https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/texas-bible-required-reading-public-school
Texas makes Bible passages required reading for millions of public school students
Under the new initiative, Bible stories will become mandatory reading for millions of public school students in addition to a more standard collection of books, renewing debate over growing efforts in the US to increase the role of religion in classrooms.
The move stems from a 2023 Texas law requiring state education officials to designate at least one literary work for every grade level, with the state board expanding on that mandate by recommending multiple texts for each grade. While teachers may still assign books outside the list, they must do so in addition to the required selections.
The reading list states that excerpts from the Book of Jonah and the Book of Psalms will be required reading beginning in seventh grade. Additional excerpts from several parts of the Bible, such as the Book of Lamentations and the Book of Genesis, will become part of the curriculum for high school students.
The list has sparked strong criticism. Opponents say it breaches the constitutional separation of church and state, lacks diversity and gives preference to Christianity over other faiths. Supporters argue that Judeo-Christian traditions played a central role in the country’s founding and should be represented in public school teachings.
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Not long ago, Florida approved schools teaching kids the "benefits" of slavery:
Thread 197459
This is on top of Alabama issuing "warning stickers" on evolution textbooks:
https://www.edweek.org/education/alabama-board-retains-evolution-disclaimer/2005/11
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@vivify saidSupporters argue that Judeo-Christian traditions played a central role in the country’s founding and should be represented in public school teachings.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/texas-bible-required-reading-public-schoolTexas makes Bible passages required reading for millions of public school students
Under the new initiative, Bible stories will become mandatory reading for millions of public school students in addition to a more standard collection of books, renewing debate over gro ...[text shortened]... central role in the country’s founding and should be represented in public school teachings.
AI Overview
The United States was not officially founded on Christianity. While most of the Founding Fathers came from Christian backgrounds and valued religious morality, they intentionally created a secular government.
Key Facts:
The Constitution: The U.S. Constitution makes no mention of Christianity or God. It established a secular government and explicitly dictates in Article VI that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office.
"Separation of Church and State: The First Amendment ensures religious freedom by preventing the government from establishing a national religion or prohibiting the free exercise there of.
The Treaty of Tripoli: Ratified unanimously by the Senate in 1797, this official U.S. document famously declared that "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.
"The Declaration of Independence: The Declaration mentions a "Creator" and "Nature's God," intentionally broad language meant to encompass diverse religious views (including Deism) rather than the specific Christian God.
Historically, historians and scholars emphasize that the founding principles were deeply rooted in Enlightenment philosophy, emphasizing democracy, liberty, and the separation of religious and civic duties.
Most of the founding fathers were Deists. Their beliefs would not be accepted in the supposed Christian churches of today; anywhere.
AI Overview Deists believe in the existence of a Supreme Being or Creator, but they reject the idea that this God actively interferes with the world, performs miracles, or communicates through divine revelation or religious texts.
The core principles of deism center on:
The "Clockmaker" God: Deists believe God created the universe, set natural laws in motion, and then stepped back to allow the universe to run on its own.
Reason Over Revelation: Deists reject traditional, organized religion, sacred scriptures, and prophecies. Instead, they use human reason and observation of the natural world to understand the divine.
Denial of the Supernatural: They do not believe in miracles, the divinity of Jesus, angels, or an afterlife in the traditional religious sense.
Personal Morality: The primary focus of deism is on living a moral, ethical life and following the dictates of one's own conscience, often summarized as the practice of moral virtues.
Historically, deism was highly influential during the Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries and was embraced by several of America's Founding Fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Today, many modern deists on forums like Quora express that any prayer they practice is meant for gratitude or personal reflection rather than petitioning for divine intervention or altered outcomes
@KingDavid403 saidCheck out Moses writing a solid post.
Supporters argue that Judeo-Christian traditions played a central role in the country’s founding and should be represented in public school teachings.
AI Overview
The United States was not officially founded on Christianity. While most of the Founding Fathers came from Christian backgrounds and valued religious morality, they inten ...[text shortened]... enment philosophy, emphasizing democracy, liberty, and the separation of religious and civic duties.
