To the Editor:
The July 24 article, “How Oklahoma’s Superintendent Wants Schools to Teach the Bible,” emphasizes a long-standing issue in the cultural war: How do we teach the moral and ethical principles that are part of our common national identity and affect character development in our students?
Oklahoma state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters’ instructional guidance on how to teach the Bible in public schools confines Bible studies to their “historical, literary, and secular values,” putting unrealistic restraints on a teacher’s vocational commitment to mentor their students.
This First Amendment question is not new. In the 1963 Abington School District v. Schempp case, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down school-sponsored Bible reading and the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in public schools under the First Amendment’s establishment clause. However, when delivering the opinion of the court, Justice Tom C. Clark was concerned about a “religion of secularism” in schools, stating that “it might well be said that one’s education is not complete without a study of comparative religion or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization.”
The problem lies in placing Bible studies in the context of social rather than cultural studies. A study of culture includes many religions and respect for religious diversity, not one religion’s monolithic influence on the American cultural identity—a fundamental principle of Christian nationalism.
At this juncture in our history, do we want the American cultural identity to become the product of conservative Christianity or can we find a universally inclusive spirituality in America that is the product of a culture of democracy?
Robert Mitchell
Retired Teacher & Author
Santa Cruz, Calif.
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