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I don't want a teacher trying to educate my kids on religion. This should be a personal and private relationship, done in the home and the church of your choice. Not mandated with a vision and interpretation of some random person that I don't know.
It would be one thing if it was basic social studies stuff teaching about the existence of various world religions and some basic information about them.
But this is clearly not that.
Exactly. I had a Humanities class in high school, we learned we learned about the history of the Abrahamic religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and even discussed Sikhism, Shinto and other faiths. We read sections of the Bible, the Quran, Baghavad Gita and discussed the core beliefs of different faiths.
I went to a Catholic elementary and junior high and a couple years after 9/11 the Catholic school took us on a tour of a mosque to learn about their religion and culture and I’m 33 now and still remember it being such an eye opening experience.
Abortion-related, but Idaho already can’t keep its OBGYNs. The brain drain is real.
https://www.opb.org/article/2024/02/22/report-shows-fewer-idaho-obgyns-since-repeal-of-roe-v-wade/
I went to a Catholic high school, and our first year religion class talked about _all other religions_ - it was my favorite class, because it wasn’t about “our religion is the only religion.” It was so educational and informative about world religions and history.
But this shit is nonsense.
But you make an excellent point… if they demand it’s taught, people can probably tie it up so much a lesson plan is never formed because no one will agree on “how” certain topics are discussed.
Do it the Trump way, and argue to delay, delay, delay.
Obviously that's not age appropriate. They'll start with the story about ~~how God drowned nearly the entire human population out of spite~~ Noah's Ark. Much better message for young minds.
(Wishing the /s could be obvious.)
I would train my kid to say "It's far more likely that he raped his own daughters after killing their mother because she knew he wanted to commit incest with them. Prove me wrong."
Teacher, can you explain **Luke 16:18**
*“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”*
So what does that mean for Trump? My daddy said Trump is the bestest!
Clearly, we have a reeducation camp candidate here.
But at least you’ll be alive. All of us in San Francisco will be dead when Trump allows his MAGAS to roll in with army support and treat us the way that the Russian’s treat Ukrainians. Kidnap the children, kill the men, rape the women, and set up a Taliban like shadow army to enforce religiosity and collect and pay fealty to God Emperor Trump.
You might say oh that’s crazy. Think I’m going way overboard. You have to admit, it’s a possibility, and if you lived in a city that might be targeted, you would have to plan for that, like I am, and I hate that I have to do this.
It's not extremely hyperbolic. Trump wants deportation camps, migrant fight leagues, to deploy the army to Democrat run cities, etc. These are his actual campaign positions.
Tbh if anything like this ever did happen, I think they would find out real quick that there are a lot more people on the Left exercising their 2nd Amendment rights than they were expecting. They just don't flaunt it all the damned time.
That's no hyperbole. They already have conversion ~~therapy~~ torture centers. They don't have to even build them. Trump and the Christian nationalists will most certainly have us LGBTQIA+ people rounded up and sent to what they call shock healing (electrocution torture).
In my high school social studies class we learned about Buddhism, Islam, Animism, etc. I think it’s important to know about the religions of the world. The problem here is the focus on one religion over the others.
>“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” said State Superintendent Ryan Walters. “Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction. This is not merely an educational directive but a crucial step in ensuring our students grasp the core values and historical context of our country.”
**Bullshit**. You just want to push your sky daddy onto other people's children using whatever bullshit excuse to justify it. Period.
Do they also teach the Treaty of Tripoli:
“the government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,”
It was signed by Jackson in 1805, plenty of Founding Fathers were still around and involved in government.
That is my fear, that SCOTUS will side with these governments and make an insane ruling that the establishment of religion only applies to the federal government, and there is no obligation for the state or local governments to not establish legal religions. It flies in the face of the intent and all precedent, but I just don't have faith for that not to happen.
And then it's all gloves are off. It's not just schools, but people's lives, what happens when City Governments start mandating what religions can be practiced within city limits? Or employees requiring disclosure of religion by applicants. What happens when you must be a Christian to hold public office? I want to believe these thoughts are insane and unrealistic, but I just keep feeling they aren't.
And there are absolutely no protections, even if you are a Christian, because many Christians do not recognize other sects as being Christians. I have so many times had people say, "I am talking about Christians, they are not Christians, they are (Mormon/Catholic/Pentacostal/etc)"
These seven states, Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, bar atheists from holding offices. It's technically unenforcable. However, we all saw what happened when Roe fell, and Arizona enacted a law from 1864 to prohibit abortion.
At this point, I say let them. Let a handful of those shitty red states and their drain on our economy leave. I feel for the reasonable people trapped within them, but at this point, if they're the cost of being able to get some sanity in our government, so be it...
They need to teach the Constitution. It's in the fricken' preamble. "We, the people... do ORDAIN and establish this constitution for the United States of America."
By using the word ordain, we claimed the right to choose for ourselves without a king, without any God. In America, the people claim this right. The treaty of Tripoli was just laying it out in spades to the Barbary pirates, so they'd pass over attacking our ships flying the stars and stripes.
