Attempts to undermine church-state separation in Texas reached a crescendo in 2023, writes nonresident scholar David R. Brockman. In this paper, he explores how three high-profile bills introduced during the state’s 88th legislative session threatened to tear down the wall between church and state.
Among the U.S. citizens migrating to Mexico in recent years are an unknown number of Americans who married Mexican citizens and were co-deported or departed voluntarily with their undocumented spouses, the authors report. Without improved consular services and a diaspora policy that anticipates the likely return of these Americans in the future, the authors worry that the United States risks re-inheriting a sizable U.S. population that may well require critical government services to reintegrate after a prolonged period abroad.
Texas social studies curriculum standards do not give public school students the balanced coverage of religion they need to function effectively in an increasingly diverse society, contends the author. His comparison of equivalent curriculum standards in five culturally similar states identifies lessons Texas can learn from its counterparts.
Nonresident scholar David R. Brockman examines the role of Christian nationalism in Texas state officials' response to the COVID-19 pandemic between March and July 2020.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25613/q0td-0989
David R. Brockman, nonresident scholar in religion and public policy, identifies the major religious and political proponents of Christian Americanism in Texas since 2008 and explores how they promote the ideology.
Religion nonresident scholar David R. Brockman examines an attempt to force the removal of Tarrant County GOP vice chair Dr. Shahid Shafi because he is Muslim. The paper places the controversy within the context of Islamophobia in politics and outlines the challenges the case presents for the Republican Party both nationally and statewide.
This paper argues that the Texas social studies curriculum does not offer balanced coverage of world religions, due in large part to intervention by conservative members of the Texas State Board of Education. The paper identifies examples of imbalanced coverage in social studies texts and offers recommendations for broadening coverage of religion in Texas public schools.
In March 2013, Houston was awarded one of five inaugural Mayor’s Challenge Prizes from Bloomberg Philanthropies for its innovative proposal “One Bin for All.” A $1 million prize was given to Houston to be used to implement a workable process utilizing cutting-edge technology to separate trash from recyclables, allowing residents to discard all materials — including kitchen garbage and other organics — in one bin and accomplish all separation and processing at a mechanical biological treatment with advanced resource recovery facility. Under the proposed One Bin plan, the city has set an initial goal of diverting 55 percent of municipal waste away from landfills, eventually increasing that to 75 percent. If Houston can succeed in pulling off this project, it will set a new standard in waste disposal that will revolutionize the industry for years to come.
