Clergy who are part of Texas Believes, a project of the Texas Freedom Network and Equality Texas, are among nearly 1,300 faith leaders from across the country who have signed on to a brief calling on the U.S. Supreme Court not to turn religious freedom into a license to discriminate. Read the press release. […]
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)
Texas Freedom Network Statement on Gov. Abbott Signing Discriminatory Adoption/Foster Care Bill
Today Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a deeply divisive and discriminatory bill allowing the use of religion to discriminate against LGBT Texans and others in adoption and foster care services. We just sent out the following statement. […]
Texas SB 522 Allows County Clerks to Discriminate Against Virtually Anyone
The Texas Senate State Affairs Committee today heard testimony on yet another of the 17 proposed bills that would allow the use of religion to discriminate against LGBT Texans. But the bill is so broad that it would allow public officials to discriminate against virtually anyone. We just sent out the following press release: […]
Avalanche of Proposed Bills Would Allow the Use of Religion to Discriminate in Texas
The fight over using religion to discriminate is heating up at the Texas Capitol. We just had a press conference with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. Following is the press release we sent out. […]
TFN Statement: Proposed Bills Radically Redefine ‘Religious Freedom’ to Mean Using Religion to Discriminate
Statement in Response to Texas Capitol Press Conference by Anti-LGBT Group Touting Religious Refusals Bills […]
