For Immediate Release
Christian Employers Alliance awards 68 legislators; highlights concerns over cronyism and spending
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Christian Employers Alliance (CEA), which engages a network of more than 22,000 faith-based employers across all 50 states – including many of the nation’s largest faith-based organizations – today released the Texas edition of its Biblical Business Index. The Index measures how closely lawmakers’ voting records align with principles rooted in Scripture and longstanding Judeo-Christian social values.
CEA’s analysis found that 68 of the 181 members of the Texas Legislature voted with the biblically based position at least 80% of the time and earned CEA’s Defender of Biblical Business Award – just 37% of lawmakers meeting the Index’s award benchmark. That share is substantially lower than in other states with strong faith-based communities and limited-government traditions, such as Tennessee, where more than 75% of lawmakers reached the same threshold.
The Texas results show the Legislature struggled most consistently in areas tied to economic cronyism – including special-interest carveouts, subsidies, and policies that advantage government-favored companies and industries. The analysis also identified votes that restricted healthcare freedom, expanded government dependency through Medicaid-related policies, and reflected fiscal irresponsibility through out-of-control spending.
“Texas has long been viewed as a national leader for faith, opportunity, and limited government – but the vote record data reveals lawmakers missed the mark too often when it mattered most,” said Margaret Iuculano, President of the Christian Employers Alliance. “Faith-based employers need more transparency, more integrity, and more consistent leadership rooted in biblical principles – not backroom carveouts, runaway spending, or policies that grow dependency. That’s why we launched the Biblical Business Index: to provide a clear, Scripture-grounded standard employers and the public can trust.”
The study encompassed an extensive review of legislation advanced in the Texas Legislature, including analysis of more than 20,000 individual votes cast by lawmakers. CEA’s research team applied a published methodology grounded in Scripture and widely recognized Judeo-Christian social principles, producing both lawmaker rankings and bill-by-bill policy analysis.
Media inquiries: ian@christianemployersalliance.org or (202) 321-0715