四虎影院

The day before he unveiled a massive new laden with Bible stories, Texas education Commissioner Mike Morath sat down with a Democratic lawmaker at the state capitol.

Rep. James Talarico had concerns.

The third-term legislator from Round Rock, near Austin, pointed Morath to a lesson on the Sermon on the Mount 鈥� Jesus鈥檚 instruction to 鈥渄o unto others as you would have done unto you.鈥�

The text makes only passing reference to similar messages in and , and never mentions that taught a version of the Golden Rule 600 years earlier. 

鈥淚 think it’s pretty egregious and will shock a lot of Texans,鈥� Talarico said of the curriculum.

If it seems strange that four paragraphs about an ancient text in for kindergartners arouses such passions, welcome to the latest Texas-sized controversy about Christianity in the classroom.

Talarico is not just a Democrat in a deeply red state, but a former middle school English teacher and a seminary student studying to be a Presbyterian minister. Morath, he said, agreed the new material doesn鈥檛 grant 鈥渆qual time鈥� to other religions. 鈥淚 thought that was a fundamental flaw in this curriculum. He did not.鈥�

As parents, academics and activists begin to pore over the thousands of pages the education department released, Morath鈥檚 acknowledgement sheds light on the state鈥檚 approach. 

The new curriculum is based on the increasingly popular notion of 鈥渃lassical education,鈥� which stresses the primacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition in shaping Western literature and U.S. history. As 四虎影院 first reported last week, the project won praise from conservatives and parents who want students to get more rigorous reading material. Connecting coursework to ancient texts, including the Bible, offers students a cultural vocabulary they鈥檒l need to tackle more complex assignments in middle and high school, Morath said.

He downplayed the religious material as a 鈥渟mall piece鈥� of the curriculum, and called the biblical lessons

But a review by 四虎影院 shows that biblical figures and stories are central to multiple lessons across the 62 K-5 units. The curriculum not only gives short shrift to other religions 鈥� Muhammad appears to have escaped mention, despite his role in shaping a faith practiced by half a million Texans 鈥� but scholars who have examined the material say it offers a decidedly Christian interpretation of history, particularly the story of America鈥檚 founding and civil rights struggles.  

A textual guide for a third-grade unit on recommends teachers play 鈥淪ilent Night鈥� or 鈥淎way in the Manger鈥� as they begin a lesson on the life of Jesus 鈥� from his birth and ministry to Crucifixion and Resurrection. In addition to a smattering of New Testament vocabulary (鈥渕essiah,鈥� 鈥渄isciple鈥�) students get what appears to be a factual account from Josephus, a first century historian, on Christ鈥檚 death: Jesus鈥檚 disciples reported that he 鈥渁ppeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive.鈥�

But scholars overwhelmingly the authenticity of this account, which they say was likely added by medieval clerics more than a thousand years later in an attempt to prove Christ鈥檚 deity.

鈥淭o use this as historical proof, which is exactly how it is presented in this lesson, is quite unwarranted and specious,鈥� said L. Michael White, a biblical scholar at the University of Texas-Austin.

In keeping with classical education鈥檚 focus on religious allusions, that lesson sets the stage for a fifth grade study of C.S. Lewis鈥檚 The celebrated fantasy tells the story of four siblings who evacuate to the English countryside during World War II. They emerge through a magical armoire to encounter Aslan, a noble lion who later sacrifices himself for one of the children and returns from the dead. 

The teacher鈥檚 guide calls it a 鈥渂iblical allegory.鈥� 

鈥淓xplain how the Old Testament of the Bible had many prophecies about a future savior that are written as fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus,鈥� the note says. 鈥淭here are also prophecies in the New Testament by Jesus. There are prophecies in the Bible about a future where Jesus returns to the world to make wrong right.鈥�

Those instructions alarm one prominent education figure. In the early 1990s, Sandy Kress helped develop an accountability system for Texas schools that inspired No Child Left Behind, the landmark federal education law. Kress, who is Jewish, later advised George W. Bush when the former governor became president.

鈥淚 would argue this is teaching Christianity,鈥� said Kress. His school reform days behind him, Kress now teaches and funds projects that encourage between Christians and Jews.

Morath鈥檚 staff called on Kress for guidance on the curriculum last year, and on his advice, recruited his rabbi to review earlier drafts of the material. Kress told 四虎影院 that he wants further revisions and is hopeful the state will consider them.

