Bible passages to be mandatory in Texas schools

Several Bible passages will soon be mandatory reading in schools across Texas following their addition to a new obligatory reading list by the State Board of Education.

Alongside texts from other writers, including Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare and Martin Luther King, the state’s five million school children will also study passages about Adam and Eve, the burning bush, David and Goliath, Job and excerpts about Jesus from the Gospels.

The mandated material will come into force in 2030 after the Republican-controlled board voted in favour of the new proposals in a reported 9-5 majority.