(Los Angeles) Oklahoma’s top education official on Thursday ordered public schools in the southern US state to teach the Bible, a controversial decision that promises to fuel the culture wars fracturing America .
“Every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have to have a Bible in the classroom and teach from the Bible,” Walters said at a news conference, announcing a memo that all school districts will have to follow.
“The Bible is a historical document that is necessary to teach our children the history of this country, to give them a full understanding of Western civilization, to give them an understanding of the foundations of our legal system,” the Republican lawmaker said.
His decision comes just a week after Louisiana’s governor, also a Republican, signed into law a bill that would require the “Ten Commandments” to be posted in all classrooms.
The law was immediately challenged in court by an association that claims it is unconstitutional and violates the separation of church and state. The measure announced in Oklahoma is also likely to end up in court.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the establishment of a national religion or the preference of one religion over another.
But in recent years, the Trumpist right has multiplied its identity-based discourses aimed at bringing Christian values back to the center of public debate.
Last week, Mr. Walters welcomed the Louisiana law, explaining that he wanted to imitate it.
“We need to bring God back into schools and not allow the radical left to turn our schools into atheist centers that talk about our country without taking into account the influence of faith,” he insisted on FoxNews.
A speech immediately greeted by Donald Trump himself, who is counting on the support of evangelical Christians to try to win back the White House against Joe Biden in November.
“Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters did a great job on FoxNews last night. He is strong, decisive and knows his subject. I LOVE OKLAHOMA! », applauded the former Republican president on his Truth Social network.
A member of the “Bible Belt” of the southern United States, Oklahoma recently attempted to finance a private religious school with public funds, which would have been a first in the United States.
The project was rejected this week by the local courts, but the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court.