The Houston Chronicle notes that the 15-member Texas Board of Education will hold an initial vote today (Thursday) on proposed changes to the social studies curriculum, including recommendations that Christianity play a far greater role in American History courses and textbooks.
Meanwhile, yesterday saw a public hearing, live-blogged by the Texas Freedom Network's TFN Insider blog. Ken Camp of the Baptist Standard reports on the event, and relays excerpts from a great statement by Derek Davis, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
“What violates the Constitution is presenting material that either prefers Christianity over other faiths or depicts the United States as a Christian nation in some legal sense. Some of the proposal suggested by members of the State Board of Education and their appointees to curriculum panels commit both violations, and therefore infringe the religious liberty of public school students across Texas.”
Effort to undermine the separation of church and state damage the nation’s heritage and its values of fairness and religious equality, Davis added.
“The separation of church and state, which frees religion to be robust and voluntary, is hardly the source of the nation’s problems. In fact, it is the primary reason that religion in America, and foremost Christianity, has flourished for all of our history,” he insisted.
