Oklahoma’s top education official has ordered the state’s schools to begin incorporating the Bible into the curriculum, the latest cultural flashpoint over religion in American classrooms.
The directive from Republican Gov. Ryan Walters said the rule was mandatory and required “immediate and strict compliance.”
The rules will apply to all classes for public school students aged 11 to around 18 years old.
A week ago, Louisiana’s governor signed a law directing all public schools in the state to display the Ten Commandments.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr Waters described the Bible as an “indispensable historical and cultural touchstone”.
“Without this basic knowledge, Oklahoma students cannot properly understand the foundations of our nation, which is why Oklahoma’s education standards govern its teaching,” he added.
Mr. Waters, a former public school history teacher, was elected in 2022 after running on a platform of combating “woke ideology” and eliminating “radical leftists” from Oklahoma’s education system.
His statement, which covers grades 5 through 12, drew criticism from civil rights groups and groups advocating a strict separation of church and state.
“Public schools are not Sunday schools,” Rachel Laser, president of Americans for the Separation of Church and State, said in a statement quoted by The Associated Press.
“This is textbook Christian nationalism: Waters is abusing the power of his public office to impose his religious beliefs on other people’s children. And not under our watch,” she added.
Mr. Waters has previously argued that American secularists created a state religion out of atheism by driving faith out of the public sphere.
In a Fox News op-ed last year, he wrote that President Joe Biden and teachers unions had replaced biblical values with “woke anti-education values that tell students they should treat their classmates differently based on race and gender.” They should be exposed to graphic sexual content as early as possible”.
The Interfaith Alliance, a U.S. group that seeks to protect religious freedom, called the Oklahoma governor’s directive “blatant religious coercion” in a statement.
“True religious freedom means ensuring that no religious group is allowed to impose its views on all Americans,” the statement added.
A week ago, Louisiana ordered Ten Commandments posters to be displayed in all college-level classrooms in the state.
Days later, nine families in the state sued Louisiana, marking the beginning of what some expected to be a drawn-out legal battle.
The complaint, backed by civil rights groups, argued the display violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom, and that the display “forced” students to adopt the state’s favored religion.
Legal disputes have previously arisen over the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings, including courthouses, police stations and schools.
In 1980, in Stone v. Graham , the Supreme Court struck down a Kentucky law requiring the document to be displayed in elementary and high schools. Groups challenging the Louisiana law cited this precedent.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the requirement had “no secular legislative purpose” and was “clearly religious in nature,” noting that the commandment refers to the worship of God.