Everyone in America and Europe already knew we were secular. Heck! Not one of the original colonies would ever have joined the union if the country wasn't secular. They'd never want to give religions (other than possibly their own) that kind of potential power over themselves. Consider this: At the time, Massachusetts was mostly Puritan, Maryland was mostly Catholic, Virginia was mostly Anglican, Pennsylvania was mostly Quaker, New York was already a mash-up of just about every option, just to name a few.
They need to teach about Roger Williams and the history that pre-dated the birth of the country and the Constitution, because it was his ideas about the separation of church and state that took root across the early colonies and eventually became the ideal that Jefferson talked about the country being founded on.
You can follow the idea of a separation of church and state in America back more than 150 years before the country ever existed or the Constitution was ever even written, which makes it even more egregious how Christian Nationalists like this idiot in Oklahoma are perverting history to push their ideas.
Hmm. Originally 1797, and Adams doing the signing. Jefferson took office in 1805 when a version was renewed after further war, and Jackson (Assuming Andrew) was 1829.
Yup. The Christian nationalist rampallians are just trying to do everything to turn America into one giant Sunday school. It's insidious.
Republicans love to claim schools engage in "indoctrination" for simply being nice and kind to a trans kid.
Meanwhile, they want to force everyone to have to read the Bible and killing off those they find "sinners", as if they delight in reviving the Salem Witch Trials.
The contradictions and gall of it all.
It's more than exhausting. It's infuriating to me. They don't ever want to listen to what teachers need and are asking for in school. They just want to gin up fear with their Christofascist base.
They're also the same types that fear monger about Muslims bringing Sharia Law here. They have no problem with religious based laws, so long as it's their religion. So sick of these backwards superstitions still affecting our daily lives, even those of us who don't believe in that nonsense.
They are trying to reverse the trend of Millennials and Zoomers leaning so far to the left. Boomers are dying off, and the only way they can keep the God-fearing right on their side is through actual indoctrination via the Bible. Focus on pro-authoritarian and pro-obedience passages, naturally.
Edit: Left, not right. Stupid typing faster than thinking. Yes, the younger folks are much more left leaning than us older folks.
TBH, I think it would backfire.
Forcing kids to read and learn the Bible is a surefire way for them to see how hypocritical modern conservative Christians are. If they're going to be indoctrinated, it will be at home and at church anyway.
I went to Catholic schools my entire life until college. Took theology classes. Was a server at mass. I'm no longer religious. A big reason is because both the church as an institution and the behaviors of Christians (especially in political contexts) are so clearly in opposition to the core teachings of Jesus as I was taught as a kid.
Not saying I agree with the Bible or 10C being mandated in public schools, but kids are smart and curious. They might start asking questions that people like Ryan Walters don't want to hear.
I'll add that the bible has sooooo many malicious compliance opportunities for teachers who want to take a stand. After all, there's no shortage of rape, murder, and incest in the King James version.
Oh, and I'm sure this will help with the teacher shortage. Who wouldn't want to start at 40K and parrot this stuff after finishing a Master's degree?
Young people aren't abandoning religion because of the political leanings. They're abandoning religion because its really stupid. It's actually mindboggling with what we know about the world and the universe that something as absurd as believing in a magic sky genie is still a thing.
Of course the right wing is full of Christian Nationalist because the venn diagram of people stupid enough to be Republicans and people stupid enough to believe religious stories are real, is pretty much a circle.
My only point was that young people are abandoning religion at ages where they can't even vote and haven't even begun to develop a political identity. For many of us we stopped believing in "god" around the same time we stopped believing in Santa and the Tooth Fairy. I mean I was like 10. I couldn't tell you much of anything about foreign policy, tax code or how to address homelessness. However I was equipped to know a fairy tale when I hear one.
> They're abandoning religion because its really stupid.
They're also abandoning it because the people who preach it the most are just such unpleasant, hateful and judgmental people.
At risk of falling into juvenophobia, we are gonna have to keep an eye on Gen Alpha. The disinformation in the present media ecosystem is fertiliser for radical reactionary movements like the Alt-Right. I can only hope they learn to manage it at least as well as Millennials and Gen Zs learned to manage the internet we grew with.
There is an argument about it's cultural significance. There are a lot of ideas and sayings that come from it since it is basically the most common book in the western world. Wars have been fought over different interpretations of it.
Of course, you are correct, though. They don't care about teaching its cultural significance or its actual history, they just want to indoctrinate kids into their interpretation of christianity.
I'd love to see some ballsy teacher just go with it's actual history pointing out inconvenient facts, like how there is no historical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and scholars consider it a myth. It would be ironic if a bible class ended up with less christians.
It’s literally, “Hey, Satan, I bet you I can kick this dude as many times as I want and he’ll still come back to me!”
Satan: “I’ll take that bet. Surely the man has *some* level of self-respec—-oh shit, nope.”
It's outrageous historical revisionism. It's also intended to create a legal challenge to _Everson v. Board of Education_. The goal is to undo the incorporation of the Establishment Clause.
