Opinion: Mandating religious texts in public schools is wrong

Before the start of the school year, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters issued new guidelines for the public school classroom. A specific book, the Bible, would be required in Oklahoma classrooms and included in the school’s curriculum.

This book’s mandatory requirement violates the United States Constitution and has already been challenged by many school districts. Many public schools in Oklahoma, spearheaded by Norman Public Schools in Norman, Oklahoma, are refusing to include the Bible in their curriculum.

During a June State Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Walters stated, “Every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have a Bible in the classroom and will teach from the Bible in the classroom.”
This statement reflects a sentiment of Christian Nationalism, the push from fundamentalist Christians to diminish the separation of Church and State.

The Bible, a Christian text, must be taught in the classroom, but any other spiritual or religious text should be excluded. This policy represents a disturbing abuse of power aimed at transforming the United States of America and Oklahoma into a fundamentalist Christian state.
Such a policy is illegal from a federal and local perspective, as Oklahoma has lost court cases attempting to make laws regarding religion.

In 2010, the state attempted to ban “Shari’a Law” with an amendment to the state constitution. Shari’a Law is a system of Islamic law derived from the Quran and Islamic scholars seen in many Middle Eastern countries.

This legal system has never been a governing law in Oklahoma. The amendment was a viciously bigoted attempt to target Muslims in the state. Signaling the supremacy of Christianity by attacking Islam.
Two years later, in 2012, a federal appeals court unanimously blocked the implementation of the discriminatory change.

Mandates forcing any religious book or text have no place in public education matters, constitutionally speaking. Superintendent Walter’s plan violates basic rights set in place by both the state and federal constitutions.