Texas Appoints Fundies to Rewrite Statewide Social Studies Curriculum
Should schools teach that the Founders were Christians? Apparently, the Texas Board of Education thinks so.
Among the “experts” selected to revise the Social Studies curriculum for the second-largest school system in the country (Texas Board of Education sets curriculum for every school district in the state, nearly 5 million students) are David Barton and Peter Marshall.
Who?
David Barton
Note that “Constitutional” is not capitalized. That’s not a typo.
Barton is the author of innumerable books attacking American history, such as Separation of Church & State: What the Founders Meant
. . . exert a direct and positive influence in government, education, and the family by (1) educating the nation concerning the Godly foundation of our country; (2) providing information to federal, state, and local officials as they develop public policies which reflect Biblical values; and (3) encouraging Christians to be involved in the civic arena.
In 2005, Time magazine named Barton one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in the U.S. More about Barton and Wallbuilders — MUCH more — at the link above.
Peter Marshall is the president and founder of Peter Marshall Ministries. This (apparently for-profit) business focuses primarily on selling Christian homeschool supplies and educational materials for churches.
Peter Marshall
Marshall describes himself in the third person as follows:
Because he believes that our nation is in moral and spiritual crisis and that the only hope for restoration is revival, his increasingly prophetic ministry focuses on two major themes.
First, there is the urgent necessity of recovering the original American vision, and the truth about our Christian heritage. How can we restore America if we don’t know who we are?
Second, he strongly emphasizes the importance of putting 2nd Chronicles 7:14 into practice: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
Considering the lead “Featured Product” on the main page is A Man Called Peter: The Story of Peter Marshall, perhaps we should not be surprised by this egotistical affectation.
Naturally, advocates of church-state separation aren’t too happy. Americans United for Separation of Church and State reports:
At the offices of the Texas Freedom Network (TFN), a group that monitors the Religious Right, staff members were alarmed.
“We believe there’s nothing wrong with teaching about the significance of religion in history and society today,” said TFN President Kathy Miller. “The problem comes when Barton and others try to use public schools to promote their own personal religious beliefs over those of all others.”
TFN, Americans United and other advocates of church-state separation are quite familiar with Barton and his antics. He’s been attacking that constitutional principle for years, as well as arguing that a proper “biblical worldview” means that fundamentalist Christianity must reign supreme over all areas of life –; including government. Most recently, Barton has been hobnobbing with Newt Gingrich, as the former House speaker strives to re-make himself as a Religious Right champion.
From his base in Aledo, a town of about 2,000 just west of Fort Worth, Barton runs an outfit called WallBuilders that issues a steady stream of books, videos, DVDs, pamphlets and other materials designed to “prove” that the United States was founded to be a Christian nation. Barton argues that American law should be based on the Bible (or, more accurately, his fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible) and says church-state separation was never intended by our Founders.
Why should I care about what happens in Texas?
Two reasons. For one, this isn’t the first time the Religious Right has tried to unduly influence school curricula. Regarding Barton, Americans United reports:
In 1998, a conservative member of the California Academic Standards Commission appointed Barton to an advisory position, asking the Texan to critique proposed social studies/history standards. From that perch, Barton attacked the portion of the standards that discussed the development of religious freedom, trying to remove every reference to separation of church and state.
He almost pulled it off. Commission members, unfamiliar with Barton’s agenda, seemed open to adopting his suggestions. They changed course only after intervention by Americans United’s Sacramento Chapter, AU’s national office and others.
The battle in Texas may be tougher. The State Board of Education is stacked with a vocal cohort of far-right, fundamentalist activists. Fresh from a bruising battle over what to teach about evolution in science class, the board now has social studies and history right in its crosshairs.
OK, so Barton’s done it before. So why does Texas matter?
That’s the other reason you should care. AU answers:
“Texas is the second largest purchaser of school textbooks in the country,” Miller told Church & State. “So to avoid spending money on multiple editions, publishers often write their textbooks to meet Texas curriculum standards and then sell those textbooks in other states.”
ABC News reports that the third fundamentalist on the panel is Daniel Dreisbach, a professor of justice, law and society at American University in Washington, D.C.
Dreisbach, who did not respond to messages left by ABCNews.com, suggested in his own review that the Bible should be included in U.S. government classes as one of the “influential sources.”
What can I do about it?
- Join Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
- Check out the Texas Freedom Network.
- Write a letter to the editor.
What else do you suggest?
Related posts:
- Texans Wrangle Over Science and History Texts Texan evangelicals are fighting to change history, starting with the textbooks. Why does this matter to the rest of us?...
- Mayor of Los Angeles-Area City: Grow as “Christian Community” Lancaster, CA mayor Rex Parris is promoting a ballot measure allowing prayer at City Council meetings. This "Christian community" has a history of Bible-thumping....
- Two studies show positive results, one does not Prayer has mostly been studied in connection with medicine. It seems like a good combination; the improvement (or not) of a condition can be objectively...
- High School Bans “Evolution” T-Shirts Fundamentalist parents strike again, forcing a high school to recall a tongue-in-cheek band T-shirt because it "promotes evolution" . . . the Evolution of Brass!...
- Finnish Fundies Ban Alice Cooper Alice Cooper, comparatively tame predecessor of Marilyn Manson, has been banned from a performance in Finland because he does not espouse the right "Christian values"....
Join the discussion in
So, if these people get their way, then since Texas is a huge buyer of schoolbooks, the books will get written to their standard and sold the same all over?
What if other states set a “reality-based” curriculum instead of a “Fundie Fantasy” curriculum? Wouldn’t they just buy other books?
I consider this proof that control over education should be asserted at the federal level, not the state level. There’s already such a broad disparity between the educational quality of states, and now this. We, as a country, cannot put students at such a disadvantage when it comes to understanding the world around them. If we sit idle, we’re letting these theocrats cripple the intellectual development of our future generations.
That may or may not be a good idea under the current administration, Peter, but what if the federal government controlled education and these were the people in charge?
Dear Sir,
I do not agree with all of the commentary of Peter Marshall, the Presbyterian minister to whom you refer in one of your articles. You should note, however, that the book “A Man Called Peter: The Story of Peter Marshall”, is not about him, but about his father, who was a Scottish immigrant and pastor of the United States Senate in the 1940s. It’s not self-promotion.
Thanks for that info, Michelle!