鈥淐an Christians do this in a way that is respectful of other faiths 鈥� without feeling the need to prove Christian doctrine? That’s the test for them,鈥� Kress said. 鈥淲hether they pass the test or not will prove whether this is an honorable exercise and whether it would be able to survive a constitutional challenge.鈥�

State officials declined to comment on their dealings with Kress and Talarico. In a statement, Morath said the biblical material in the curriculum 鈥渄oes not include religious lessons as one would find in a religious school.鈥� He added that the content reflects 鈥渧arious religious traditions鈥� and that 鈥渟tudents will learn about aspects of most major world religions.鈥�

But in response to criticism, education officials promised to add 鈥渓anguage from the First Amendment鈥� on the need for a clear separation between church and state to its lessons on American history.

The public has to comment on the proposed curriculum, which goes to the state Board of Education for approval in November. The stakes are high. If adopted, the curriculum would instantly become not only the nation鈥檚 largest classical education model, but the biggest infusion of Judeo-Christian teachings into the public education system in decades. The state is encouraging districts to adopt the material by offering incentives of up to $60 per student.

To Morath, the new curriculum offers schools their best chance at raising reading scores in a state that saw during the pandemic. In addition to phonics-based instruction in the early grades, the curriculum draws from history, science and the arts to boost students鈥� knowledge of the world. While the biblical material has drawn the most attention, there are many units that have no religious references and highlight famous Texans, like civil rights leader and Black-Native American aviator . Students learn best, Morath said, when they get early and repeated exposure to a subject.

鈥淲hen you’re designing elementary reading materials, you have to pick topics and stick with them for a few weeks,鈥� he told 四虎影院. In districts that have piloted some of the material over the past three years, 鈥渢he vocabulary complexity is night and day different鈥� than some of the more simplistic reading lessons teachers used before, he said.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Texas on offering districts 鈥渞ich content based on the science of reading and not outdated practices,鈥� while and classical education advocates brushed off concerns that the materials have too many biblical references.  

The Texas curriculum 鈥渟trikes me as a rather mild step in the right direction,鈥� said John Peterson, a humanities professor at the University of Dallas. For years, he said, 鈥渁nything passingly biblical [has been] treated as a form of pornography, something filthy and shameful, and only to be consumed in private.鈥�

鈥榋ero reference points鈥�

Jeremy Tate knows firsthand how difficult it can be to engage students who lack a basic knowledge of the Bible. When he taught Geoffrey Chaucer鈥檚 The Canterbury Tales to 10th graders in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, they had 鈥渮ero reference points鈥� for the collection of stories told by medieval pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral.

Some students didn鈥檛 have any knowledge of the Bible, let alone 鈥渁nything about a pilgrimage, a relic or any of the language that was so much a part of the vernacular,鈥� said Tate, now CEO of the , an alternative college entrance exam.

He鈥檚 concerned, however, about the classical movement being 鈥減olitically hijacked鈥� by Republicans trying to appeal to conservative Christians.

鈥淚n some ways, it’s an impossible battle,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’re living through a moment where very few people can think outside of political categories.鈥�

As if to underscore that point, the new curriculum arrived just four days after the state鈥檚 Republican party unified behind calling for mandatory 鈥渋nstruction on the Bible, servant leadership, and Christian self-governance.鈥� Delegates also want students to study an from Thomas Jefferson that use to argue that church-state separation is a myth. 

鈥楥ultural heritage鈥�

That approach contrasts with Morath鈥檚 more measured admonitions to those who reviewed the materials. The commissioner鈥檚 charge to a 10-member advisory board at their first meeting last summer was to 鈥渕ake sure we were on the side of literature as opposed to a worshipful treatment of that material,鈥� said Marvin McNeese Jr., an adviser who teaches at the College of Biblical Studies in Houston, an orthodox school that he said takes a 鈥渢raditional interpretation of the Bible.鈥�

All the stories that I read directly explain something that students may very well come across. I mean, we have laws named Good Samaritan laws.

Marvin McNeese Jr., College of Biblical Studies

The volunteers included some recognizable names, like former GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson, who served as a cabinet member during the Trump administration, and Danica McKellar, and mathematician who has been outspoken about her faith.

McNeese said he spent about 40 hours between August and February reviewing lessons and doesn鈥檛 see a problem with its Judeo-Christian emphasis. 

鈥淚t’s because of our own cultural heritage,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll the stories that I read directly explain something that students may very well come across. I mean, we have laws named Good Samaritan laws.鈥�

Under federal law, schools can teach the Bible as literature, but not in a devotional way. Mandatory Bible readings and prayer were common in many public schools until a series of in the early 1960s ended those practices. The court, however, allows voluntary prayer and under its current conservative majority has increasingly tilted in favor of religious expression. 

Conflicts about biblical material in public school have recently erupted over Bible verses in a Florida and in an that posted a New Testament verse on a hallway wall. But experts say the scope of Texas鈥檚 undertaking increases the potential for trouble.   

