New teaching material in Texas is set to introduce under-11s to the cultural importance of Christianity and the Bible.
Among other things, elementary school children will learn about the Christian allegories contained in the writing of CS Lewis, and read the biblical text that inspired one of Leonardo DaVinci’s most famous paintings.
Local school districts that adopt the material, expected to be approved later this year and available for use from August 2025, will receive $60 in state funding per pupil.
Wilberforce
In a lesson for 10 to 11-year-olds on CS Lewis’s novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, students are taught that the character of Aslan was included “purposefully” as a part of the writer’s “biblical allegory” and that he “may represent Jesus”.
The lesson plan continues: “According to the Bible, Jesus offers his life to save others, dies, and is resurrected. Aslan offers his life to save Edmund, the traitor. Aslan is mocked, beaten, and killed, only to rise again.”
When studying DaVinci’s The Last Supper, children are directed to “read the story in the book of Matthew” to see for themselves “what unfolded” during the final meal Jesus shared with his disciples before he was killed.
Other lessons point children to the evangelical Christian belief that led William Wilberforce to become involved in the abolitionist movement and teach about the “dedication and sacrifice” of Queen Esther, “a woman who saved the Jewish people of Persia”.
‘Cultural experience’
Explaining the reasoning behind the new material, state-appointed Commissioner of Education Mike Morath said: “Any changes being made are to reinforce the kind of background knowledge on these seminal works of the American cultural experience.”
Dan Patrick, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, welcomed the curriculum change as a return to teaching the “stories from the Bible”.
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