Alexandria, VA, March 13, 2010 -- THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy condemns the decision of the Texas State Board of Education to promote political philosophy rather than objective history in new curriculum standards.
The Board voted down by a 10-5 party line vote a proposal by member Mavis Knight that government classes teach about the Establishment Clause. Her proposal called for students to examine the reasons the Founding Fathers "protected religious freedom in America by barring government from promoting or disfavoring any particular religion over all others."
The Republican Board members dismissed Knight's proposal as an inaccurate interpretation of the Founder's intent and was a "half-truth that would play down the importance of religion to the Founders."
As reported by the New York Times, the new curriculum will put a particularly partisan stamp on education by "stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers' commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light."
Among the numerous curriculum changes, Thomas Jefferson was dropped from the list of those who inspired revolutions in the late 18th and 19th centuries, but John Calvin and William Blackstone were added.
"The decision of the Texas State Board of Education insults the Founding Fathers, misinterprets the founding documents of America, and open the door to political and religious prosyletization in the classroom," commented Joseph K. Grieboski, Founder and Chairman of the Board of THE INSTITUTE.
"The Founders were more than clear on the importance of a secular system of governance while respecting and protecting the religious nature of the people. By eroding the importance of the Establishment Clause and the constitutional foundations for a separation of church and state, the Texas State Board of Education denies students the opportunity to make their own political and religious decisions and forces those of the board members down the throats of children for years to come," Mr. Grieboski stated.
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