The Texas Freedom Network (TFN) is a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

organization which describes its goals as protecting

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

, defending

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...

, and strengthening public schools in the state. It works to counter the activities of the

Christian right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with t ...

. Founded in 1996 by

Cecile Richards Cecile Richards (born July 15, 1957) is an American activist who served as the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund from 2006 to 2018. In 2010, Richards was elected to the ...

, the daughter of former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Ann W. Richards Dorothy Ann Richards (née Willis; September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. A Democrat, she first came to national attention as the Texas State Treasurer, w ...

. the group had 19,000 members by 2004.Smoot Steps Down
Rachel Proctor May, ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'', October 15, 2004

Leadership and direction

Under Richards, the organization focused mainly on education, but under the leadership of Samantha Smoot (1998–2004) it broadened its focus to include

hate crimes A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

. As of February 2009, Kathy Miller is the president. The TFN has opposed the attempts of

Don McLeroy John Donald "Don" McLeroy (born June 3, 1946) is a dentist in Bryan, Texas, and a Republican former member of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE). The SBOE establishes policy for the state public school system. Dr. McLeroy, who represented ...

and other religious conservatives on the

Texas State Board of Education The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

to mandate that Texas high schools offer Bible classes and change history textbook standards, arguing that many of the proposed changes violate religious freedom and the separation of church and state. TFN has also closely followed the activities of the Board of Education and activists on other education issues, such as the teaching of evolution in public schools.

Bible study curricula

In 2005 TFN criticized the

National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS) is a conservative nonprofit organization that promotes the use of its 300-page Bible curriculum, ''The Bible in History and Literature'', in public schools throughout the United St ...

curriculum for promoting a fundamentalist Christian view and violating religious freedom. It commissioned a report by

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

biblical scholar Mark A. Chancey, which found:

Evolution curricula

In a survey commissioned by TFN, "94% of Texas scientists indicated that claimed 'weaknesses' of evolution are not valid scientific objections to evolution (with 87% saying that they 'strongly disagree' that such weaknesses should be considered valid)."

Other issues

*In February 2009 a TFN-funded study conducted by two

Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

researchers, titled ''Just Say Don't Know: Sexuality Education in Texas Public Schools'' found that in many cases, students are given misleading and inaccurate information about the risks associated with sex.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Texas Freedom Network
Official Public education in Texas Politics of Texas Civil liberties advocacy groups in the United States Organizations established in 1996 Organizations based in Texas 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations