Texas AG Paxton sues state housing agency for alleged discrimination against Christians
November 27, 2025
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) over allegations that the agency discriminated against faith-based groups.
The Christian Post reports that the lawsuit stems from allegations that faith-based groups were denied access to homeless and low-income housing initiatives based on agency regulations.
Paxton said, in a press release earlier this week, “State agencies have no authority to force Christians and other religious organizations to censor their beliefs just to serve their communities.”
The lawsuit claims that TDHCA regulations violate both the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the religious freedom provisions of the Texas Constitution by imposing conditions on religious organizations that are not placed on secular ones.
According to the suit, those conditions effectively discriminate against groups that wish to incorporate worship, prayer or religious teaching into their services.
The Texas homelessness assistance program is being sued because it denies funding for “sectarian or explicitly religious activities such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization.”
The suit also challenges the Bootstrap Loan Program which likewise denies public support for “any explicitly religious activities” and requires grant recipients to formally adopt policies banning such activities.
Paxton said, “Constitutionally protected religious liberty must be upheld in Texas and across the country. These TDHCA’s provisions within certain programs, which deter funding from going towards churches and religious organizations, must be struck down.”
The Texas AG’s lawsuit asks a Travis County district court to permanently enjoin enforcement of the restrictions, asserting that the government must remain neutral toward religion and cannot deny public benefits to organizations for implementing faith-based elements.
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