Education and the White Christian Nationalist Agenda

When I talk about the risk of the US becoming an authoritarian theocracy, I’m not exaggerating.

Do you know that the state of Oklahoma is requiring public schools to incorporate the Bible into their curricula?

This effort is part of a larger project that aims to “Christianize” not only public schools but the nation itself. That project, of course, is White Christian nationalism.

If you follow me, you know that my faith is important to me. But religious instruction does not belong in our public school systems.

Public school educators are not Sunday School teachers. Here are 3 reasons why Oklahoma’s mandate is unconstitutional, exclusionary, and unnecessary:

1. The Constitution prohibits public schools from indoctrinating children in religion. As Rachel Laser, the President and CEO at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, has said: “Public schools may teach about religion. But they may not preach any religion.”

2. Oklahoma’s mandate creates a religiously coercive atmosphere that promotes Christianity and denigrates other faith traditions, which is likely to negatively impact some students, especially those who are religious minorities and sexual/gender minorities.

3. Christian employees and students aren't being discriminated against. No one is infringing on the rights of students, teachers, and staff to practice their religion.

I'm grateful to the ACLU and their partners for filing a lawsuit to block Oklahoma from requiring that all public schools teach the Bible. As Americans, we must recognize White Christian nationalism as a profound threat to democracy and fight it on every front!

Image credit: Getty images