Rob Miller is the superintendent of Bixby Public Schools in Oklahoma. He confesses to know and rely on Jesus Christ. But a statewide mandate to use the Bible in lesson plans for grades five through 12 concerns him. Why?
He’s not sure teachers will know how to incorporate Bible teaching appropriately and well. “As a Christian myself, I am a little offended by diminishing the word of God to a mere classroom prop,” explains Miller.
Other local school districts agree. They have publicly announced they won’t comply with the mandate.
Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters made the mandate official this summer. He notes in a letter to Oklahoma schools that the Bible is “one of the most historically significant books and a cornerstone of Western civilization, along with the Ten Commandments. They will be referenced as an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like, as well as for their substantial influence on our nation’s founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution.”
“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,” Walters says.
His argument is that students are not able to properly understand the foundation of the United States as a nation without Bible instruction. He says the mandate is required, and “immediate and strict compliance is expected.”
Walters is a former public school teacher. He was elected to his current position in 2022. His platform was to fight back against what he says are “radical leftists” pushing their worldview on students in classrooms.
Phil Bacharach is a spokesperson for the state Attorney General. He says Oklahoma law already allows Bibles in classrooms and lets teachers use them in instruction.
State law also declares that individual school districts have the exclusive authority to decide on instruction, curricula, reading lists, instructional materials, and textbooks. Under the law, teachers may use the Bible in their curricula if they choose to do so, but it has not been compulsory.
Rachel Laser is the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. She says Walters “is abusing the power of his public office to impose his religious beliefs on everyone else’s children.”
In June, Louisiana became the first state to require public schools to put up posters of the Ten Commandments in every classroom by the start of 2025. The posters explain that these laws “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries.” Similar bills have been proposed in other states, including Texas and Utah.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that a similar Kentucky law was unconstitutional. It said the law violated the establishment clause in the U.S. Constitution. That clause states Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The high court found the Kentucky law served a plainly religious purpose. Opponents to this Oklahoma mandate hold the same position. They say allowing for religious instruction in a historical or geographical context is permissible. But requiring instruction in a particular religion is a constitutional violation.
Grant Sullivan has two children in Bixby schools. He also has a master’s degree in theology from Oklahoma Christian University. He questions whether the Bible mandate is a good idea: “Have we thought this through? What if you happen to have an atheistic teacher? Are they [sic] going to teach it in a way that may be more problematic than helpful?”
Why? Christians must think carefully and prayerfully about how the Bible should be used in public spheres that includes believers and unbelievers.
For an example of a dignified debate over this topic, see our Debate Club column on page 31 of the November/December 2024 WORLDteen issue.
