In a recent directive, Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters ordered public schools in Oklahoma to integrate biblical teachings into lessons for students in grades five through 12. The Ten Commandments will also be required in the curriculum.
“Every teacher, every classroom in the state will have a Bible,” Walters stated. “And they will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom.”
Walters clarified that teachers would not teach the Bible from a religious perspective, but rather from an historical context. For instance, historical figures like the pilgrims and Martin Luther King Jr. often quoted the Bible in their writings. Walters said teaching students excerpts from the Bible is essential to understanding the country’s history.
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The changes take effect immediately, however, some civil rights and religious groups are voicing criticism. The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the directive, calling it a “clear violation of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause” and “a dangerous encroachment on the separation of church and state.”
This development follows a recent decision by the state’s high court, which ruled that a planned Catholic charter school — a first of its kind in the nation — is unconstitutional. Additionally, Louisiana became the first state to require the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom, prompting the ACLU and other civil liberties groups to file a lawsuit against Louisiana and its governor.
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