As students settle into the school year, they’ve had more time to adjust to new schedules, teachers, and the laws that the state of Texas has passed. In early September, the state passed a litany of bills restricting student freedoms. The first mandated teachers to post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms, and the second required parent permission for teachers to call a student by their preferred name. These bills actively endorse a political and religious agenda, endangering the fragile separation of church and state. 

The recent legislation has been covered extensively by the media. In fact, earlier this school year, the Horizon released an article condemning the laws for their excessive overreach into student life. Yet, supporters of the bill continue to say that this overreach is necessary to preserve Christian values. As a Christian, this statement could not be further from the truth.  The recently enacted laws actively use Christian beliefs as a front to run the country under false values based on blatant misinterpretations of the Bible. A more detailed reading of the Bible itself suggests that a state religion is incompatible with the Christian doctrine. In the Gospel according to Matthew (6:5-6), Jesus warns against displaying pretentious faith, saying, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. But when you pray, go to your own room, close the door, and pray to your unseen Father.” Faith should be private and freely chosen, not imposed or enforced by a government trying to go back in time. The Bible emphasizes free will, and forcing children of all religious backgrounds to sit under a Christian authority harms both religious freedom and authentic belief. 

The founders of the United States enshrined the separation of church and state in the First Amendment, saying “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” America’s governmental power lies in its ability to embrace all people regardless of faith. When the government gives special preference to one religion in public places, it tells others that they do not belong fully. To do this to children in an academic setting is harmful to students’ sense of identity.

Using political and religious beliefs to back discrimination is hypocritical and hurts the groups the Texas legislature claims they’re trying to protect. The Christian doctrine outwardly speaks against forcing beliefs upon others, as Matthew 5:44 states,  “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  Disliking others for disagreeing with your personal beliefs does not give you biblical ground to exclude them and their communities. Instead, Christians should strive to welcome everyone into their churches and communities. Exclusionary actions like these only diminish non-Christians’ trust in churches and those who attend them.

These issues are not hypothetical, but a reality in the lives of ordinary Texans. Forcing religious text into schools and limiting personal liberties, such as preferred names, are violations of constitutional ideals and biblical teachings. America was established on the premise of religious freedom and individual rights, not religious conformity at the hand of the law. Texas’s new policies undermine the very freedoms they claim to preserve.