Last month, the Duke University Center for Jewish Studies convened a 2-day conference on The Bible in the Public Square, featuring an all-star lineup of experts addressing the role of the Bible in everything from public schools and American politics, to the Middle East and popular culture. Of course no forum on this particular topic […]
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)
Remembering a Friend
Joe Brown and his wife Nina accept TFN’s 2007 Samantha Smoot Activist Award from TFN President Kathy Miller. The TFN family lost a dear friend yesterday with the passing of Joe Brown of Houston. Joe was one of the founders of Texans for Advancement of Medical Research (TAMR), which, under Joe’s leadership, grew to become […]
Poll: Florida Voters Not a Fan of Measure That Would Destroy Church-State Separation
Florida voters don’t seem to be buying into a proposed constitutional amendments that would fling open the door to public funding for religious institutions. The defeat of that amendment, which is on the November ballot, could discourage efforts to pass similar measures in other states, including Texas. A Suffolk University/7NEWS(WSVN-Miami) poll found that just 28 […]
Austin Interfaith Group Hosts Event on Thursday: ‘Religion and State: Drawing the Line’
The following guest post is by Tom Spencer, CEO of Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT). “Satan runs across the world with his doubts and with his untruths and what have you, and one of the untruths out there that is driven is that people of faith should not be involved in the public arena.” […]
Groups Set Symposium on Stem Cell Research for Oct. 19 in Austin
The Texas Freedom Network supports stem cell research, which offers hope to millions of people struggling with serious medical conditions like cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, diabetes and spinal cord injuries. But each legislative session religious-right groups try to ban one of the most promising form of this research — embryonic stem cell research — in Texas. […]