Go for it King
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@AverageJoe1 saidCheck out smaller than average joe boy acting like he has a real man's penis; go for it smaller than average joe boy. 😆 😆 😀 😆 Opps, to late, you already gave it a shot. Better luck next time. 🙂
Check out Moses writing a solid post.
Go for it King
@KingDavid403 saidKing Herod does not even recognize a compliment!
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@vivify
This must be the state-enforced indoctrination that the right-wingers are always hysterically kyoodling about.
If right-wingers really want to help preserve Western civilization, they could start by not censoring and suppressing world culture classes in the K-12 system. After all, if one doesn't know how other cultures and civilizations work, how can one really apprehend what delimits the "Western" tradition from anything else?
I might also add that the ancient Greek and Roman pantheons (Zeus/Jove, Aphrodite/Venus, etc.) are really more "core" to Western civilization, with monotheism being generally a later invention versus pantheism. Yes, the bible that came together as a hodgepodge of manuscripts largely hailing from the Middle East is "Western-adjacent" and had a great influence on Western civilization, but Aries/Mars should get a mention in the classroom if we really want to be "fair and balanced."
Going further, I point out that a plurality of the Christians in Texas are Catholics, yet the Christianity being pushed by the insecure theocrats who are wasting time and money nailing the Ten Commandments to doors in schools is of the Protestant/Evangelical variety. That should go over well.
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@Soothfast
I am very much in favor of highschoolers reading the Song of Songs/Solomon, Plato’s Symposium, Woolf’sOrlando, And Nabokov‘s Lolita. These are great literary documents, highly pertinent to our time.
@moonbus saidI wouldn't mind the Bible being taught in school as long as it was part of a wider study on religion. Given how conservatives are openly pushing toward theocracy (like promoting creationism over evolution) this seems wrong.
@Soothfast
I am very much in favor of highschoolers reading the Song of Songs/Solomon. And Nabokov‘s Lolita. These are great literary documents, highly pertinent to our time.
You mentioned Lolita. Imagine if the ones pushing for this book in schools were Epstein and Matt Gaetz. This is what Texas requiring the Bible feels like.
@vivify saidI grant you that TX is pushing a religious agenda here, not a literary one. It will backfire, either by being struck down in the courts, or, as I have suggested, by being watered down in a flood of other literature.
I wouldn't mind the Bible being taught in school as long as it was part of a wider study on religion. Given how conservatives are openly pushing toward theocracy (like promoting creationism over evolution) this seems wrong.
You mentioned Lolita. Imagine if the ones pushing for this book in schools were Epstein and Matt Gaetz. This is what Texas requiring the Bible feels like.
@KingDavid403 said😂why are you libs so infatuated with sex?
Check out smaller than average joe boy acting like he has a real man's penis; go for it smaller than average joe boy. 😆 😆 😀 😆 Opps, to late, you already gave it a shot. Better luck next time. 🙂
It’s like your life is consumed 24/7 with it.
@vivify saidYeah, "WARNING! Ya might learn sumpin'."
Not long ago, Florida approved schools teaching kids the "benefits" of slavery:
Thread 197459
This is on top of Alabama issuing "warning stickers" on evolution textbooks:
https://www.edweek.org/education/alabama-board-retains-evolution-disclaimer/2005/11
😆
@moonbus saidOnce religion starts getting assigned for homework the younger generations are going to be all the more turned off by it.
I grant you that TX is pushing a religious agenda here, not a literary one. It will backfire, either by being struck down in the courts, or, as I have suggested, by being watered down in a flood of other literature.
A backfire, indeed.
@KingDavid403 said"Next time" will be after a five-year latency period.
Check out smaller than average joe boy acting like he has a real man's penis; go for it smaller than average joe boy. 😆 😆 😀 😆 Opps, to late, you already gave it a shot. Better luck next time. 🙂
@Soothfast saidThe surest way to entice kids to read something is to forbid it and remove it from the school library.
Once religion starts getting assigned for homework the younger generations are going to be all the more turned off by it.
A backfire, indeed.
(Sshhhhhhhh ... don't tell any Texans I said that.)