Topline
Bibles will be required in public school classrooms in Oklahoma, state officials announced Thursday, the latest development in a years-long debate over introducing religion into public school curriculum that comes just days after the state Supreme Court struck down a proposed publicly funded Catholic charter school as unconstitutional.
The decision to mandate Bibles in public schools comes just days after Oklahoma’s Supreme Court ... [+]
Key Facts
Oklahoma Education Superintendent Ryan Walters made the announcement in a press conference, calling the Bible a “necessary historical document to teach our kids about the history of this country, to have a complete understanding of Western civilization [and] to have an understanding of the basis of our legal system.”
Walters went on to laud the Bible as “one of the most foundational documents used for the Constitution and the birth of our country.”
The directive applies throughout the state, adding to existing Oklahoma law that allows for Bibles in classrooms, though existing law did not require them in classrooms.
In a press release, Walters did not specify where the Bibles must be displayed, or whether they must be kept in a prominent location in classrooms, though The Oklahoman reports the Bibles must be included in curriculum for students in grades five through 12, citing a letter from Walters to school superintendents.
The announcement marks a political win for religious conservatives, who for decades have pushed for an increase in religious teaching in public schools, despite widespread pushback over the blurring of public education and religion, an argument backed by the Constitution’s separation of church and state.
It follows similar decisions in other states, including Louisiana, which earlier this month passed a law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, though a group of parents and civil organizations sued the state over that law, arguing it violates the First Amendment of the Constitution.
While public schools in the U.S. can teach about religion, they are prohibited from providing religious instruction, according to the federal Department of Education, while teaching on religion must be educational, including about the history of religion or the role of religion in a historical context.
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Tangent
Thursday’s decision comes just two days after the Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected the approval of what would have been the country’s first publicly funded Christian charter school. In a 6-2 decision, the court found the recently approved St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic Charter School violates the state’s constitution, arguing in its decision that the public school must be “equally free and open to all students” and that it must be “nonsectarian,” meaning it is not “owned and controlled by a church” or “conducted so that children of parents of that particular faith would be taught in that school the religious tenets of the church.” The Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, which had been approved to run the school, decried the court’s decision as “very disappointing for the hundreds of prospective students and their families” slated to matriculate into the school.
Chief Critic
Walters also chimed in on that court decision, claiming the court “got it wrong” and vowed to challenge it, adding he “will never stop fighting for Oklahomans’ constitutional, God-given right to express their religious belief.”