In a press conference on February 7, Representative Salman Bhojani of House District 92 announced his new Religious Freedom Agenda, a package of bills that expands religious protections in Texas, with a focus on optional state holidays, state exam test dates, and marriage parity. As he introduced the agenda, Representative Bhojani expressed his gratitude for the cadre of colleagues and religious leaders that stood around him—a group that “looks like Texas” in its diversity of race, creed, and political leanings. For Texans of faith, this constitutes an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of Texas and engage policymakers to extend liberty, justice, and freedom to all people of faith in our state.
There are three distinct bills in Representative Bhojani’s Religious Freedom Agenda. House Bill 1882 calls for increasing the number of optional state holidays to encompass holy days of more faiths, including Diwali, Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, Passover, Vaisakhi, and Vesak. HB 1883 ensures state-mandated testing and final exams, like the STAAR, don’t take place on certain religious holidays, including those mentioned above and more. HB 1884 would recognize legal marriages in ceremonies performed by all religious leaders.
According to data from the Pew Research Center, 4% of Texas’s adult population— nearly 900,000 Texans— practice non-Christian faiths. Another 77%–upwards of 17 million people–identify as Christian. The Religious Freedom Agenda would protect these Texans and their children from feeling “othered,” as Rabbi Kelly Levy of Congregation Beth Israel put it, when they observe holy days and/or engage in ceremonies that are critical to the practice of their faith. For example, Rabbi Levy recalled the discomfort she felt as a child when she was forced to make up tests and quizzes that were administered on Jewish high holy days. Now, as she mothers children of her own, she’s eager for the day when she doesn’t have to repeatedly explain why it should be an excused absence when her kindergartener misses school for Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah. In the words of Representative Bhojani, these bills recognize, protect, and cultivate the “spiritual richness” of Texas.
Representative Bhojani assumed state office in January 2023 and is one of the first two Muslim and South Asian individuals ever elected to the Texas Legislature, and the first person of color ever elected to represent HD 92. HD 92 covers an area between Dallas and Fort Worth, including portions of Arlington, Euless, and Bedford. He was sworn into state office on a historic copy of the Quran that’s more than 200 years old. On his desk, he keeps it turned open to Chapter 49, Verse 13, which describes how God created humans in different groups so that we might know one another through cooperative relationships and a focus on what we have in common, not our differences.
Representative Bhojani and his many collaborators– including Representatives James Talarico (HD 50) and Joe Moody (HD 78) who drafted the bills–are taking up the torch that was lit last legislative session, when two similar bills sailed through the House with nearly unanimous support, only to be killed in the Senate. As elected officials from both sides of the aisle and both chambers–Senator Jose Menendez (SD 26) is championing the agenda–work to shore up support for the legislation in the Senate, Texans of faith can push this effort forward by engaging with their representatives and voicing their support for expanded religious protection in our state. Representative Suleman Lalani (HD 76) said it well: “Together, we can make Texas land of the free and home of all faiths.”
You can watch a video stream of the press conference here. As always, stay tuned for further updates and information from Texas Impact.