The Oklahoma State Department of Education announced on Thursday that all public schools in the state should have a Bible in each classroom and incorporate it into their teaching. This decision, which is expected to further inflame the cultural and political divisions in the country, was articulated by Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s head of public education.
“Every teacher, every classroom in the state should have a Bible and teach from it,” Walters stated, emphasizing that special focus should be placed on teaching the Ten Commandments. He argued that the Bible is “a historical text necessary for us to teach our children the history of this country, for them to fully understand Western civilization, and for them to understand the foundations of our judicial system.” Walters also noted that significant historical figures, such as Martin Luther King Jr., are mentioned in the Bible.
This directive comes shortly after the governor of Louisiana, also a Republican, ratified a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public school classrooms. A union has already challenged this law, deeming it unconstitutional and a violation of the principle of church-state separation. Legal challenges are anticipated against the Oklahoma measure as well.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the establishment of a national religion and the promotion of one religion or denomination over others. Despite this, proponents on the right, including many supporters of former President Donald Trump, have been advocating for the incorporation of Christian values into public discourse and education.
Walters previously expressed support for the Louisiana law, stating his intention to replicate it in Oklahoma. “We must bring God back to school and not allow the extreme left to turn our schools into centers for atheists who talk about our country without taking faith into account,” he told Fox News. His comments were quickly endorsed by Donald Trump, who is seeking to maintain evangelical support for his presidential campaign.
Oklahoma, part of the U.S. ‘Bible Belt,’ recently attempted to allocate public funds to support the operation of a private religious school, a first in the nation. The state’s main teachers’ union has criticized the new Bible mandate as unconstitutional, emphasizing that state law grants school districts the authority to decide what books are available in classrooms.
Source: ANA-MPA, Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
