Classroom Prayer Time? Texas Doubles Down on Faith in Schools

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Texas politicians are facing criticism for trying to inject Christianity into public schools.

Just last week, Texas moved to insert the Ten Commandments into every classroom in the state (despite legal pushback).

Now it’s time for round two. The recently-passed Senate Bill 11 goes into effect this month just as kids return to school, opening the door for prayer in the classroom or readings from religious texts during the schoolday. And it doesn't beat around the bush, calling out the Bible by name. 

Unsurprisingly, secular advocates are pushing back, alleging that the law amounts to state-sponsored Christianity. 

What’s in the Bill?

The new Texas bill mandates that every school board across the state vote on whether to adopt or reject the period of prayer within the next six months. Schools that adopt the policy will be required to “provide students and employees with an opportunity to participate in a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text on each school day.”

Students are required to submit a parental consent form to attend these prayer meetings, which can be revoked at any time by parents or guardians.

It’s worth noting that prayer is not illegal on Texas campuses, or anywhere else for that matter. Students across the country are free to pray at school on their own time. But this bill creates a school-sponsored prayer period – a big shift from private, voluntary prayer to an officially sanctioned slot in the daily schedule.

Created With the Bible in Mind?

Although the bill is written to support any religious text, messages from state leaders indicate they have a preference for what students should be using to pray. 

For example, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has some particular readings he’d like to see come up during Texas’ students campus prayer sessions. He is urging students to specifically recite the Lord’s Prayer.

“In Texas classrooms,” he wrote, “we want the Word of God opened, the Ten Commandments displayed, and prayers lifted up.”

"Twisted, radical liberals want to erase Truth, dismantle the solid foundation that America's success and strength were built upon and erode the moral fabric of our society," he continued. “Our nation was founded on the rock of Biblical Truth.” 

Secular Advocates Respond

Supporters of this effort say that putting God back in schools is a great way to reinforce the Judeo-Christian values they believe America is built on.

Unsurprisingly, the has been a heated secular response to the state's latest infusion of faith into education.

“Texas students go to school to learn, not to be evangelized,” said Texas ACLU attorney Sarah Corning. 

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, added that “our Constitution’s promise of church-state separation means that students and their families – not politicians – get to decide when and how public school children engage with religion.” She says her legal team is already working on a repeal of the law. 

For now, though, between Ten Commandments plaques on classroom walls and daily prayer sessions, critics say Texas schools are looking less like centers of education and more like church pews.

Secular advocates warn that Christian Nationalism isn’t knocking at the door anymore – it’s barging right in.

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