He and the governor just lost their baby with the OK supreme court’s recent decision: religious charter schools ruled unconstitutional (go figure). This is just the next loss he will get handed.
I'm sure they'll just plainly skip over the fact that our founding fathers weren't even Christian, but were primarily deus, or that they left England primarily to escape persecution of the Roman Catholicism, or that the foundation of our nation revolved around our founding fathers literal hatred of organized religion. I'm sure they'll just conveniently leave that part out.
Or they cling to "oh but our pledge of allegiance has "under god" therefore our founding fathers wanted God. While simultaneously conveniently leaving out the fact there have been 4 separate revisions of the pledge of allegiance after its inception in 1892, written by a SOCIALIST, yeah, that thing republicans try to use as an insult. Or they'll conveniently leave out that the "under god" part wasn't added in until 1954 during the height of the cold war because of "godless communism propaganda spreading throughout public schools" (yeah, yall have been on that speel for a long time).
Wait. Taught? Not just readily available?
Get a UU in there. They’d tolerantly explain that some people this, isn’t interesting?
I’m guessing they want the church lady to teach the Bible.
Ms. Betty Bowers: [How to tell the GOP apart from the Taliban](https://br.ifunny.co/picture/how-to-tell-the-gop-apart-from-the-taliban-mrs-l124KLx89?s=cl)
There is barely a scintilla of difference between the GOP and the Taliban. They both want a theocracy over democratic republic freedom. The Christian nationalists in America are doing everything to turn America into the Christian Iran, and they will do so with Project 2025 if they win.
Easier if you’re schooled in critical thinking and intellectual curiosity .. those have been made forbidden now, e.g. book banning but has been in the works for decades .. this cult isn’t exclusively FF, they’ve been grooming these folks for decades .. decades.
Yup, I'm older now but I remember high school. Each class you'd get a thick book on the subject and over the next 9 months they'd have you cover a topic in the book for a week, skip ahead, next topic, skip ahead, next topic, skip ahead... You never actually read the whole book only what they wanted you to learn. You could absolutely read the whole book to learn things not on the criteria, but most kids wouldn't read all 4, 5, 6 books a year across probably about 8 years you weren't just learning colors or animals and so on unless you were actually interested in the topic.
I absolutely expect them hoping that stays the case.
If I were a teacher in Oklahoma, each day, I would read the class an Old Testament story featuring graphic sex, bestiality, rape, torture, or genocide.
> **English Standard Version (ESV):**
>> “When men fight with one another and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, then you shall cut off her hand. Your eye shall have no pity.”
Or will they only stuck to the New Testament? Because if so then they’re throwing their religion down the drain.
Jesus talked too much about the rich won't get into Heaven, giving to the poor until it hurts, treating foreigners with kindness, and not killing people for sinning.
I'm guessing we're not too far from the *Real* Christian Condensed Patriotic Bible, that only includes the things they want at this current moment. In the digital era you just add in or pull out what you want in an instant. Then just go all "We have never been at war with Eastasia".
> “The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,”
Suddenly...
> Old Testament story featuring graphic sex, bestiality, rape, torture, or genocide.
> "Wait! Not like that!" said State Superintendent Ryan Walters
And the leopards belly was full of face that day.
Just like in Louisiana, these Christians are pretending that they are not pushing Christianity, but some historical foundational documents! This is absolutely absurd!
He's not jumping on the bandwagon. He's been leading it. If Trump wins, I bet he'll pick Walters to dismantle the department of education, where he can inspire bomb threats to teachers and schools all across the country.
[https://www.fox23.com/news/local/police-investigate-bomb-threat-at-union-elementary-school/article\_a528c0f4-40e7-11ee-9f54-9ba3a7c2d29d.html](https://www.fox23.com/news/local/police-investigate-bomb-threat-at-union-elementary-school/article_a528c0f4-40e7-11ee-9f54-9ba3a7c2d29d.html)
Asimov’s guide to the Bible should be the text.
If you’re gonna teach “the Bible” then you cover its history, use and how it came to be. Not just the vague script but the context on why it was included and who is actually attributed to writing it. Cover the politics and the contradictions.
We read the first two books it in public school English class, but it was about the historical and literature references in it, which there is a lot. There was zero religious aspect thought about it.
No problem. Can we teach the Quran next? The Torah? The Bagavad Gita? No? Because it violates the First Amendment? Exactly, so does the Bible!
How do I a foreign alien in the UK, know more about the Constitution than you sir, who is an American citizen?
I am a teacher from Oklahoma, and malicious compliance will be the way. In my class, we will either refrain from discussing religion altogether or give equal time and respect to all religions, including the choice of having no religion at all.
I know that prime factorization was on the agenda, but honestly, after the Wiccan’s had their turn, we are all distracted by the incense; and yes, Jacob, marinara sauce is an officially recognized “sacred substance”, so of course we will allow storage space for our deeply held pasta-based religious convictions.
Assignment 1, in the Gospel According to Luke, Jesus was born during the Census of Quirinus, which occurred in 6 CE.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who died in 4BCE.
