In one recent Texas Bible course, students learned that modern racial groups trace their origins back to Noah's three sons. In another, students considered the pros and cons of different theories regarding when Christians will be "raptured" to Heaven. Elsewhere, students spent two days watching a video exploring the possibility that biblical stories about angels actually record visits by space aliens. Yet another class utilized a resource that suggests God cut off his relationship with Jews because they rejected his son Jesus.

These classes weren't taught in Sunday school or private religious academies. These were all offered in public high schools for academic credit. I had the opportunity to review the materials for 60 courses taught in school districts and charter schools for the report "Reading, Writing & Religion II: Texas Public School Bible Courses in 2011-12," which was recently published by Texas Freedom Network Education Fund. What I discovered was that while such courses are legally required to be religiously neutral and are supposed to be academically rigorous, all too often, the opposite is the case.

Some successes

To be sure, there were notable success stories, such as the courses taught in Conroe and Goose Creek ISDs. In courses like these, students learned about the Bible's rich impact not only on religious life but also on literature, music, art, philosophy, politics and other spheres of culture in legally and academically appropriate ways. These courses typically recognized that different religious communities not only have different Bibles but different ways of reading the Bible. They took such variations seriously without promoting one religious viewpoint over all others - the hallmark characteristic of constitutional courses that respect the religious freedom of their students and the religious diversity of their communities.

Most courses, however, were less successful. Intentionally or not, they often presented material from a particular religious perspective.

What were some of the recurring problems?

Most courses focused solely on the Protestant Bible, as if Jewish, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles did not even exist.

Some blatantly embraced theological claims, as in a Houston-area course that utilized a PowerPoint presentation stating, "The Bible is united in content because there is no contradictions in the writing (sic). The reason for this is because the Bible is written under God's direction and inspiration."

Students were often taught to read the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament strictly through Christian eyes as a set of predictions about Jesus. ("Which prophet foretold that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem?" one test asks.) This approach ignores the fact that Jews, and many others, read those passages very differently.

Judaism in general fares quite poorly, often coming across as a legalistic or lifeless religion that was superseded by Christianity.

Creation science and other pseudo-scholarship creep into some classrooms, as in those where students learn that the biblical book of Genesis is scientifically accurate when read correctly.

Many courses treat the Bible, miracle stories et al, as straightforward, completely accurate, unproblematic history - a religious approach that federal courts have flagged as unconstitutional in a public school setting.

The irony in all of this is that Texas passed a law promoting Bible courses in 2007 that included provisions intended to safeguard against such missteps.

Lack of guidelines

That law called for the creation of course standards so that teachers would have at least some guidance on what to teach. Unfortunately, no content-specific standards were ever developed.

The law also mandated that teacher training be developed and that teachers take that training - but because the Legislature never appropriated any funds for that purpose, no such training was ever developed. In short, Texas had the opportunity to be a national leader in teaching about the Bible in the right way, but we failed to do it. Instead, numerous publicly funded schools are promoting some religious views and disparaging others in Bible courses that are supposed to be respectful of all. Those districts that have done well despite the lack of guidance and resources are to be commended. But the state as a whole has a way to go before we can honestly say that we're giving the Bible - and religious liberty - its due.