Texas trains a tenth of the nation\u2019s schoolchildren and the reading list includes many familiar school selections: \u201cStuart Little\u201d and \u201cThe Cat in the Hat,\u201d \u201cJulius Caesar\u201d and \u201cHamlet,\u201d \u201cGreat Expectations\u201d and \u201cAnimal Farm,\u201d speeches of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., poetry of Dante and Eliot, the diary of Anne Frank and \u201cNight,\u201d Elie Wiesel\u2019s powerful Holocaust memoir. Oddly omitted is the popular \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird\u201d with its themes of race relations and justice. Ideology emerges with Ayn Rand lauding untrammeled capitalism and Margaret Thatcher eulogizing Ronald Reagan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Predictably, the new Texas Bible mandates, said to be unique among the states, are one of those social issues that rouse intense partisan debate. The board\u2019s Republican majority approved the new curriculum in a 9-5 vote, while inclusion of the Bible is opposed by many Democrats and liberals. Christian clergy are similarly divided; most Jewish leaders are strongly negative; and critics note the omission of Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim texts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Rachel Laser of Americans United insists that \u201cpublic schools should not force children to read Bible stories,\u201d accusing politicians of \u201cpushing Christianity on public schoolchildren.\u201d Karen Swallow Prior, an evangelical literary scholar formerly at Liberty University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, says \u201cteaching key passages from the Bible is an excellent idea\u201d if the purpose is truly cultural. But she\u2019s opposed if this seeks \u201cto elevate one religion over another\u201d or is \u201ca ham-fisted attempt to advance a Christian nationalist agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> Texas mandates biblical readings in public school curriculum — @DavidMartinDavi<\/a> @TPRSource<\/a> @TPRNews<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/5GO581HlLw<\/a><\/p>— Jon Taylor (@ProfJonTaylor) July 20, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>