RELIGION HEADLINES SUN 4-12-26

(SRN NEWS)  After a decade of victories in the courts and in American culture, LGBT advocates are in retreat.  There’s been a strong backlash in recent years, especially against the promotion of transgenderism to children.  Many states have banned males from competing in female sports and some have barred sex-change operations on children.  At least nine states have considered resolutions seeking to undo legal recognition of same-sex marriages.  Most would call on the Supreme Court to rethink its 2015 decision recognizing the unions. The measures would not carry the weight of law, but might encourage a new challenge to the high court. 

 

(  )  The Education Department says it has terminated Biden-era agreements reached with five school districts and a college aimed at promoting transgenderism.  The decision means the Trump administration will no longer play a role in enforcing those agreements, which called for schools to hide students’ gender identity from their parents and use preferred pronouns.  The Education Department has issued a statement saying “The administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda.” 

 

(  )  Biblical stories such as Jonah and the whale would be required reading for Texas public schools students under proposals that are being considered this month.  Religious leaders, teachers, parents and students spent hours Tuesday before the state education board arguing about the reading list for the state’s 5.4 million kindergartners to 12th-graders. The board is also considering social studies standards that have been criticized as too state-centric.  The reading list stems from a state law passed in 2023 that calls for the creation of a state-approved list of high-quality reading materials.  A final vote is expected in June. 

 

(  )  The Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College is working to keep synagogues alive in rural areas.  The center began a decade ago with a goal of supporting Jewish congregations that are far from big cities and has grown to run programs for more than 60 communities in over 20 states.  The organization says that one-in-eight Jewish Americans live outside a major urban area, and the center exists to help them thrive. The center’s work is happening as the number of synagogues in America is trending down and fewer rabbis are available to minister to Jews in small towns.