IV – Know

Religious Liberty Commission Report Addresses Violence Against Houses of Worship

Americans should view religion as an “essential support” and always remember “the Creator who made us and bestows our rights….The Constitution protects religious liberty not by exiling religion from public life, but by preventing government from controlling it.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, US Department of Justice Task Force Reports Steps to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias in Government ]

So says the 224-page Presidential Religious Liberty Commission Report: Americans’ First Freedom published June 26, 2026 that identifies emerging threats to religious liberty, and makes recommendations for upholding “Federal laws that protect all citizens’ full participation in a pluralistic democracy, and protect the free exercise of religion.”

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100 Essential Bible Passages to Know

Here’s a basic approach to reading through the Bible during the year.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of THE BIBLE ]

Read two passages a week for 50 weeks and in a year you’ll see the “big picture” of the Bible. Bookmark and return to this post weekly as a guide to help you study from your own Bible, or click the selected passage to open the reading online in a new window. Click the links below to read each passage.

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The Required Reading List of the Historically Classic and Bible Texts for Texas Public Schools

The Texas Board of Education on June 26, 2026 approved a required reading list of around 200 wide-ranging texts for its K-12 English and literature curricula in public schools across the state—perhaps the first of its kind in the US. The titles are appropriate for people of all ages to read for a well-rounded education.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Free Online Educational Resources to Grow Your Spiritual Knowledge ]

The list includes only 20 or so Bible passages and many more non-biblical and classical books such as Jack and the Beanstalk, The Life of Paul Revere, Winnie-the-Pooh, Aesop’s Fables, tales about Native Americans, a children’s version of Don Quixote, Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, Treasure Island, Declaration of Independence, A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution, The Gettysburg Address, The Man in the Arena, Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice, Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, biographies of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, poems by Langston Hughes and Robert Frost, and many more classics. Multiple titles are mandated for each grade, and each one must be read in its entirety. The reading list will take effect during the 2030-31 school year.

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Hostility Spreading Against Religious People: Pew Research

In Pew Research Center’s latest global study of religious freedom, Israel and Bangladesh have joined Nigeria, India, Syria, and Pakistan as the six nations that experienced very high social hostilities against religion in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION ]

An additional 49 countries encountered high levels of religion-driven social hostilities in 2023, bringing the total to 55 countries—28% of countries—with elevated levels of religion-driven social hostilities. The annual study covers two types of indexes—Government Restrictions and Social Hostilities—in a total of 198 countries and territories.

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