WHY TEACHING THE BIBLE IN TEXAS SCHOOLS IS NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The Texas State Board of Education’s decision to include the Bible in Texas history and civics instruction does not establish a state religion, nor does it automatically require schools to teach every other religion in the same manner.

The U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from establishing or favoring a religion, but it has long been understood that public schools may teach about religion when it is presented objectively as part of history, not as religious instruction or worship.

The Bible had a well-documented historical influence on the development of Western civilization and on many of the people and ideas that shaped America’s founding. References to biblical concepts appear in the writings and speeches of numerous Founding Era figures. Example like:

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Benjamin Franklin:

During the Constitutional Convention, Franklin urged delegates to begin meetings with prayer, saying:

“God governs in the affairs of men.”

Patrick Henry stated:

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded… by Christians, but by Christians on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Samuel Adams:

Frequently referenced biblical principles and viewed liberty as a gift from God.

Many colonial and early state laws, speeches, proclamations, and public documents included references to Scripture, providence, fasting, thanksgiving, and prayer. These are part of the historical record and can be studied in history classes without asking students to adopt any religious beliefs.

John Adams wrote:

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Adams also discussed the influence of biblical ethics on society and government.

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Studying those historical influences is different from promoting a religious belief.

Teaching the Bible in its historical context does not mean every religion must receive identical treatment. Public school curriculum can distinguish among subjects based on their historical relevance. If it did not play a comparable role in the founding of the United States, the Constitution does not require it to be included simply for the sake of equal representation.

The key constitutional principle is that instruction must be educational rather than devotional.

Students may learn about the historical influence of religion without being asked to practice or adopt that religion.

Teaching history as history is not an establishment of religion. It is an acknowledgment of historical facts and the role those facts played in the development of our nation.

The Texas SBOE TEKS are supposed to teach what actually shaped a specific period of history. So when students study the founding of the United States or early Texas, Christianity comes up because many of the people, writings, moral ideas, laws, churches, sermons, holidays, and public statements of that time were influenced by biblical and Christian thought. That makes it historically relevant to that specific subject.

That does not mean schools must add every other religion to those same lessons. Curriculum is not built by saying, “If Christianity is mentioned, every religion must be mentioned too.” It is built by asking, “Did this belief system have a documented role in the event, people, or time period being studied?” Islam played no role in founding or shaping Texas or the USA.