Westminster is seething. Texas just mandated Bible stories in primary schools. UK education leaders have condemned it as “religious overreach”. The reaction is swift and brutal.
The move by the Texas State Board of Education requires elementary schools to teach from the Bible. Not as history or literature. As moral instruction. The UK’s education secretary called it “a dangerous step backward”. Labour’s shadow education secretary accused the US of “undermining secular education”.
But dig deeper. This isn’t just about Texas. It’s about a global culture war. The UK has its own battles over religious influence in schools. Faith schools. Collective worship. The term “Christian values” has become a political football.
Conservative MPs are nervous. They see the Texas story as a wedge. Labour will use it to attack. “Look where this leads,” they’ll say. “Theocrats in charge.”
Polling data shows UK voters are split. A recent YouGov survey found 42% support religious teaching in state schools. But 48% oppose it. That gap is volatile. It’s a minefield for the government.
Backbench Tories are restless. Some are calling for a review of religious education. Others want to distance themselves from the US. “It’s not our fight,” whispered one former minister. But the culture warriors in the party are emboldened.
The Education Select Committee is now demanding a “clear separation” between church and state. Their report is due next week. Expect fireworks.
In Whitehall, the mood is grim. Officials are scrambling to draft a response. They don’t want to alienate religious voters. But they can’t be seen endorsing compulsion.
The game is on. Labour is sharpening its knives. The government is on the defensive. Texas has thrown a bomb into the UK’s delicate education consensus. The fallout will be messy.
This is Eleanor Rigby. In a dark corner of a Whitehall pub. Watching the fire spread.
