Constructing A Protestant Nation
Religion, Politics, and the Texas Public School Curriculum
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/post.v7i1.27Keywords:
Texas curriculum, Texas public school, Conservative Christians, Bible literalism, American exceptionalism, Christian nationalismAbstract
This article examines the recent controversy surrounding the Texas public school social studies curriculum revision process. The focus of this project is the text of the revised statewide curriculum, which offers a means of investigating the ways in which the conservative Christian authors of the new guidelines employ language to disseminate their particular worldview and propose a direction for the nation’s future. Through an analysis of the primary text, coupled with a discussion of scholarly sources, this article argues that the authors of the revised curriculum standards define American national identity as originating in Protestant Christianity, and construct a biblically-based narrative of United States history that challenges the notion of separation between church and state. The article also considers the concepts of the Judeo-Christian tradition, literalism, and American exceptionalism within the context of the curriculum guideline changes, and concludes with a discussion of Christian nationalism and fundamentalism.
References
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Todd, J. Terry. 2010. “The Temple of Religion and the Politics of Religious Pluralism.” In After Pluralism: Reimagining Religious Engagement, edited by Courtney Bender and Pamela E. Klassen, 201–224. New York: Columbia University Press.
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Williams, Daniel K. 2010. God’s Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right. Oxford: Oxford University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof: oso/9780195340846.001.0001
———. Yale Law School. 2008. Lillian Goldman Law Library. “Fundamental Orders of 1639.” http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/order.asp. Accessed November 5, 2010.
———. Yale Law School. 2008. “Mayflower Compact: 1620.” Lillian Goldman Law Library. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/mayflower.asp. Accessed November 5, 2010.
Balmer, Randall. 2006. Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Barton, David. “Overview.” WallBuilders. http://www.wallbuilders.com/ ABTOverview.asp. Accessed January 28, 2011.
———. 2008. Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, & Religion. Aledo, TX: WallBuilder Press.
Blake, Mariah. 2010. “Revisionaries: How a Group of Texas Conservatives is Rewriting Your Kids’ Textbooks.” Washington Monthly. http://www.washingtonmonthly. com/features/2010/1001.blake.html. Accessed September 27, 2010.
Butler, Jon, Grant Wacker, and Randall Balmer. 2008. Religion in American Life: A Short History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Crapanzano, Vincent. 2000. Serving the Word: Literalism in America from the Pulpit to the Bench. New York: The New Press.
Deckman, Melissa M. 2004. School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Gaustad, Edwin S. 2004. Faith of the Founders: Religion and the New Nation 1776–1826, 2nd ed. Waco,Tx: Baylor University Press.
Goldberg, Michelle. 2006. Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Harding, Susan Friend. 2000. The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Hawley, John Stratton, ed. 1994. Fundamentalism & Gender. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jefferson, Thomas. 1802. “Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists: The Final Letter, as Sent.” Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/ danpre.html. Accessed January 21, 2010.
Kintz, Linda. 1997. Between Jesus and the Market: The Emotions That Matter in Right-Wing America. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. http://dx.doi. org/10.1215/9780822382102
Lebo, Lori. 2010. “Texas Textbook Massacre: Deceitful Propaganda Campaign or Tempest in a Teapot?” Religion Dispatches. http://www.religiondis-patches.org/archive/politics/2498/_texas_textbook_massacre. Accessed September 27, 2010.
“In Congress, July 4, 1776, The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.” Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ query/r?ammem/bdsdcc:@field%28DOCID+@lit%28bdsdcc02101%29%29. Accessed January 28, 2011.
Lipset, Seymour Martin. 1996. American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Madsen, Deborah L. 1998. American Exceptionalism. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
Marsden, George M. 2006. Fundamentalism and American Culture, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McKinley Jr., James C. 2011. “Population ‘Tipping Point’ in Texas, as Hispanics Get Closer to Parity With Whites.” New York Times. http://www.nytimes. com/2011/02/18/us/18texas.html?_r=1&emc=eta1. Accessed April 18, 2011.
Scarborough, Rick. 2008. Enough is Enough: A Practical Guide to Political Action; Plus: Why Christians Must Engage. Florida: FrontLine.
Shorto, Russell. 2010. “How Christian Were the Founders? History Wars: Inside American’s Textbook Battles.” New York Times Magazine, February 14: 32-47.
Texas Education Agency. TEKS Elementary. 2010. “Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies: Subchapter A, Elementary.” http://www.tea. state.tx.us/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=2147485018& libID=2147485017. Accessed September 27, 2010.
———. TEKS High School. “Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 113: Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies, Subchapter C, High School.”http://www.tea.state.tx.us/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier =id&ItemID=2147485020&libID=2147485019. Accessed September 27, 2010.
———. TEKS Middle School. 2010. “Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 113: Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies, Subchapter B, Middle School.” http://www.tea.state.tx.us/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkI dentifier=id&ItemID=2147485019&libID=2147485018. Accessed September 27, 2010.
———. 2009. “09 April 22 Work Session item 1.” http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ index4.aspx?id=4213. Accessed September 27, 2010.
———. 2009. “SBOE History and Duties.” http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4. aspx?id=4214. Accessed September 27, 2010.
———. “Social Studies Experts: Social Studies Expert Reviewers; David Barton, President, WallBuilders.” http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6184 Accessed November 5, 2010.
Texas Statutes. “Education Code Chapter 28:Sec. 28.002; Courses of Study; Advancement.” http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/ED/pdf/ED.28. pdf. Accessed September 27, 2010.
Todd, J. Terry. 2010. “The Temple of Religion and the Politics of Religious Pluralism.” In After Pluralism: Reimagining Religious Engagement, edited by Courtney Bender and Pamela E. Klassen, 201–224. New York: Columbia University Press.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2001. “Profile of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2000: Current Population Reports.” http://www.census. gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-206.pdf. Accessed April 18, 2011.
Williams, Daniel K. 2010. God’s Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right. Oxford: Oxford University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof: oso/9780195340846.001.0001
Published
2014-01-13
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Ellis, J. E. (2014). Constructing A Protestant Nation: Religion, Politics, and the Texas Public School Curriculum. Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts, Cultural Histories, and Contemporary Contexts, 7(1), 27–58. https://doi.org/10.1558/post.v7i1.27
