OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s top education official on Thursday ordered public schools to include the Bible in lessons for grades 5 through 12, the latest effort by conservatives to integrate religion into classrooms.
The directive sent Thursday by Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters to principals across the state states that compliance with the mandate is mandatory and that “immediate and strict compliance is expected.”
“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” Walters said in a statement. “Without a basic understanding of it, Oklahoma students cannot properly contextualize the foundation of our nation, which is why Oklahoma education standards provide for its teaching.”
The directive is the latest attempt by conservative-led states to target public schools: Louisiana has required them to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, while others have been pressured to teach the Bible and ban books and lessons on race, sexual orientation and gender identity. Earlier this week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked a state effort to create the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school.
Walters, a former public school teacher who was elected to his position in 2022, campaigned on the platform of fighting “woke ideology,” banning books from school libraries and removing “radical leftists” who he says indoctrinate children into classrooms.
He has clashed with leaders from both parties over his focus on culture war issues, including transgender rights and book bans, and in January was criticized for appointing a right-wing social media influencer from New York to a state library commission.
Walters’ directive was immediately criticized by civil rights groups and advocates of the separation of church and state.
“Public schools are not Sunday schools,” Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said in a statement. “This is the epitome of Christian nationalism: Walters abusing the power of his public office to impose his religious beliefs on the children of others. Let us not be fooled.”
