Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters orders Bible teaching in public schools as a part of a historical document that children need to learn.
Just a couple of days after Louisiana directs its public schools to display the Ten Commandments, another educational mandate on the matter of religion will be set in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Superintendent's Compulsory Compliance
The order from Walters requires school districts throughout the state to comply immediately and strictly. Walters explained the decision by saying, that the Bible is a crucial reference point for history and culture.
Lack of fundamental understanding of it prevents Oklahoma students from grasping the origins of our nation, which is why Oklahoma educational standards ensure its inclusion in the curriculum.
The Attorney General Gentner Drummond spokesperson, Phil Bacharach, stated that there is an existing law in Oklahoma allowing the teachers to use the Bible as a school material.
However, questions remain about whether Walters possesses the authority to enforce such a mandate. Furthermore, school districts in the state still hold no instructions for the implementation, curriculum, reading lists and other needed materials.
Civil Rights Groups Respond to Mandatory Bible Teaching in Schools
Civil rights groups have strongly opposed the directive. Adam Soltani, leader of the Oklahoma branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, condemned the action as a blatant breach of the Establishment Clause in the U.S. Constitution, which bars the government from endorsing a particular religion.
Soltani declared that we strongly reject any mandates for religion to be taught or mandated in public school lesson plans, in Oklahoma, or anywhere in the nation.
Rachel Laser, the head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, reiterated these feelings, saying that public schools are different from Sunday schools.
This is a classic example of Christian Nationalism: Walters is misusing his position in public office to enforce his religious views on all children. "Not while we're here."
The Interfaith Alliance, a group dedicated to protecting religious freedoms, also condemned the directive.
In a statement, the organization called the mandate blatant religious coercion and emphasized that true religious freedom means ensuring no single religious group imposes its viewpoint on all Americans.
A Pattern of Conservative Push
This directive is part of a broader trend by conservative-led states to influence public school curricula. Recently, Louisiana required schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, while other states face pressure to teach the Bible and ban lessons on race, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Earlier this week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked an attempt to establish the nation's first publicly funded religious charter school.
In 2022, Ryan Walters, who used to be a teacher in public schools, ran for office on a platform that focused on fighting against woke ideology, prohibiting certain books, and expelling radical leftists from educational settings.
During his time in office, he has faced conflicts with politicians from all sides regarding cultural topics such as transgender rights and banning books. In January, he received backlash for selecting a conservative social media influencer to serve on a state library committee.
The legal ramifications of Walters' directive remain uncertain, but it has undoubtedly intensified the ongoing debate over the role of religion in public education.
As Oklahoma schools grapple with this new mandate, the conflict between conservative educational policies and constitutional protections continues to unfold.
