Baptists blast Gov. Greg Abbott for trying to ‘co-opt’ church services to push vouchers

In an open letter posted Wednesday, 21 past and present BGCT leaders railed against Abbott’s so-called “School Choice Sunday” initiative, which asked Texas faith leaders to tell their partitioners to support school vouchers. The Republican governor’s request violates the separation of church and state, the leaders argue.

“It is out of bounds for any representative of the government to co-opt a Sunday morning time of worship,” states the letter, whose signers include BGCT President Ronny Marriott and Executive Director-Elect Julio Guarneri. “A government’s request for churches to join a legislative agenda violates the conscience concerning religious liberty and the separation of church and state. Churches that too closely entwine with political affairs hamper both their Christian witness and citizenship responsibilities.”

Abbott’s office didn’t respond to the Current‘s request for comment on the BGCT letter.

Abbott made school vouchers a top priority during the recent legislative session but failed to rally support from Democrats and rural Republicans, both of whom maintain the proposal would decimate public schools. After the measure died in the Texas House, Abbott called a special session scheduled for Oct. 9 to resurrect the debate.

In a bid to rally public support, Abbott held a Sept. 19 teleconference with clergy. During the call, he asked them to “go to the pulpit, speak from your pulpit to your congregation, and let them know how important this issue is to the fabric of the future of Texas,” according to a report by the Baptist Standard, a publication affiliated with the BGCT.

Conservative pastors including Matt Hagee of San Antonio’s Cornerstone Church and Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas were also on the teleconference, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

Even though Texas’ GOP leaders have repeatedly tried to pass voucher legislation, which enjoys support from religious conservatives, the proposals have faced repeated roadblocks from Republican lawmakers from rural areas. Those opponents argue vouchers, which use state education funds to help parents send their kids to private schools, would decimate already underfunded rural districts.

The BGCT’s 5,300 member churches include many located in rural areas. Even so, the leaders’ open letter includes no statement about the value of Abbott’s voucher plan.

“We encourage all citizens, including church members, to be informed on the various proposals before the state, and we also encourage all churches to protect their autonomy from interference by the state,” the letter states.

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This article appears in Oct 4-17, 2023.