This issue of A Public Witness cracks opens the books to study problems with the new social studies standards where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain.
While its effort to buy Bibles for classrooms is tied up in court, the Oklahoma Department of Education initiated a new vendor search to purchase materials containing Bible-infused character lessons for elementary-aged students.
A debate in the Oklahoma Senate yesterday over the use of corporal punishment against children with disabilities turned into a lesson about how not to read the Bible.
The conservative-dominated high court has issued several decisions in recent years signaling a willingness to allow public funds to flow to religious entities.
The suit alleges that the mandate violates the Oklahoma Constitution because it involves spending public money to support religion and favors one religion over another by requiring the use of a Protestant version of the Bible.
‘Taking what has long been understood as a global message religiously and stamping it with the flag of one nation is the type of thing that for centuries theologians would call heresy,’ said Brian Kaylor.
Tailoring the request — part of State Superintendent Ryan Walters’s efforts to require Bibles in public schools — so that only one manufacturer’s Bible could qualify would be illegal.
An Oklahoma Department of Education bid proposal for 55,000 Bibles seems tailor-made for the 'God Bless the USA' Bible due to its mix of religious texts and historical documents. The bid could make the Trump-endorsed Bible an even bigger hit.