The Bible references in the new curriculum start in kindergarten, when children draw pictures inspired by the creation story in the Book of Genesis. By fifth grade, students studying poetry ponder what King David meant in Psalm 23 when he wrote, 鈥淭he Lord is my shepherd.鈥� In between are familiar Bible stories about the wisdom of King Solomon, the prodigal son and Paul鈥檚 conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus.

The Texas lessons frequently say 鈥渁ccording to the Bible鈥� or 鈥渁s the Bible explains,鈥� but Mark Chancey, a religious studies professor at Southern Methodist University, dismissed those as 鈥渕eager efforts鈥� at objectivity. 鈥淭he literalistic way they present Bible stories encourages very young children to simply take them at face value,鈥� he said. 

He pointed to a fifth grade lesson on Leonardo da Vinci鈥檚 鈥淟ast Supper鈥� in which teachers read a passage from the Book of Matthew for added context. Students, he said, are bound to be left with questions. 

“How did Jesus know someone would betray him? What does Jesus mean when [the teacher] says the bread is his body and the cup is his blood?” Chancey asked. 鈥淚s the teacher ready to explain all the different versions of Eucharistic theology found in different forms of Christianity?鈥�

The literalistic way they present Bible stories encourages very young children to simply take them at face value.

Mark Chancey, Southern Methodist University

Many of those teachers have probably never received training on how to discuss religion in a public school classroom, said Kate Soules, founder and director of the Religion and Education Collaborative, which focuses on how schools talk about matters of faith. Teachers might be better off focusing on the literary value of Lewis鈥檚 鈥淐hronicles of Narnia鈥� than prompting students to think Aslan, the lion, represents Jesus, she said. Teachers could 鈥渧ery quickly end up in violation of the First Amendment.鈥�

The tone and focus is a concerted departure from the curriculum Amplify, a leading publisher, offered the state in 2020 under a $19 million contract. In over 40 pages, that version gives to Christianity, Islam and Judaism. A separate unit features on Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

The state, however, rejected those sections, said Amplify officials, who later balked when Texas asked for additional biblical content. As 四虎影院 previously reported, the company opted not to bid on a contract for the next phase of the project. 

Experts say the current curriculum is notable not only for its emphasis on Christianity, but for what it omits. 

A first grade lesson on American independence, Chancey said, paints an idealistic picture of religious liberty by asserting different denominations 鈥渢hrived in the colonies.鈥� In reality, pilgrims were often intolerant of . 

The program devotes ample space to the evangelism of the colonists during a period of religious revival known as the Great Awakening. But 四虎影院鈥檚 review found no material on the considerable influence of thinkers from the Enlightenment, a concurrent intellectual movement that inspired the writings of early American thinkers on individual rights and church-state separation. 

鈥楤oth sides of that debate鈥�

That stained glass lens extends to the Civil Rights era. In both second and fifth grade, the text emphasizes the Christian faith of Black leaders as key to the movement to end segregation. But there鈥檚 no mention of who used the Bible to justify racism and Jim Crow laws, like Henry Lyon Jr., who that God 鈥渟tarted separation of the races.鈥�

鈥淚f you just portray that religious leaders were against segregation, that’s extremely misleading,鈥� Chancey said. 鈥淵ou had religious leaders on both sides of that debate.鈥� 

An assignment on points fifth graders to Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 biblical allusions, including the persecution of early Christians and Jews who refused to worship false idols. But it ignores King’s intended audience 鈥� “white moderate” preachers “who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation.” 

鈥淒r. King鈥檚 focus was the incompatibility of racial segregation with Judeo-Christian values and the Christian faith,鈥� said Raymond Pierce, president and CEO of the Southern Education Foundation, a nonprofit focused on equity. 

Pierce has a divinity degree, leads a Sunday school class and teaches political theology at Duke University. His family tree extends back through the founding of the Black Pentecostal Church in the early 1900s. 鈥淚t does not get much more fundamental than that,鈥� he quipped.

But he’s also a civil rights attorney. In reviewing excerpts from the curriculum for 四虎影院, Pierce found himself turning to to Virginia lawmakers in 1785. Madison wrote that while Christians fought for their own religious liberty, they could not 鈥渄eny an equal freedom to those whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us.鈥� 

Those who support the Texas curriculum are 鈥減ushing a warped version of Judeo-Christian principles,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淚t is quite troubling that these supporters either intentionally or naively want to bring divisive issues within the Christian Church into our public schools.鈥�   

To share tips on Texas鈥檚 proposed reading curriculum, contact Linda Jacobson at lrjacobson@proton.me.

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