The Texas Freedom Network Education Fund’s newest study of Texas public school Bible courses reveals that many of these classes promote faith beliefs as fact. Such courses clearly veer from the academic to the devotional, violating both Texas law and the U.S. Constitution. The report, Reading, Writing & Religion II: Texas Public School Bible Courses in 2011-12 […]
Religious Freedom
The Texas Freedom Network supports the constitutional guarantee of the separation of church and state, which protects the right of all Americans to practice the faith of their choice, or none at all, free of government interference.
Unfortunately, efforts to knock down that wall are a constant in Texas. Politicians and extremists continually work to impose their views on others, especially around issues like abortion, access to contraception, and LGBTQIA+ equality. And in a distortion of the principle of religious freedom, far-right groups have supported legislative efforts to allow people to use religion as an excuse to ignore laws they might not like and even as a weapon to discriminate against others.
Resources
- Prayer in Public Schools: A Primer (2001 report)
- The Texas Faith-Based Initiative (2002 report)NDOP_Report_2005_Revised
- A Report on The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (2005 report)
- Reading, Writing & Religion: Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools (2006 report)
- Reading, Writing & Religion II (2013 report)
- Can This Class Be Saved? The ‘Hobby Lobby’ Public School Bible Curriculum (2014 report)
Even Don McLeroy Gives a ‘Thumbs Up’ to TFN Education Fund’s Report on Bible Classes
Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Bud Kennedy has an interesting Twitter post: “Ex-SBOE Chair @DonMcLeroy likes @TFN’s report on preachy Bible lessons: “I agree. That shouldn’t be in public schools.” Well, good for Don. Maybe he can help persuade fellow creationists who sit on the state board now that they should adopt real curriculum standards that […]
Texas Public School Bible Courses: Preparing Students for the End Times
Public school Bible courses in Texas often promote particular religious beliefs as widely (or even universally) accepted. So it shouldn’t be surprising how a number of such courses feature a significant preoccupation with eschatology, the theology of the “end times.” From the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund’s new report, Reading, Writing & Religion II: Texas […]
Texas Public School Bible Classes: ‘Theories of Creation’
Today we offer another example of what Texas students are learning in their public school Bible classes. A number of these classes incorporate pseudoscience, especially when it comes to promoting creationism. Suggestions that the biblical creation story is literally true are not uncommon. Neither are attempts to show that the Bible’s account can be reconciled […]
What Students in Some Texas Public School Bible Classes Learn about Jews
What are Texas students learning about Judaism in their public school Bible courses? Often these courses present Judaism as flawed and incomplete — incomplete without Jesus. Even worse, perhaps, are those courses that portray — intentionally or not — Jews as responsible for the death of Jesus. Such portrayals were long used to justify the […]
