Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters has ordered that Oklahoma will require schools to teach the Bible and have a copy in every classroom.
“Schools are instructed to refer to the Bible and the Ten Commandments for their “substantial influence on our nation’s founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution.” “Immediate and strict compliance is expected,” the memo noted.
" Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, recently approved a package of regulations put forward by Walters that included time for prayer in schools and expanded the state Education Department’s “foundational values” to acknowledge a “Creator” and the existence of good and evil.”
What a fucking farce.
There’s an awful lot of evil in Oklahoma that everyone should be educated on. But it seems to be concentrated in the upper reaches of state government. And I have a wee suspicion that part won’t quite make it into the final revision of the curriculum.
I guess Oklahoma was getting scared that Louisiana might overtake them as the pinnacle of Christian Nationalist dumbfuckery. Next up Alabama will require all students to be baptized and sign a paper promising to accept Jesus as their personal savior.
Just saw this and was coming to post about it. This is one of the most absurd ridiculous things I’ve seen in quite a while. And that’s saying something.
Separation of church and state? What’s that? There’s no way this survives any kind of challenge right? I mean that seems obvious on its face to me.
This also seems like virtue signaling on a whole new level. This asshole just stood up and declared, in such a way that I think he knows that this would get national coverage, that he wants a theocracy in America. Nope sorry asshole not going to happen.
This part, "Schools are instructed to refer to the Bible and the Ten Commandments for their “substantial influence on our nation’s founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution.”" probably does because of the reason it’s claiming.
The “acknowledge a “Creator” shouldn’t . . . but I wouldn’t count on it.
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
–Ezekiel 16:49-50
He knows its going to get struck down, but he doesn’t care. He gets himself in the news, and solidifies his bible banger credentials. It’s the state that has to pony of up dough in futile attempt to defend this travesty, but there is no downside for him. Once it gets shot down he just comes up with a new way to cram his religion down the throats of the citizenry and does it all over again.
Seriously, the obvious intent is for this to be challenged in court because they’re hoping the current runaway Supreme Court will overturn Murray v. Curlett and undo 60 years of social progress in this country on their way to establishing a feudal theocracy.
I think that this would be a bridge too far even for this court. Alito might go for it, but I think the others realize that a full on US christian theocracy isn’t going to be too friendly to Catholics.
Read a little farther and check out Ezekiel 23:20. NSFW
Yep, it’s in there.
What if some Muslims required that the Koran be taught in schools, and that all schools have the pillars of the Muslim faith? What if Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons wanted THEIR versions of the Bible used? Etc. etc. etc.
The version of the Holy Bible The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses for English is the King James version. I’m curious what the reaction would be if the Samaritan canon (consisting of only five books), the Ethiopian larger canon (consisting of eighty-one books), or the Community of Christ’s Inspired Version (aka “Joseph Smith Translation”) were to be used.