This issue of A Public Witness looks at the need for those who oppose Christian Nationalism to fight not just with lawsuits but also in the court of public opinion, so we can effectively protect religious liberty.
A federal judge temporarily halted a law requiring public schools to display a version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, echoing faith leaders and others who argue the statute violates the First Amendment.
Texas and Louisiana have passed similar laws requiring public schools to display the religious directives, and the issue is expected to eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles wrote to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon asking her to investigate the prominent Christian college’s “Hope, Unity, and Belonging” program, which he claimed was diversity, equity, and inclusion in disguise.
The $643,401 grant is being returned to the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, which attributed the decision of the world’s largest Baptist university to an ‘online campaign of fear and misinformation.’
A group of 33 parents, teachers, and faith leaders asked the state’s highest court to block the controversial new standards, which dictate what topics public schools must teach starting in the 2025-26 academic year.
While not definitive, the decision signals the justices’ inclination to see conservative religious parents succeed in their two-year legal challenge to the school policy that has dominated discussions at school boards and divided county residents.
The case came to the court amid efforts, mainly in conservative-led states, to insert religion into public schools.
‘Desperation is a spiritual gift, and so it gives you a chance to experiment with things that, you know, 10 years ago were off the table,’ said the Rev. Kenda Creasy Dean, a Princeton Theological Seminary professor.
Oklahoma’s new social studies standards for K-12 public school students, already infused with references to the Bible, were revised at the direction of state School Superintendent Ryan Walters.