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.
Exploring the politics behind a new commission built on Christian privilege reveals competing understandings of religious liberty that have consequential implications for public schools.
A chaplain is not just a pastor or a Sunday School teacher or a street preacher shouting through a bullhorn. This is a unique role, often in a secular setting that requires assistance with a variety of religious traditions.
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the dustup over St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma and the religious freedom arguments before eight black-robed justices.
President Donald Trump ran on a campaign promise to ‘bring back religion.’ The NEH grants he canceled include several that advance understanding of Judaism and Christianity.
The Supreme Court is deciding a case brought by parents who say books taught in school violate their religious rights.
Reviving a 1976 decision against a fundamentalist Christian school will likely fail, say legal experts. But if it succeeds, it could trigger conservative Christians’ ‘nightmare scenario.’