Washington, May 4 – On this Sunday’s “State of Belief,” The Interfaith Alliance Foundation’s show on Air America Radio, Rev. Welton Gaddy comes to you from the Lone Star State of Texas. Welton is joined in the studio by a Southern Methodist University professor to talk about proposals for teaching the Bible in public schools and a Baptist minister who shares his views on religion in Texas.
Welton talks with Mark Chancey, professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University, the leading scholar, researcher, and critic of most plans to bring the Bible into our public classrooms.
“People on the religious right are trying to Americanize the Bible and Christianize America,” Chancey says. “Some Democratic legislators are trying to siphon off votes from conservative constituents and some Republicans are trying to shore up their base upon evangelicals.
“The Bible curriculum I reviewed is very much an attempt to put the views of conservative Protestants into public schools,” Chancey says.
Also, Rev. Ray Vickrey, pastor of Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas, talks with Welton about the future of progressive religion in Texas and its fundamentalist past.
Interfaith Alliance celebrates religious freedom by championing individual rights, promoting policies that protect both religion and democracy, and uniting diverse voices to challenge extremism. Founded in 1994, Interfaith Alliance brings together members from 75 faith traditions as well as those without a faith tradition to protect faith and freedom. For more information visit www.interfaithalliance.org.