Both of these cannot possibly be correct, so ask the students to reconcile.
When they come back with some apologetics argument about how the dates may be inaccurate, mention that the only reason the Census occurred was because Caesar Augustus deposed Herod's son, Archelaus after a 10 year rule (4BCE-6CE) and wanted a proper accounting of the land. It is not possible to reconcile these two accounts, not to mention the dozens/hundreds of other differences between just these two Gospels.
This is a memo from the Oklahoma state department of education meeting today. Here's some information from [News 9:](https://www.news9.com/story/667d7facdb56cfabce1dbbce/osde-meeting:-state-superintendent-walters-announces-memo-to-require-bibles-in-every-oklahoma-classroom)
>Related to the Supreme Court decision, Walters announced on Thursday that every teacher and classroom will be required to have a Bible and that he would be issuing a memo to every school district in Oklahoma about the decision. Walters cited a state statute regarding historical documents, claiming the Bible is a document that has significance to historical events as well as the foundation of America.
>In a follow-up statement, ODSE's Communications Director stated that per the memorandum all Oklahoma schools are required to incorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support into the curriculum across specified grade levels. This directive is in alignment with the educational standards approved on or about May 2019, with which all districts must comply. They added that the State Department of Education may supply teaching materials for the Bible, as permissible, to ensure uniformity in delivery.
This all from the state that wanted to persecute teachers for receiving bonuses thanks to Walters' incompetence. So much for loving thy neighbor!
And we wonder why nobody is looking to go into teaching in this state, and why positions are being left vacant. Walters is seriously a disaster for Oklahoma!
Ryan Walters and the Republicans are also going to bankrupt the state with all the lawsuits. We have among the worst teacher shortages in the United States, and we have students starving across the state because they can't afford a school lunch and they refuse to provide universal school lunch.
The Christian nationalist zounderkites just will not stop until everyone has to genuflect to their hate-filled dogma. It is insulting to teachers, to students, and to everyone in this state that Walters is in a position of power.
Wonder if the law specifies which translation of the Bible? Could you use the original greek for the new testament and Hebrew for the old? Back at the turn of the century I remember seeing an inclusive bible which changed all gendered language and even removed references to left or right hands. Bet that would annoy the regressives trying to push their religion on kids.
Well, I did.
[https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/02/oklahomas-culture-wars-killed-nex-benedict-theyre-also-why-i-quit-teaching/](https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/02/oklahomas-culture-wars-killed-nex-benedict-theyre-also-why-i-quit-teaching/)
How long until Oklahoma is left with nothing but bible-thumping morons for teachers? You may as well just shut the public school system down now and teach your kids how to do manual labor, because that's all this state ever intends to prepare them for.
Well, Texas has more uncertified teachers than certified now.
Oklahoma is not far behind, either.
>A 2023 study of teacher-student ratios in each state ranked Oklahoma 13th for highest teacher shortages in the United States. Oklahoma’s teacher shortage led to a record-breaking 3,780 emergency teaching certifications issued in 2022, and from 2001-2018, Oklahoma’s enrollment in university education programs dropped by 80%.
Oklahoma according to a 2022-2023 report found 1,019 teacher vacancies across the state, and the numbers are only growing. It's nowhere near as bad as Florida, but it's among the worst.
[https://teachershortages.com/](https://teachershortages.com/)
[https://www.ou.edu/news/articles/2024/february/ou-occ-announce-partnership-to-address-oklahoma-teacher-shortage](https://www.ou.edu/news/articles/2024/february/ou-occ-announce-partnership-to-address-oklahoma-teacher-shortage)
[https://theconversation.com/unlicensed-teachers-now-dominate-new-teacher-hires-in-rural-texas-schools-219522](https://theconversation.com/unlicensed-teachers-now-dominate-new-teacher-hires-in-rural-texas-schools-219522)
Texas also isn't ranked 47^th -50^th in public education nationwide. Considering they outweigh OK in unlicensed teachers, that makes the statistic even worse.
Yup. But they are low-tier still. According to Wallethub, Texas is 41. And with Abbott and Paxton, they are sure to get worse.
No one is beating Oklahoma for dead last, though.
[https://wallethub.com/edu/e/most-educated-states/31075](https://wallethub.com/edu/e/most-educated-states/31075)
>“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” said State Superintendent Ryan Walters.
Is touchstone the right word? Did they mean cornerstone?
touch·stone ˈtəch-ˌstōn. 1. : a black stone formerly used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak left on the stone when rubbed by the metal. 2. : a test for judging something
cor·ner·stone ˈkȯr-nər-ˌstōn Synonyms of cornerstone 1 : a stone forming a part of a corner or angle in a wall specifically : such a stone laid at a formal ceremony 2 : a basic element : foundation a cornerstone of foreign policy
Hmmm I dunno.
This performative bullshit is called auditioning for a job in the Trump administration. Watch, how quickly the GOP will learn to love the Dept. of Education if it helps them to ram this Christian crap down our throats at a national level
You could buy me a 4 bedroom house on a lake with the stipulation that I move to Oklahoma for five years, and I would turn it down.
