{"id":2247,"date":"2026-06-25T19:11:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247"},"modified":"2026-06-25T19:11:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:11:23","slug":"red-state-launches-unprecedented-attack-on-separation-of-church-and-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247","title":{"rendered":"Red state launches ‘unprecedented’ attack on separation of church and state"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Texas is poised to pass what the New York Times<\/u> calls a \u201csweeping\u201d new state book list, which will codify a batch of books that must be read by millions of students in the state\u2019s public schools, including the Bible. <\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Blindsided\u2019 Alito sat \u2018stone-faced\u2019 with anger after Sotomayor exchange<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the Times, \u201cThe list was being debated by the Texas State Board of Education this week. It is expected to be approved on Friday. While the specific texts were still being edited and finalized, the list is expected to reflect the priorities of the state board, which has a 10-to-5 Republican majority.\u201d The proposed list so far includes uncontroversial titles like Charlotte\u2019s Web by E.B. White, Night by Elie Wiesel, and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, but it will also require that students read at least one Bible excerpt each year, starting in the 4th grade. This has \u201cspurred fierce debate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas education officials assert that the Bible \u201cis an essential piece of literature and important for understanding America\u2019s founding and culture.\u201d Critics argue that mandating the Bible violates the separation of church and state \u201cand is part of a broader effort to infuse Christianity in Texas public schools.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government of Texas, let alone any American government body, should never be in the business of imposing one religion on everyone,\u201d said Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has previously challenged a law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments<\/u> in Texas classrooms. <\/p>\n

As the Times notes, it is so unusual for an entire state to mandate a reading list that it may be \u201cunprecedented.\u201d The list will shape the reading habits of a generation of Texas students, who represent 11 percent of the nation\u2019s students, and is being created in response to a Texas law enacted in 2023 requiring education officials to select at least one essential literary text for each grade level. But the board went further, creating an extensive list from which teachers will be required to work. They will be allowed to assign books not on the list, but will need to find time to accommodate the additional reading by cutting back from other curricula. <\/p>\n

Read more Trump is \u2018miserable\u2019 and alone as MAGA coalition hinges on \u2018fear of his wrath\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to including the Bible, the list has also been criticized \u201cfor putting an emphasis on older texts, often written by white and male authors, in a state where more than half of students are Hispanic or Black.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a list that\u2019s so extensive, would teachers have the time or space to choose texts that are a great fit for their students, their classrooms, their region?\u201d said Markesha Tisby, president of the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, which has argued for narrowing the list to allow teachers more choice. \u201cTexas is extremely large and very diverse.\u201d<\/p>\n

The list does not include commonly taught titles like Romeo and Juliet, the Great Gatsby or To Kill a Mockingbird. It does, however, include The Children\u2019s Book of Virtues, an anthology of stories edited by William J. Bennett, the Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan, as well as Margaret Thatcher\u2019s eulogy for Reagan.<\/p>\n

Read more Exposed: MAGA is buying the 2026 midterm elections<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas is poised to pass what the New York Times calls a \u201csweeping\u201d new state book list, which will codify a batch of books that must be read by millions of students in the state\u2019s public schools, including the Bible. According to the Times, \u201cThe list was being debated by the Texas State Board of Edu…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRed state launches 'unprecedented' attack on separation of church and state - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Red state launches 'unprecedented' attack on separation of church and state - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Texas is poised to pass what the New York Times calls a \u201csweeping\u201d new state book list, which will codify a batch of books that must be read by millions of students in the state\u2019s public schools, including the Bible. According to the Times, \u201cThe list was being debated by the Texas State Board of Edu...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-25T19:11:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"headline\":\"Red state launches ‘unprecedented’ attack on separation of church and state\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-25T19:11:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247\"},\"wordCount\":564,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bf80bb4d40ca3fd6da42229c4e289ccf.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247\",\"name\":\"Red state launches 'unprecedented' attack on separation of church and state - Next Address America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bf80bb4d40ca3fd6da42229c4e289ccf.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-25T19:11:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bf80bb4d40ca3fd6da42229c4e289ccf.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bf80bb4d40ca3fd6da42229c4e289ccf.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2247#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Red state launches ‘unprecedented’ attack on separation of church and state\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next Address America\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Red state launches 'unprecedented' attack on separation of church and state - Next Address America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Red state launches 'unprecedented' attack on separation of church and state - Next Address America","og_description":"Texas is poised to pass what the New York Times calls a \u201csweeping\u201d new state book list, which will codify a batch of books that must be read by millions of students in the state\u2019s public schools, including the Bible. According to the Times, \u201cThe list was being debated by the Texas State Board of Edu...","og_url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247","og_site_name":"Next Address America","article_published_time":"2026-06-25T19:11:23+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"headline":"Red state launches ‘unprecedented’ attack on separation of church and state","datePublished":"2026-06-25T19:11:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247"},"wordCount":564,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bf80bb4d40ca3fd6da42229c4e289ccf.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247","name":"Red state launches 'unprecedented' attack on separation of church and state - Next Address America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bf80bb4d40ca3fd6da42229c4e289ccf.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-25T19:11:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bf80bb4d40ca3fd6da42229c4e289ccf.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bf80bb4d40ca3fd6da42229c4e289ccf.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2247#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Red state launches ‘unprecedented’ attack on separation of church and state"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/","name":"Next Address America","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}