Rodney Kennedy writes about religious issues and character matters in the the U.S. Senate race in Texas between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton.
Civil rights advocates on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Texas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, teeing up a potential new test of state-sponsored religious expression in classrooms.
In a state where two-thirds of the adult population identifies as Christian and 45% say religion is 'very important' in their life, the candidates are asking voters to choose between two dramatically different views of Christianity.
Congregations and other community groups in Socorro, Texas, organized against the sprawling $126 million complex. They cited moral objections and warned that the town's infrastructure couldn't support it.
Other attempts under federal law to prohibit the display of a highly edited version of the religious text in public schools — primarily the First Amendment’s guarantee of separation of church and state — have been unsuccessful so far.
A news conference inside the state Capitol brought together about two dozen leaders from the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ, the National Council of Jewish Women, and other faith-related groups.
James Talarico’s attempt to make the election about ethos — character, credibility, and integrity — throws a Nolan Ryan fastball at Ken Paxton and MAGA and showcases their departure from 1990s conservative Christianity.
Texas' education board on Friday approved a required bible study for more than 5 million public school students, widening Republican efforts to bring conservative Christian teachings into U.S. classrooms.