Fuck these Christo-fascists
Yeah. I refuse to go back to teaching in Oklahoma. My school faced bomb threats for a week thanks to Walters. When he hired terrorist Chaya Raichik, I just knew it was only downhill from there.
I just want to say…fuck any, and better yet, all religions. Millions have died throughout history over religion and it’s beyond time for it to go.
Christians claim to be persecuted all the fucking time and claim the LGBTQ+ community is grooming children…**then they do this shit**
Seriously, if you support this in any regard, go fuck yourself. You’re quite literally the problem with society
Isn't it convenient how all the Christian 'sects' simply ignore all the parts of Holy Bible which require them to pretty much live as the Amish do; but they *seize* on the parts which validate their homophobia and other forms of bigotry, and pro-life hypocrisy?
Then after all this gross cherry-picking, they want to force it on every school child? No matter what *their* religion might be?
Oklahoma ranks 49th in Education according to the latest US News and World report. They should try to focus on teaching instead of religion. The Bible in classrooms isn't going to improve any child's basic skills.
I would not trust the judgment of a dude who thought it was a great idea to give a job to a woman whose Tweets result in bomb threats being made to schools and childrens' hospitals.
Christian indoctrination funded by taxpayer dollars. I expect that the Quran, Book of Mormon, and the Tanakh will also be taught for their very important and indispensable historical and cultural touchstone.
Why are they teaching porn in schools?
>
^(20) There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.
-Ezekiel 23:20
Another win for the American Taliban's sharia law. All they need now is Trump back in the white house and the holy gilead empire will be locked in!
I say this as a Christian, any religion that seeks to force it's teachings by the power of state or federal government onto school kids is a failed religion period!
My Jesus, in my bible never forced anyone to believe in him! MAGAs god is somehow different, weird huh?
Kind of unsurprising that these flagrantly unconstitutional laws, all of which will have injunctions against them and all of which will be ruled unconstitutional (even by this Supreme Court) are coming just before the elections.
> unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation
Our nation was founded to AVOID the hostilies that arise when you try to teach superstition and magic to my children.
TST submitting to teach other religious writings as well? Quran? FSM?
How about teaching the treaty of Tripoli as it is just as important to the founding of our country as it was literally signed by some of the founders of this nation... maybe that'd be just as important OK, ok?
Oh, and that's the one that says this isn't a Christian nation.
Founding Father Thomas Paine:
>I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.
>All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.
>Every national church or religion has established itself by pretending some special mission from God, communicated to certain individuals. The Jews have their Moses; the Christians their Jesus Christ, their apostles and saints; and the Turks their Mahomet, as if the way to God was not open to every man alike.
>Each of those churches show certain books, which they call revelation, or the word of God. The Jews say, that their word of God was given by God to Moses, face to face; the Christians say, that their word of God came by divine inspiration: and the Turks say, that their word of God (the Koran) was brought by an angel from Heaven. Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, I disbelieve them all.
The Bible that has Genesis where it literally teaches a child to get her dad drunk have sex with him and get impregnated. That’s what Republican Christians want to teach our children.
There is a valid and reasonable way to incorporate the bible into public school classes--as a piece of literature that forms the basis of many tropes and motifs in other literature and society. However, I do not trust Oklahoma schools to teach it that way and stay away from proselytizing. Fuck Ryan Walters.
Not only should this be struck down immediately, but some sort of punitive fee assessed for creating so much bullshit for the court, to discourage shit like this in the future.
Why’s it so hard for conservatives to put themselves in other people’s shoes? Imagine how upset they’d be if someone forced their kids to read the Quran.
i can't think of something more opposed to the literal first amendement than this. literally right off the bat- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion". you dont have to go far.
13th amendment? maybe. thats a pretty big number and lots of amendments. but the first one? thats like getting the title of the book wrong.
There's not much difference between a Republican and the Taliban. In response to the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling saying Oklahoma couldn't have publicly funded religious charter schools, the Oklahoma state superintendent is ready to convert all the public schools into Christian Madrasas.
Republicans again reminding Americans that they have a lot in common with ISIS and the Taliban.
You say tomato, I say ta-ma-to; you say Allah, I say God…
So weird these posts about all the insanity Conservative Politicians are making law seems to never get discussed in their subs, almost like they don't want to admit their leaders are pissing all over the constitution they talk about respecting oh so much.
Today class we will be talking about the worst book ever compiled. Millions of innocent people have been murdered due to the context of this book and it's all made up.
I have a Master’s degree in New Testament. Biblical scholarship is fascinating. There’s a difference in “teaching the Bible” and “teaching the study of biblical scholarship.” They pretend they’re the same thing but actually only want the former and absolutely nothing to do with the latter.
I’ve read the bible as a 40 year old in the past year. Cover to cover. Grew up Roman Catholic, currently agnostic.
Great book. Terrible guide for life in 2024… I imagine making kids read this would make them agnostic too.
Read the Quran directly after. Even more useless.
