think that many parents are aware of the nuances of these lessons,鈥� said Kristi Giemza, a parent and advocate in the Lubbock district, which piloted the materials in a few schools. She expects the district to adopt it. 鈥淏ecause the state is dangling money in front of desperate districts, my guess is they are going to do what it takes to get funding.鈥