S6, Ep. 02: Oklahoma and Texas try to force Bible teaching in public schools

We continue to see bold attempts by people who espouse Christian nationalism to influence our youngest population, and news this summer out of Oklahoma and Texas show two troubling examples. In this episode, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman talk about the edict from Ryan Walters in Oklahoma to mandate having the Bible in public schools – alongside our nation's founding documents – and the new proposed curriculum in Texas that strangely uses religious beliefs as fact in lessons for students as young as kindergarten.

Segment 1 (starting at 00:37): How does Christian nationalism impact public schools?

BJC has several resources for issues at the intersection of religion in public schools. Click here to see a list, including a short overview from BJC and classic resources that include A Parent's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools and A Teacher's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools.

Learn more about BJC's Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign at ChristiansAgainstChristianNationalism.org.

Holly and Amanda discussed Christian nationalism in the public schools in episode 14 of season 4.

Segment 2 (starting at 05:39): Oklahoma created a Bible mandate … and you'll never guess which Bible perfectly fit the requirements! (actually, you probably will guess immediately)

Read the original edict from Ryan Walters at this link, and read the guidance released later at this link.

Amanda and Holly read from this article by Jennifer Palmer, Paul Monies and Heather Warlickand for The Oklahoman: 'Trump Bible' one of few that meet Walters' criteria for Oklahoma classrooms

In October of this year, Oklahoma amended its requirement for Bibles in classrooms to no longer require the Bible to include U.S. historical documents. Read more in this article by Ken Miller for the Associated Press: Oklahoma amends request for Bibles that initially appeared to match only version backed by Trump

Segment 3 (starting 21:32): Troubling Texas curriculum

Amanda mentioned this article by By Linda Jacobson for The 74 which broke the story: Exclusive: Texas Seeks to Inject Bible Stories into Elementary School Reading Program

Read more about the September day of action in Texas in this article from BJC's Report from the Capital magazine: Saying 'no' to Bible-based curriculum in Texas

Amanda shares more about her experience with the curriculum in her column for the magazine: Do something

If you live in Texas, there is still time to contact your State Board of Education member about this troubling curriculum before their November vote. Visit this link to find out who represents you, and scroll to the bottom of this page for tips on crafting your email.

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