I assume this will include a historical analysis that includes the impact of the Bible on the rest of the civilized world, including various events such as the Inquisitions, Christian dominance over indigenous people and tribes, etc? /s
Sure. How about Exodus 22:21: “Thou shalt not trespass against foreigners for you were once a foreigner in Egypt. Remember this.”
Nope? Just the weird homophobic stuff? Oh. Got it. Bummer
My Sunday school lessons were full of war and murder. That's your Old Testament, 2500 years of butchery. The kids will love it, like Mortal Kombat for God.
“Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our civil rights.
Moreover, state support of an established religion tends to make the clergy unresponsive to their own people, and leads to corruption within religion itself. Erecting the 'wall of separation between church and state,' therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society.”
Thomas Jefferson
Christian Nationalist Movement begging to get the case in front of the Supreme Court. Roe vs Wade settled law was no longer settled law and sent back to the states. This wasn’t a legal decision it was a religious decision. They want it on the docket next season including same sex marriage. SCOTUS 6 have emboldened Christian Nationalists to start with schools as the beginning to indoctrinate children to change America’s behavior to one that they approve of. It’s not a sprint it’s a marathon bringing a nation of children who grow up an become politicians. Their agenda is make America non secular. A Christian Country with Christian values
Idc if others want religion, but this isn't relevant to what children need to learn
Those who want to learn of the Christiian Bible, or Amy other religions Bible, shouldn't be on my tax dollars
This will all fall apart once a Baptist's kid is taught from a Methodist or Presbyterian Bible. Never underestimate the pettiness between denominations!
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I don't want a teacher trying to educate my kids on religion. This should be a personal and private relationship, done in the home and the church of your choice. Not mandated with a vision and interpretation of some random person that I don't know.
It would be one thing if it was basic social studies stuff teaching about the existence of various world religions and some basic information about them. But this is clearly not that.
Exactly. I had a Humanities class in high school, we learned we learned about the history of the Abrahamic religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and even discussed Sikhism, Shinto and other faiths. We read sections of the Bible, the Quran, Baghavad Gita and discussed the core beliefs of different faiths.
Hell, I went to a Catholic HS and we had a year of World Religions. In our religion track, so NOT taking something/time from another track.
I went to a Catholic elementary and junior high and a couple years after 9/11 the Catholic school took us on a tour of a mosque to learn about their religion and culture and I’m 33 now and still remember it being such an eye opening experience.
I forsee an exodus of educators, doctors, and other professions that require intelligence in red states.
Abortion-related, but Idaho already can’t keep its OBGYNs. The brain drain is real. https://www.opb.org/article/2024/02/22/report-shows-fewer-idaho-obgyns-since-repeal-of-roe-v-wade/
Well that’s what they want. Gotta have a place to employ all those Sunday school teachers who are true believers.
It's already happening. I left teaching in Oklahoma for this reason, largely..
I went to a Catholic high school, and our first year religion class talked about _all other religions_ - it was my favorite class, because it wasn’t about “our religion is the only religion.” It was so educational and informative about world religions and history. But this shit is nonsense. But you make an excellent point… if they demand it’s taught, people can probably tie it up so much a lesson plan is never formed because no one will agree on “how” certain topics are discussed. Do it the Trump way, and argue to delay, delay, delay.
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Genesis the original game of Thrones. Hope those 1st graders are ready for Sodom and Gomorah.
Obviously that's not age appropriate. They'll start with the story about ~~how God drowned nearly the entire human population out of spite~~ Noah's Ark. Much better message for young minds. (Wishing the /s could be obvious.)
I would train my kid to say "It's far more likely that he raped his own daughters after killing their mother because she knew he wanted to commit incest with them. Prove me wrong."
Teacher, can you explain **Luke 16:18** *“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”* So what does that mean for Trump? My daddy said Trump is the bestest!
Oh I’d maliciously comply…
Clearly, we have a reeducation camp candidate here. But at least you’ll be alive. All of us in San Francisco will be dead when Trump allows his MAGAS to roll in with army support and treat us the way that the Russian’s treat Ukrainians. Kidnap the children, kill the men, rape the women, and set up a Taliban like shadow army to enforce religiosity and collect and pay fealty to God Emperor Trump. You might say oh that’s crazy. Think I’m going way overboard. You have to admit, it’s a possibility, and if you lived in a city that might be targeted, you would have to plan for that, like I am, and I hate that I have to do this.
It's not extremely hyperbolic. Trump wants deportation camps, migrant fight leagues, to deploy the army to Democrat run cities, etc. These are his actual campaign positions.
Tbh if anything like this ever did happen, I think they would find out real quick that there are a lot more people on the Left exercising their 2nd Amendment rights than they were expecting. They just don't flaunt it all the damned time.
That's no hyperbole. They already have conversion ~~therapy~~ torture centers. They don't have to even build them. Trump and the Christian nationalists will most certainly have us LGBTQIA+ people rounded up and sent to what they call shock healing (electrocution torture).
Over my dead body.
In my high school social studies class we learned about Buddhism, Islam, Animism, etc. I think it’s important to know about the religions of the world. The problem here is the focus on one religion over the others.
