Texas’ new mandatory public-school reading list is drawing warnings that the state may be crossing the constitutional line between teaching about religion and promoting a preferred faith.
The Republican controlled State Board of Education approved the K-12 list in June in a 9-5 vote. Beginning in the 2030-31 school year, students will encounter at least one biblical passage or Bible-based story at every grade level.
The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause prohibits government from establishing or endorsing religion. However, the Constitution does not prohibit public schools from studying the Bible. In its 1963 Abington School District v. Schempp decision, the U.S. Supreme Court said biblical material may be taught objectively for its literary or historical importance as part of a secular education.
Critics contend the Texas requirement may fail that standard because the state selected overwhelmingly Christian material while largely excluding other religious traditions.
Blake Ziegler of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism said 10 of the 11 biblical selections reflect Protestant Christian sources. The remaining selection — Lamentations— uses what he calls an outdated Jewish translation.
Ziegler argues that the imbalance could communicate state preference for Protestant Christianity, marginalizing Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and nonreligious students. He also objects to placing Lamentations alongside Holocaust literature, warning that students could mistakenly interpret the genocide as divine punishment for Jewish wrongdoing.
Supporters say the readings are intended to provide cultural and literary knowledge, not religious instruction. They argue that biblical stories have profoundly influenced Western literature, history and American civic life.
Guest:
Blake Ziegler is the Field Organizer for the Texas and national campaigns at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
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