In Oklahoma, public schools teach the Bible and the 10 Commandments at the beginning of the school year

Beginning at the beginning of the school year, the Bible and the 10 Commandments will be part of the curriculum in Oklahoma public schools from elementary through high school. This decision by the local education department is possible in the United States because each state can change school curricula.

The announcement was made at the end of June. At the beginning of the school year, students study the Bible and the 10 Commandments in public schools in the state of Oklahoma from elementary through high school. Details on incorporating the works into school curriculum are not yet available, but Oklahoma plans to prepare the necessary documents for teachers and arrange to teach both texts in a uniform statewide manner.

The decision was made by Oklahoma State Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters. “The Bible is one of the most historically significant books and the foundation of Western Civilization, along with the 10 Commandments.”Justifies the officer. “This is less an academic directive than an important step to ensure our students understand our nation's core values ​​and its historical context.”, he adds. The superintendent was elected in the U.S., with Republican Ryan Walters taking office in the fall of 2022, attacking ideology. got up According to him, it affects the Oklahoma school system.

In this conservative state, a local Democratic elected official denounced the effort as unlikely to improve Oklahoma's ranking in education, but his decision was received positively. The state is really at the back of the pack in the country, and Ryan Walters is one to watch “To educate students rather than evangelize them”, sorry for this elected official. Describes an association that propagates the separation of church and state “Christian Nationalist” Attacks religious freedom. A UCLA law professor wonders whether such a move violates the Constitution. But the Supreme Court, which Donald Trump has tilted to the right by appointing three conservative justices, doesn't necessarily respond favorably. According to Ryan Walters, separation of church and state is a myth because the Constitution says nothing about it. While the Left is outraged, he clarified on Twitter that we are not rewriting history.

This debate is not confined to Oklahoma. What has been described as Christian nationalism is gaining ground in other American states and some European countries. In Louisiana, a few days ago, the Republican governor demanded that the 10 Commandments be displayed in all public schools. This move will be challenged in court. Already in Oklahoma, a local Supreme Court rejected a plan for state-funded Catholic schools. The principal would have been a Catholic and the students would have had to go to mass.

A dozen states, reports The Washington Post, have enacted or enacted legislation authorizing the presence of a chaplain, voluntary or otherwise, in public schools. The federal Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, did not allow Maine to ban public payments to religious schools. He took the side of an American football coach who was fired by his organization for praying in the middle of the field.