Bible stories become required reading for Texas schools

A Texas education panel has approved plans to make Bible stories mandatory for all five million public school students in the state, sparking a row about separation of church and state. The required readings, which don't come into effect until 2030, include Bible passages about Adam and Eve and from the book of Exodus, where God speaks to Moses through a burning bush. Critics say the new reading requirements, which also include Dickens and Shakespeare, infringe on religious freedoms and lack diversity. The Republican-controlled State Board of Education approved the measure in a 9-5 vote with one Republican joining Democrats to vote against it. "We are bringing the Bible back into schools this week for the first time in 60 years," Brandon Hall, a Republican member of the board of education, said this week. Supporters say schoolchildren ought to learn about Judeo-Christian traditions that they argue were essential to the nation's founding. The new list establishes for the first time books that students across Texas must read. It includes English literature classics such as Charles Dickens's Great Expectations and William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Dr Martin Luther Ki