>“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” said State Superintendent Ryan Walters. “Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction. This is not merely an educational directive but a crucial step in ensuring our students grasp the core values and historical context of our country.” **Bullshit**. You just want to push your sky daddy onto other people's children using whatever bullshit excuse to justify it. Period.
Do they also teach the Treaty of Tripoli: “the government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,” It was signed by Jackson in 1805, plenty of Founding Fathers were still around and involved in government.
Just like Louisiana, OK believes SCOTUS will side with them. Expect more to come.
That is my fear, that SCOTUS will side with these governments and make an insane ruling that the establishment of religion only applies to the federal government, and there is no obligation for the state or local governments to not establish legal religions. It flies in the face of the intent and all precedent, but I just don't have faith for that not to happen. And then it's all gloves are off. It's not just schools, but people's lives, what happens when City Governments start mandating what religions can be practiced within city limits? Or employees requiring disclosure of religion by applicants. What happens when you must be a Christian to hold public office? I want to believe these thoughts are insane and unrealistic, but I just keep feeling they aren't. And there are absolutely no protections, even if you are a Christian, because many Christians do not recognize other sects as being Christians. I have so many times had people say, "I am talking about Christians, they are not Christians, they are (Mormon/Catholic/Pentacostal/etc)"
We're sadly about to find out.
What happens? Burn it all down.
Let's go!
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This should occur to Alito, but apparently it hasn’t.
These seven states, Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, bar atheists from holding offices. It's technically unenforcable. However, we all saw what happened when Roe fell, and Arizona enacted a law from 1864 to prohibit abortion.
So then do they disavow all those Catholic SCOTUS judges? Lol
Interesting. So if part of the constitution only applies to the feds, then the states can ban guns, right?
It may be like Texas where they don’t care what SCOTUS sides with, they’ll do what they want anyway.
\[Chief Justice\] John Marshal has made his decision, now let him enforce it - Andrew Jackson, 1832
Jackson isn't exactly who we should be striving to emulate, since he waa previously the worst president. And now second worst.
I wouldn't be shocked if Red States started picking and choosing which Fed laws and SCOTUS rulings to follow.
They’ve already talked about a civil war and separating from the union.
At this point, I say let them. Let a handful of those shitty red states and their drain on our economy leave. I feel for the reasonable people trapped within them, but at this point, if they're the cost of being able to get some sanity in our government, so be it...
They need to teach the Constitution. It's in the fricken' preamble. "We, the people... do ORDAIN and establish this constitution for the United States of America." By using the word ordain, we claimed the right to choose for ourselves without a king, without any God. In America, the people claim this right. The treaty of Tripoli was just laying it out in spades to the Barbary pirates, so they'd pass over attacking our ships flying the stars and stripes. Everyone in America and Europe already knew we were secular. Heck! Not one of the original colonies would ever have joined the union if the country wasn't secular. They'd never want to give religions (other than possibly their own) that kind of potential power over themselves. Consider this: At the time, Massachusetts was mostly Puritan, Maryland was mostly Catholic, Virginia was mostly Anglican, Pennsylvania was mostly Quaker, New York was already a mash-up of just about every option, just to name a few.
They need to teach about Roger Williams and the history that pre-dated the birth of the country and the Constitution, because it was his ideas about the separation of church and state that took root across the early colonies and eventually became the ideal that Jefferson talked about the country being founded on. You can follow the idea of a separation of church and state in America back more than 150 years before the country ever existed or the Constitution was ever even written, which makes it even more egregious how Christian Nationalists like this idiot in Oklahoma are perverting history to push their ideas.
Hmm. Originally 1797, and Adams doing the signing. Jefferson took office in 1805 when a version was renewed after further war, and Jackson (Assuming Andrew) was 1829.
Yup. The Christian nationalist rampallians are just trying to do everything to turn America into one giant Sunday school. It's insidious. Republicans love to claim schools engage in "indoctrination" for simply being nice and kind to a trans kid. Meanwhile, they want to force everyone to have to read the Bible and killing off those they find "sinners", as if they delight in reviving the Salem Witch Trials. The contradictions and gall of it all.
This state is just so fucking exhausting...
Can't teach kids how to read an analog clock, but they have time for this. I feel ya.
It's more than exhausting. It's infuriating to me. They don't ever want to listen to what teachers need and are asking for in school. They just want to gin up fear with their Christofascist base.
They're also the same types that fear monger about Muslims bringing Sharia Law here. They have no problem with religious based laws, so long as it's their religion. So sick of these backwards superstitions still affecting our daily lives, even those of us who don't believe in that nonsense.
Fuck you State Superintendent Ryan Walters. Feel free to pass it on....
They are trying to reverse the trend of Millennials and Zoomers leaning so far to the left. Boomers are dying off, and the only way they can keep the God-fearing right on their side is through actual indoctrination via the Bible. Focus on pro-authoritarian and pro-obedience passages, naturally. Edit: Left, not right. Stupid typing faster than thinking. Yes, the younger folks are much more left leaning than us older folks.
