Christian conservatives

Millions of Texans tell pollsters religion is very important in their lives. Every Sunday hundreds of megachurches fill up and celebrate their faith – which also shapes their politics. The result , elections are won and lost based on performances of righteousness. The State Board of Education bends the nation’s textbooks to a conservative Lone Star gospel, and laws are passed based on Christian values. How did Texas become “one state under God"?

Texas is seeing a direct challenge on the separation of church and state. It’s happening with school vouchers, a Bible-based curriculum for public schools, and a bill in the legislature requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms. We discuss the ways this agenda threatens religious freedom and more.

Evangelical and Pentecostal conservatives are a powerful force in Republican politics. They've stuck by former President Donald Trump for three presidential elections in a row. That's despite Trump's long list of criminal charges, sexual harassment and assault allegations, and regular brutal, personal attacks on political opponents — all of which wouldn't fit many people's definition of Christian. Conservative Christian support for former President Donald Trump seems to be unwavering. A North Carolina pastor says there's a simple reason why. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

From Texas Standard: With Donald Trump in the White House, and with conservatives in control in the Texas capitol as well, conservative Christian...

Cruz has not been the buzz candidate so far in the GOP's 2016 discussions — nor the media's. In fact, he has seemed at times a bit of a faded rose, a skyrocket that has spent much of its sparkle.

With a midnight tweet, Ted Cruz became the first major candidate to announce he is running for president. But Cruz faces an uphill climb against better-funded and better-known candidates.