Officials in several conservative states are increasingly integrating religious elements into public education, challenging the separation of church and state.
Last week, Oklahoma joined Louisiana in advocating for biblical teachings in classrooms, sparking concerns among civil liberties groups who argue that these moves aim to evangelize students in taxpayer-funded schools.
Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, commented, “The goal of all of these strategies is to assert Christian favor and privilege in America and to fight democracy’s steady march towards equality for all. It’s very much a backlash to all the progress that our society has made in recent times towards LGBTQ equality, towards women’s equality, towards racial equality and Black and brown equality.”
In recent years, Republican-led states like Texas and Florida have enacted policies bringing Christianity closer to the classroom, such as allowing schools to employ chaplains in mental health roles.
Louisiana took a significant step with a new law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom, alongside explanations of how this Judeo-Christian document influenced the nation’s founding.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) defended the law:
“Look, when the Supreme Court meets, the doors of the Supreme Court on the backside have the Ten Commandments. Moses faces the U.S. Speaker of the House in the House chamber. He is the original giver of law. Most of our laws in this country are founded on the Ten Commandments, what’s the big problem? And that’s the part I don’t understand.”
Despite legal challenges from civil liberties groups arguing the law violates the First Amendment, the debate continues.
The American Civil Liberties Union stated, “Politicians have no business imposing their preferred religious doctrine on students and families in public schools.”
In Oklahoma, State Superintendent Ryan Walters recently announced that the Bible and Ten Commandments should be included in public school curricula.
This directive came just after the courts ruled the nation’s first religious charter school, approved in Oklahoma, unconstitutional.
Richard Garnett, director for the program on church, state, and society at the University of Notre Dame Law School, emphasized the need for caution:
“I think in our law, it’s been pretty clear for a while that there’s a line between using the Bible as part of a broader education about history and literature, which is OK, but distinguishing that from officially using the curriculum for religious formation, religious instruction and religious evangelization. So if you’re going to have the Bible in the public schools, whether it’s Oklahoma or anywhere else, I think schools are going to have to be sensitive to the fact that this line exists, and they need to be careful not to cross it.”
The push for more religious inclusion in schools has gained traction, partly due to a conservative Supreme Court willing to overturn precedent. In 2022, the Court allowed a public school coach to pray on a football field after a game.
Rachel Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State noted, “Emboldened Christian nationalists are competing with each other to get the best case before the Supreme Court.”
Advocates for religious education highlight the Bible’s historical impact on Western culture and government. Greg Chafuen, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, argued, “The Bible has influenced human history for thousands of years. It played a significant role in the development of Western civilization — from literature and the arts to our laws and form of government. The Supreme Court has recognized that public schools can constitutionally use the Bible in the study of history, civilization and more. It is natural that Americans want to preserve this pillar of our society as part of the public square and ensure that students are equipped with the basic biblical literacy necessary to fully appreciate and understand our culture and history.”
Neal McCluskey, director for the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, suggested that including religion in curricula could succeed if framed correctly.
“I think that where they would have, I would say, you know, better than 50/50 chance of succeeding is if you if they put it in the curriculum or curricula, and they say, ‘Look, we’re including religion because it is totally within the bounds of public schooling to study religion,’” he said, emphasizing that advocates could argue, “it’s in here, not to make people into Christians, but because Christianity was a major part of American history.”
While both sides are confident in their legal standing, the possibility of a Supreme Court ruling that could dramatically alter public education remains. McCluskey highlighted the case of the religious charter school in Oklahoma, noting, ”Here’s the problem is you have these public schools that anybody can apply to and found except for religious people,” pointing to nonreligious ideologies like those in Montessori schools.
“You can have anything except religious schools. There’s good reasons for that because the Constitution says that the government can’t advance any particular religion, but it is discrimination against religion to say you can have anything that’s secular, but you can’t have a religious school.”
As the legal battles continue, it will be interesting to see how the courts balance concerns of religious discrimination with the constitutional prohibition against government-endorsed religion.
Stay tuned to Conservative Core Media.
