A Christian petition against teaching Biblical lessons in Texas public schools has garnered thousands of signatures in the past two weeks.
Faithful America, an organization of Christians supporting social justice causes while opposing “Christian nationalism,” posted a petition on September 13 opposing a proposal from the Texas Education Agency for elementary school teachers to include the Bible in their state reading and language arts lessons.
The new curriculum, which the Texas Board of Education will either approve or reject in November, would give school districts the option to use the Bible-infused materials for up to $60 per student in additional funding.
This proposal is part of a larger effort by Texas officials, and other conversations across the country, to push Christianity into the public sector like when the Oklahoma Department of Education earlier this year directed state educators to integrate the Bible into lessons concerning its impact on U.S. history and the founding fathers, as well as its impact on Western culture today, such as human rights or the law.
Faithful America’s petition, which has just over 15,000 signatures so far in its goal of 20,000 signatures, condemns the proposal and poses the argument for separation of church and state.
“Our nation was founded on the principle of the separation of church and state—a phrase that comes from Thomas Jefferson’s own explanation of the First Amendment—and it has defined our country ever since. Forcing our faith on others is theocracy, and such coercion is not what Christ-like love looks like,” the petition reads.
The petition demands that the Texas Board of Education “respect the religious freedom of all Texas students and stop considering a Bible-based curriculum for the classroom.”
Newsweek reached out to Faithful America and the Texas Board of Education via email for comment late Saturday morning.
Nimito via Getty Images
Earlier this month, the Texas Board of Education held a public hearing about the proposed curriculum. Austin American-Statesman education reporter Keri Heath, who has been covering the matter, talked with the Texas Standard, a daily news broadcast, about the hearing.
Heath said she talked with a few parents who came to testify at the hearing, many of whom were Christians or people of faith. They were concerned that some of the Bible stories that would be taught in the classroom did not portray their interpretations of the Bible or other religions and wanted to talk to their children about their faith in their own context either in their own homes or in their places of worship.
There were also proponents of the proposed curriculum, some of which testified that in their opinion, America was founded on Christian and Biblical principles and that the Biblical stories in the curriculum would help students understand history in that context.
