By Deb Silverthorn

The National Council of Jewish Women Greater Dallas and Temple Shalom will present “Should We Worry? Christian Nationalism in Our Schools” at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21, at Temple Shalom. The event, chaired by Temple Shalom Past-President Debra Levy-Fritts and NCJW’s Vice-President of Public Affairs Peggy Papert, is open to the public. Congregation Shearith Israel’s Rabbi Shira Wallach, a longtime member of NCJW, will moderate the panel discussion.

“We’re proud to bring together this interfaith panel to address and discuss current events on this subject,” said Shannon Morse, NCJW Greater Dallas executive director. “NCJW’s mission is to improve the quality of life for women, children and families and safeguard individual rights and freedoms. We believe that includes upholding the establishment clause of separation of church and state.”

Morse added that most parents want their children to learn about religion in their own faith context. She said that the session would give attendees resources, calls to action and understanding.

In 2023, Texas, with regard to Christian nationalism in public schools, became the first state to pass a law encouraging the hiring of religious chaplains as school counselors, despite their being unqualified and untrained in that role. Clergy disapproved the action statewide; the adoption of the plan was defeated by a coalition in many districts.

This year, the Texas State Board of Education and Texas Education Agency are considering a first-of-its-kind elementary school reading and language curriculum that teaches the Bible presented as fact and interpreted with a singular Christian viewpoint.

In that model, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” introduces the concept of “do unto others…” as originating with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount; “The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe,” a Christian allegory, is taught in 14 lessons with a particular Christian view. Lessons on the Book of Esther have antisemitic tropes and make statements not found in the Torah. While not announcing the curriculum’s creators, districts have the option to reject some or all of the material, but choosing to do so would mean a loss of up to $60 per student.

The submitted curriculum was reviewed by community members of many faiths, including scholars and experts on the topic of separation of church and state. This spurred interest in raising awareness about the problem.

“This event is an example of fulfilling our duty of citizenship in this pluralistic democracy: educating ourselves about issues in a community environment,” said event panelist Amanda Tyler, an attorney, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and lead organizer of BJC’s Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign. “Whether or not we currently have children in public schools, we should all be concerned about our taxpayer-funded public schools. An educated population is critical to democracy. We see both our public education system and our democracy coming under attack.”

BJC has joined with Christians Against Christian Nationalism, Texas Freedom Network, Texas Impact, the Anti-Defamation League Texas and Shalom Austin to defeat or rework the K-5 coursework under consideration by state education officials.

“What happens in Texas will influence policies around the country. The well-funded and highly organized Christian nationalist movement is targeting our public schools for furthering their aim of an authoritarian theocracy,” said Tyler. “I am specifically concerned about how religious freedom is being threatened by those who would promote one interpretation of one religion — a fundamentalist Christianity — in the schools and government.”

Dr. David Brockman, a leading authority on Christian nationalism, a nonresident scholar for the Baker Institute’s Religion and Public Policy Program and an adjunct professor at Texas Christian University and Southern Methodist University, will also join the Oct. 21 panel. He wrote a review of the proposed curriculum called “Turning Texas Public Schools into Sunday Schools?”

“As an Episcopalian, I am not at all anti-Christian or anti-religion,” he said. “As an American, I have strong beliefs that religion and government should be kept largely separate and that government should not favor or promote any one religion.

“The idea threatens to turn anyone who isn’t Christian into an ‘outsider.’ I do believe children should learn about others, and about world religions, because we want to know about others in the world we live in; but that doesn’t include our wanting to proselytize,” added Brockman. “Texas, more so than the states around it, already tends to overemphasize Christianity at the expense of other religions. It’s dubious. We can’t just present one side.”

Wallach, an NCJW board member, says bringing her voice as a woman and clergyperson allows her to share her values in the dialogue. She enjoys teaching Biblical and Rabbinic Jewish sources that shed light upon some of the biggest issues of our day, including reproductive health care, the imperative to vote and the separation of church and state.

“Of course, Jews believe that education is paramount, especially of the ancient texts that have guided our belief and practice for generations,” said Wallach. “But context is everything. Students in government-funded public schools deserve the opportunity to study their material in an unbiased, academic environment.

“This is not to say that our students should not be exposed to religious texts. One cannot fully appreciate Shakespeare without being able to identify and understand Biblical allusions,” added Wallach. “Studying sacred scriptures from different traditions may offer meaningful opportunities for students to connect over shared values. But we should be wary of a program that will withhold funding should a school opt out of a curriculum scaffolded by New Testament stories.”

On Sept. 10, bus caravans from around Texas arrived in Austin with people submitting testimony and voicing support or opposition to the State Board of Education. According to Tyler, as of Aug. 28 there were more than 2,000 public comments filed with the SBOE by those concerned about the curriculum and only 200 who were supportive — a 10-to-1 ratio.

“There are important consequences for the children and families in Texas, but also for the whole country,” said Tyler, “and the time for action is now.”

For more information or to register for the Oct. 21 event, visit tinyurl.com/NCJW-Temple-Shalom-10-21-event. To file a petition, go to tinyurl.com/Texans-of-Faith-Petition. To determine your SBOE representative and to voice your opinion on the subject, visit wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home.