Texas just passed a law that gives extra funding to public schools that teach the Bible.
Checked my Texas municipal property taxes recently. We've dropped ISD funding by 30% over five years. Meanwhile, city police spending has surged by 25%.
So I'm paying slightly less than I did five years ago, but over $1k/year of that has simply been a transfer from teachers to cops.
Are you comparing raw dollars or percentage of property tax? Accounting for inflation and the increase of your property value? What about the whole situation where Texas collects the taxes but only disburses up to some amount to schools. Probably easier to just look at the ISD financials. Just need to remove all expenses for non education activities, like sports and administration. I wonder if the ISD funding also gets used to pay for ISD specific police. Just asking questions, without actually doing the work, betting teachers have lost way more than 30% in 5 years. Texas government is actively trying to prove that public education doesn't work so they can justify privatization, and bring back legal segregation plus religious schooling funded by taxes.
Does it specify which bible?
the Satanist temple joined the chat
Maybe I'm even more cynical, but it feels like us evangelical christianity is being used as a tool. A gullible fool.
So all these old gheezers are vaguely pushing for a US Christian nationalism... But coronated someone who doesn't really care about that beyond how they can elect him, and basically shoved their values out the the party's window.
And US youth is increasingly less Christian. Including Trump supporting youth.
So... I'm not even worried about this long term, relative to everything else to worry about. There will be short term scares, but post Trump Trumpism is not going to be very religious.
Orange man indeed doesn't care.
It's the people whispering in his ear that are pushing their brand of Christianity(TM) to positions of power.Project 2025 and the Heritage Foundation would like a word. Or not. They do better when no one pays attention to them.
Evangelical Christianity has absolutely been used as a political tool for the past generation.
That's never gonna happen as long as Republicans are fascist religious extremists, and the only other option literally still thinks God talks to them directly.
Biden, 81, told Stephanopoulos, 63, that he doesn’t intend on exiting the race, and only a higher power intervening would make it happen.
"Look, I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get outta the race,’ I’d get outta the race,” he said, adding, “The Lord Almighty’s not comin’ down.”
Republicans dove head first into religion, so that means the only other option Americans get is a "benevolent" deluded religious person.
Because no matter how bad Republicans get. Our only other option will always meet them halfway.
I don't disagree about the GOP, but that quote doesn't say what you're asserting it does, lol. He doesn't say that God talks to him in your quote, he was giving a hyperbolic example of what would make him drop out. Ironically, he dropped out almost immediately after this.
Yeah, I think it’s meant as a kind of “when pigs fly” statement.
Does that mean Pelosi is god?
Theology has no place at the table of knowledge
Except in social studies class. People should be aware of other people's religions. But each religion should be taught equally, or in proportion to how many members they have. Kids should also be able to learn why people join religions and why religions are persuasive.
What about private schools?
Private schools are just that: privately funded. I used to attend a private "Christian school" and they were very open about what they would / wouldn't be teaching there.
Taking money from public funds and use it to encourage religious teaching is wrong. Especially when their morals include "x people are less than/must submit to y people" and "people who do [fill in the blank] are sinning against God and their actions are unambiguously wrong".
It's a slippery slope, especially because my family went down a path of "physical and mental illness is a result of your sins and spiritual shortcomings." I personally know of at least 3 pastors (whose church I used to attend) who have a child who eventually committed suicide. They do not see a connection.
It's evil.
Luther was among the first to advocate for separation of Church and State. First, to keep the State out of Church business. And second, to clear the path for a more democratic structure for Christianity but not for the State.
Children needs to be taught religion in a way they can comprehend the reasons to believe them, and make them understand what they're believing in it. Otherwise cults can take over to exploit the lack of knowledge in religion.
It would be better to teach critical thinking and how to recognize logical fallacies. No need to teach one specific scam that people fall for.
If there were any valid reasons to believe a religion was true, there wouldn't be a problem with teaching it in school.
Children need to be taught religions/cults are a means to bypass their logic and reason and appeal to their emotions, usually because they want something from them.
Especially the religions/cults that have high pressure recruitment.
And remember, the only difference between a cult and a religion is scale.
