Religious group takes stance against Bible-infused lessons in Texas schools
DALLAS - "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
That’s the teaching from the collection of wise sayings called "Proverbs in the Bible."
But not all religious organizations favor teaching lessons from the Bible as an option in Texas elementary schools.
"I think it’s very bad for religion, and it’s very bad for public education," said the Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, the president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance.
FILE - Christian woman reading the Holy Bible. (Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Interfaith Alliance is a national organization that works to unite people of different faiths and beliefs and promote religious freedoms for all.
It’s against the idea of Bible stories like the Good Samaritan or the Golden Rule being taught in Texas elementary schools.
"Don’t you want control over how your faith is taught? Don’t you want to tell those stories yourself and be the one who imparts the meaning of those stories instead of having someone who you don’t know talk about your own faith?" Raushenbush said.
In a preliminary vote earlier this week, eight of the 15 board members said they were in favor of adopting the Bluebonnet Learning state-developed instructional material.
Texas Board of Education tentatively approves new curriculum integrating the Bible
The controversy now coming to light is not so much that religion is discussed in public schools, but that the proposed material heavily focuses on Christianity.
"Does it work? Well, I have a school district, a district in my SBOE district that did it, and I went and watched it. I watched it. I sat in the classroom, and I think it works," said Tom Maynard, a member of the State Board of Education.
Texas school districts can choose what curriculum they want to use, but the state will offer a financial incentive of $60 per student to any district using Bluebonnet Learning if it passes the final State Board of Education vote.
Some are praying public schools in Texas will stay free of religious teachings and that Bible study stays in Sunday school.
"What we really want in this country is religious freedom that is true religious freedom for everyone because that’s the only way it works," Raushenbush said.