Last week, Oklahoma Gov. Ryan Waters announced that the state may soon require public schools to teach the Bible and the Ten Commandments, including requiring all classrooms to include religious texts.
“Every teacher, every classroom in the state will have a Bible and will be taught from the Bible in the classroom,” Waters said. explain last Thursday “to ensure that every student in Oklahoma understands this history.”
The statement comes days after the Oklahoma Supreme Court rule The state cannot approve religious charter schools.
“Effective immediately, all Oklahoma schools are required to incorporate the Bible, including the Ten Commandments, into the curriculum as an instructional support,” read Waters’ memo. “The Bible, along with the Ten Commandments, is one of the most historically significant books and a cornerstone of Western civilization. They will be cited as appropriate studies of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, etc., and their significance for us The nation’s founders and the founding principles of our Constitution had a significant impact.
It’s unclear how the memo will affect school curricula. Most public schools already refer to the Bible and other religious texts where appropriate as part of instruction in world religions, world history, or other courses. Waters’ memo does, however, leave open the possibility that the Oklahoma State Department of Education could develop a curriculum that would provide schools with specific instructions on how to teach from or about the Bible.
Waters provided some context for his comments on Monday, tell PBS News The memo was motivated by a belief that teachers “are not talking about the role of the Bible in American history in their classrooms” and that he will soon be “providing additional guidance to school districts that they must follow.”
Given the current lack of clarity, it’s difficult to determine whether Waters’ memo is unconstitutional. It is known that public schools can use religious texts in certain situations, such as comparative religion courses or to provide context for literary works.
However, Andrew C. Spiropoulos, a constitutional law professor at Oklahoma City University School of Law, said Waters’ directive was at “the limit.” New York Times. “Putting it forward as a separate proposal could create legal issues.”
Waters, on the other hand, is confident his directive will pass legal muster.
“If we are sued and challenged, we will prevail because the Supreme Court justices [Donald Trump] The people being appointed are actually originalists who look at the Constitution, not the Constitution as some left-wing professors say,” he told PBS News. “The separation of church and state appears neither in the Declaration of Independence nor in the Constitution.”
