The Oklahoma school superintendent – the highest education official in this American state – issued this directive on Thursday, June 27, instructing public schools in the southern U.S. state to teach the Bible – a controversial decision likely to fuel the cultural wars fracturing America.
“Every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have a Bible in the classroom and will teach from the Bible,” explained Ryan Walters at a press conference announcing the memorandum. “Immediate and strict compliance is expected in every school,” he said. Â
“The Bible is a necessary historical document to teach our kids about the history of this country, to have a complete understanding of Western civilization, to have an understanding of the basis of our legal system,” the Republican official stated.
First Amendment
His decision comes barely a week after the governor of Louisiana, also a Republican, signed a law requiring the display of the “Ten Commandments” in all classrooms.
An association immediately challenged the law in court, claiming it was unconstitutional and violated the separation of church and state. The measure announced in Oklahoma is also likely to end up in court.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the establishment of a national religion or the preference of one religion over another. But the “Trumpist” right has been multiplying identity discourses in recent years, aiming to bring Christian values back to the center of public debate.
Trump’s support
Last week, Walters praised the Louisiana law, expressing his intention to emulate it. “We’ve got to bring God back in school and not allow the radical left to turn our schools into atheist centers that only speak about our country without any kind of influence by their faith,” he insisted on Fox News.
This speech was subsequently praised by Donald Trump, who relies on the support of evangelical Christians in his bid to reclaim the White House from Joe Biden in November.
“Great job by Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters on Fox News last night. Strong, decisive, and knows his ‘stuff.’ I LOVE OKLAHOMA!!” the former Republican president posted on his Truth Social network.
As part of the “Bible Belt” in the southern United States, Oklahoma recently attempted to fund a private religious school with public funds, a first in the United States. The local judiciary rejected the project this week, but the case could go to the Supreme Court.
