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Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters set off a firestorm of controversy on June 27, 2024, with an announcement that shocked the nation. Walters stated, “Effective immediately, all Oklahoma schools must incorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support into the curriculum across specified grade levels. This directive aligns with the educational standards approved on or about May 2019, with which all districts must comply.”

As soon as the announcement hit the media, opposing voices spoke loudly, accusing Walters of numerous offenses, from violating the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause to promoting “Christian Nationalism” in public schools. The readers’ comments made clear that they had not read Walters’ announcement, nor did they read the Oklahoma State Department of Education Instructional Support Guidelines for Teachers.

TRUTH:

Both documents explain that the Bible is to be used as instructional support that teachers can incorporate, emphasizing only its historical, literary, and secular benefits, ensuring compliance with legal standards and precedents.

With no knowledge of the documents, the objections revealed lies that many people may believe about Oklahoma’s schools teaching a curriculum to emphasize the historical influence of the Bible. To help clarify the project and help the public understand, I divided the verbal objections into five categories of untruths.

Lie #1: Teaching the Bible from a historical perspective breaches the separation of church and state guidelines in the Constitution. 

As per the OSDE Teacher Guidelines, teachers are to approach incorporating the Bible in a manner that emphasizes only the historical, literary, and secular benefits—ensuring compliance with legal standards and precedents.

Further, the phrase “separation of church and state” is not in the Constitution. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has established that the Bible can be taught in schools. In fact, it is part of the standardized Advanced Placement (AP) World History curriculum used throughout the country.

Lie #2: Teaching from the Bible will enable teachers to use the Bible to evangelize students.

Nowhere in the description of the project do the guidelines endorse or suggest using the Bible for proselytizing, conducting discussions on Biblical doctrine, or engaging students in devotional encounters. Walters specifically states the desired academic outcomes. “The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone. Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to contextualize the foundation of our nation properly, which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction. This is not merely an educational directive but a crucial step in ensuring our students grasp the core values and historical context of our country.”

Lie #3: Teaching the Bible is a form of Christian Nationalism.

Looking at the Bible as a historical document gives students insight into the thoughts and minds of our forefathers, who believed that it was possible to love God and love their country. Today it is not uncommon for liberals who oppose Christianity to call believers who love God and love America Christian Nationalists, Neo-Nazis, and White Supremacists. Someone who participates in such behavior has never been taught the proper understanding of what our founders meant when they penned the Declaration of Independence stating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their Creator endows them with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Without knowing the intent of the founders, our students fall prey to those who resort to derogatory name-calling of Christians, hoping to invoke guilt for any expression of appreciation and respect for America.

Lie #4: The Bible in the classroom goes against the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and teaches a particular interpretation of the Bible as truth.

The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” In the 1930s, America’s educational elites violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause by instating secular humanism as the primary religion to be taught in our public schools. Over time, our students plunged into ignorance of the many contributions Christianity made to Western civilization. Bringing into our classrooms knowledge and appreciation of the numerous contributions made by Christians in art, music, literature, speeches, and critical thinking would significantly enhance the lives of our students without diminishing contributions made by other cultures.

Lie #5: Teaching the Bible in public schools will violate the Supreme Court case dealing with Bible reading in public schools in Abington v. Schempp, which was decided in 1963.

 Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963), dealt with school-sponsored mandatory Bible reading and reciting the Lord’s Prayer in public schools. Both were ruled unconstitutional. Superintendent Walters’s curriculum only covers the Bible’s historical, literary, and secular benefits as they pertain to Western civilization.

Anyone interested in critiquing the project should take a few minutes to read Superintendent Walter’s stated goals. The Bible’s prolific influence throughout history is profound, but it is fast slipping out of our culture because we have not instilled its value in the minds of our youth. Who knows, discovering the Bible could give our nation a fresh look at how to produce great works of art, literature, and scientific discovery in the next generation.

Please share the truth about Oklahoma’s new standards with a friend!

Nancy Huff is an educator with a mission to equip believers to pray strategically for the Cultural Mountain of Education. She has authored Taking the Mountain of Education: A Strategic Prayer Guide to Transform America’s Schools, Decrees for Your School, and Safety Zone: Scriptural Prayers to Transform Your School. She leads prayer groups to pray at key educational locations across the U.S. For additional information, go to: https://takingthemountainofeducation.com/author/nancyahuff/. Photo credit: US Department of Education, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.