Lucio Vazquez/Houston Public Media
After the Texas Education Agency developed an elementary-level reading curriculum that referenced the Bible and Christianity multiple times, New report from the Texas Freedom Network Problems were found with the proposed plan.
David Brockman, an adjunct scholar on religion and public policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute, said in the report that the documents fail to capture historical reality and place too much emphasis on Christianity without including other religions enough.
“The curriculum has too much of Christianity and the Bible and too little of the other religions that make up American society today,” Brockman said. “Far from being religiously neutral, the curriculum tends to promote Christianity over other religions and, in some cases, presents biblical texts in a way that is more appropriate for a Sunday school than a public school.”
The proposed materials were developed by the Texas Education Agency after the Texas Legislature authorized the agency to create open educational resource materials last year. Schools that use the state-created curriculum will receive additional funding per student.
First published by education news outlet The 74 The new curriculum was reported in May.Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath argued that the content was intended to promote cultural literacy.
“When reading classic works of American literature, religious allusions are often found in those works of literature,” State Education Commissioner Mike Morath told The Seventy-Four. “The changes are intended to strengthen background knowledge of important works of the American cultural experience.”
Critics say the materials advocate for Christianity over other religions. Rocio Fierro Pérez is political director for the Texas Freedom Network.
“Teaching about the influence of religion in history is an important part of a balanced curriculum, but this curriculum is riddled with inaccuracies and risks turning Texas public schools into Sunday schools,” she said. “Under the deceptive guise of promoting religious literacy, these Bible-based lessons infringe on the freedom of Christian as well as non-Christian parents to provide religious instruction for their children.”
Asia Papali is an organizer and advocate for Students Engaged in Advancing Texas.
“If public schools become places that prioritize one religion over another, it will lead to division among students,” Papali said. “It will create an atmosphere where students who do not share the majority faith feel excluded and discriminated against, at a time when we should be encouraged.”
“Religious source materials are shared in the context of building historical knowledge and in a manner appropriate to the public school environment, without proselytizing or presenting one religion as superior to another,” the Texas Education Agency said in a written statement.
“As part of the (State Board of Education) review process, OER products are iterative and both review and feedback are welcomed and encouraged through an ongoing public feedback process. If you suspect a lesson is factually inaccurate or biased, you are encouraged to provide feedback with your reasons for doing so.”
If approved by the State Board of Education in November, New Curriculum It is expected to be available to schools in the 2025-26 school year.
