Religion in a Public School Curriculum

By: Lourdes G. Mon

 

Since the early days of Covid, I found myself praying more than usual. Then a year ago, two days after my birthday party, a stroke hit me. This happened while I was a having a meeting for the Lions Club. I was fortunate enough that 911 was quickly called and I was pretty close to Lutheran General Hospital. Many prayers were offered by family and friends. Today, I am pretty much healthy with the help of a series of medication. All together, I believe that God has much to do with my quick recovery. My daily routine includes attending a virtual daily mass, followed by the rosary, novenas and other prayers. I end my day by thanking God for the day’s blessings and ask Him to bless my family.

Prayer is an integral part of my day, so when I learned about Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walter, partnering with country singer Lee Greenwood to donate “God Bless the USA” Bibles to classrooms across the state, I was ecstatic and inclined to share this news. I am pleasantly surprised that this is happening in the midst of the separation of religion and academics in the public schools. Inspired by Lee Greenwood’s hit “God Bless the USA” song, this unique bible includes a King James interpretation of the bible as well as the texts of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and several other founding documents. President Donald Trump endorsed the God Bless the USA Bible, saying, “You have to have it, for your heart, for your soul.”

It’s common knowledge that President Trump survived an assassination attempt, and I believe that he was saved by God for a great cause, lead the United States from financial destruction. I was watching him on TV giving a speech when it happened, with a bloody ear, with his one hand raised saying, “Fight, fight, fight.” while being guided away by secret service agents. Indeed, he won the 2024 Presidential Elections in historic numbers. I believe that President Trump counts his blessings everyday, surviving the assassination attempt. Everyday on TV, I see President Trump promoting the Bible released last year. He says, “We must make America pray again. All Americans need a Bible in their home. This Bible is a reminder that the biggest thing we have to bring back America and to make America great again is our religion. Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country. I truly believe that we have to bring them back and we have to bring them back fast. I think that’s one of the biggest problems we have, that’s why our country is going haywire, we’ve lost religion in our country.”

In an interview, Superintendent Walter said that in line with these efforts, he partnered with Mr. Greenwood to gather donations for ‘God Bless the USA’ Bibles to be purchased at no cost to the state and sent to classrooms. “We’ve got to understand the Judeo-Christian values that were so crucial in American history … and I think a big part of that is getting the bible back in the classroom. So far, over 500 of the Trump-endorsed Bibles have been donated to classrooms across the state.” To him, the effort is about combating “state-sponsored atheism” advanced by teachers who would scrub any reference to the bible from American history.

Supt. Walter explains, “Well, we’re going to teach you guys (meaning the students) about American history, except we’re going to scrub any reference to the Bible. We’re going to scrub any reference of anyone who talks about their faith throughout our history. So, we’re going to eliminate that aspect of history. You just turned this into atheism. Pushing religion on kids is very exciting to see patriotic Americans across the country stepping up to make sure that we don’t allow state-sponsored atheism.”

He continues, “Just teach history. When George Washington talks about the Bible, talk about the bible, when the pilgrims talked about the bible, talk about the Bible … You have to teach kids history so that they can then make their own conclusions. They can learn from that, they can then forge their own worldview and viewpoints. But you can’t start by scrubbing history of any references to the bible because you’re offended by it. So, we’re going to teach it here in Oklahoma.”

Commenting on the campaign, Lee Greenwood said that he felt drawn to offer to partner with Oklahoma because of Walter’s advocacy for bringing the bible back to American classrooms. “As a firm believer and faithful Christian, this was very appealing to me,” he explained. Lee said that the campaign has garnered “some great attention,” and that his team is in conversations with corporate partners about buying the Bibles in bulk. “Everywhere I go, on tour and at special events, I have people coming up to me thanking me for what we are doing. Nobody is being shy about their support for this endeavor.”

This school year, Supt. Walter announced that all public schools were required to include the Bible in the curriculum of grades five through twelve. Of the directive, he wrote, “The Bible is one of the most historically significant books and a cornerstone of Western civilization, along with the Ten Commandments. They will be referenced as an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like, as well as for their substantial influence on our nation’s founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution.” I personally don’t know Supt. Walter, but very proud of his convictions. Being a retired Catholic school principal, I applaud his convictions to include religion in the curriculum. Thanks to President Trump and Mr. Lee Greenwood for endorsing their spiritual beliefs.

President Trump on Assassination attempt.

Holy Bible with President Trump’s signature.

President Trump & Lee Greenwood holding the Bible.