Oklahoma mandates school Bible instruction

On Thursday, June 27, the highest-ranking education official in Oklahoma, Ryan Walters, issued an order making it mandatory for public schools in the southern state to teach the Bible. “Every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have to have a Bible in the classroom and teach from the Bible,” he stated in his announcement.

The 27th of June (Reuters) – On Thursday, the Oklahoma Department of Education issued an announcement that challenges decisions made by the United States Supreme Court that have ruled that governmental sponsorship of religion is unconstitutional. The announcement stated that every teacher in the state is required to have a Bible in their classroom and to teach from it within the state.

During the meeting of the board of directors of the Department of Education that took place on Thursday, Ryan Walters, the superintendent of public instruction in Oklahoma, made the announcement that the order would take immediate effect. He also stated that the Ten Commandments would receive special attention.

“Every teacher, every classroom in the state will have a Bible in the classroom, and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom to ensure that this historical understanding is there for every student in the state of Oklahoma,” according to the governor.

He referred to the Bible, which is considered to be the holy books of both Christianity and Judaism, as becoming one of the “foundational documents of… Western civilization.” It was stated by him that significant historical individuals, such as Martin Luther King Jr., a leader in the civil rights movement, had made reference to the poem.

In the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible, the Jewish prophet Moses is depicted receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. However, the New Testament is only found in the Christian Bible. However, Walters, who is a Christian, did not specify which version teachers are required to use in order to comply with his mandate, and his spokesperson declined to answer any questions that were requested.

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution has been read in such a way that it prohibits the state from sponsoring or establishing any particular religion. Furthermore, the Oklahoma Constitution, which opens a new tab, stipulates that any public school and spending of public monies must be nonsectarian and must not assist “any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion.” This provision is very important in the state of Oklahoma.

That provision of the state constitution was referenced two days before to Walters’ announcement, when the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled down an endeavor in which Walters was involved to establish the first Christian charter school in the United States that was supported by taxpayers.

In Oklahoma, the most prominent teachers’ labor organization argued that Walters’ Bible order violated the state’s constitution and that the state law provides school districts with the authority to choose which books are made available to their students in the classroom.

“Teaching about the historical context of religion (and the Bible) is permissible; however, teaching religious doctrine is not permissible,” the Oklahoma Education Association said in a statement following the release of the declaration. “Public schools cannot indoctrinate students with a particular religious belief or religious curriculum.”

Oklahoma mandates school Bible instruction

By knl9j

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