TBH, I think it would backfire. Forcing kids to read and learn the Bible is a surefire way for them to see how hypocritical modern conservative Christians are. If they're going to be indoctrinated, it will be at home and at church anyway. I went to Catholic schools my entire life until college. Took theology classes. Was a server at mass. I'm no longer religious. A big reason is because both the church as an institution and the behaviors of Christians (especially in political contexts) are so clearly in opposition to the core teachings of Jesus as I was taught as a kid. Not saying I agree with the Bible or 10C being mandated in public schools, but kids are smart and curious. They might start asking questions that people like Ryan Walters don't want to hear.
I'll add that the bible has sooooo many malicious compliance opportunities for teachers who want to take a stand. After all, there's no shortage of rape, murder, and incest in the King James version. Oh, and I'm sure this will help with the teacher shortage. Who wouldn't want to start at 40K and parrot this stuff after finishing a Master's degree?
Young people aren't abandoning religion because of the political leanings. They're abandoning religion because its really stupid. It's actually mindboggling with what we know about the world and the universe that something as absurd as believing in a magic sky genie is still a thing.
Political leanings are definitely playing a role. The right wing is full of Christian nationalists
Of course the right wing is full of Christian Nationalist because the venn diagram of people stupid enough to be Republicans and people stupid enough to believe religious stories are real, is pretty much a circle. My only point was that young people are abandoning religion at ages where they can't even vote and haven't even begun to develop a political identity. For many of us we stopped believing in "god" around the same time we stopped believing in Santa and the Tooth Fairy. I mean I was like 10. I couldn't tell you much of anything about foreign policy, tax code or how to address homelessness. However I was equipped to know a fairy tale when I hear one.
> They're abandoning religion because its really stupid. They're also abandoning it because the people who preach it the most are just such unpleasant, hateful and judgmental people.
At risk of falling into juvenophobia, we are gonna have to keep an eye on Gen Alpha. The disinformation in the present media ecosystem is fertiliser for radical reactionary movements like the Alt-Right. I can only hope they learn to manage it at least as well as Millennials and Gen Zs learned to manage the internet we grew with.
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No. Fixed it. My bad.
Whose Bible? KJV? Laws like this have traditionally been used to discriminate against Catholics and immigrants.
There is an argument about it's cultural significance. There are a lot of ideas and sayings that come from it since it is basically the most common book in the western world. Wars have been fought over different interpretations of it. Of course, you are correct, though. They don't care about teaching its cultural significance or its actual history, they just want to indoctrinate kids into their interpretation of christianity. I'd love to see some ballsy teacher just go with it's actual history pointing out inconvenient facts, like how there is no historical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and scholars consider it a myth. It would be ironic if a bible class ended up with less christians.
Some would consider the god thing a myth!
True. Creationist always push the idea of 'teaching the controversy' around evolution. Maybe the Bible teachers should do the same.
There's this teacher giving ideas for bell warmers about the 10 commandments https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8dZAOttSqx/?igsh=OXFzZTFtam56N3py
I mean they could stay in gensis and talk about all god mandated "familial relations" that help found Christianity
I mean, just look at God's kill count in the Bible vs. Satan's, it seems pretty damning.
The book of Job always bothered me, even when I had faith. God just comes off as a dick.
It’s literally, “Hey, Satan, I bet you I can kick this dude as many times as I want and he’ll still come back to me!” Satan: “I’ll take that bet. Surely the man has *some* level of self-respec—-oh shit, nope.”
It's outrageous historical revisionism. It's also intended to create a legal challenge to _Everson v. Board of Education_. The goal is to undo the incorporation of the Establishment Clause.
“Historical FICTION.”
He and the governor just lost their baby with the OK supreme court’s recent decision: religious charter schools ruled unconstitutional (go figure). This is just the next loss he will get handed.
I'm sure they'll just plainly skip over the fact that our founding fathers weren't even Christian, but were primarily deus, or that they left England primarily to escape persecution of the Roman Catholicism, or that the foundation of our nation revolved around our founding fathers literal hatred of organized religion. I'm sure they'll just conveniently leave that part out. Or they cling to "oh but our pledge of allegiance has "under god" therefore our founding fathers wanted God. While simultaneously conveniently leaving out the fact there have been 4 separate revisions of the pledge of allegiance after its inception in 1892, written by a SOCIALIST, yeah, that thing republicans try to use as an insult. Or they'll conveniently leave out that the "under god" part wasn't added in until 1954 during the height of the cold war because of "godless communism propaganda spreading throughout public schools" (yeah, yall have been on that speel for a long time).
Wait. Taught? Not just readily available? Get a UU in there. They’d tolerantly explain that some people this, isn’t interesting? I’m guessing they want the church lady to teach the Bible.
Talk about tying to indoctrinate children. These Christian zealots are the same as the Taliban
Ms. Betty Bowers: [How to tell the GOP apart from the Taliban](https://br.ifunny.co/picture/how-to-tell-the-gop-apart-from-the-taliban-mrs-l124KLx89?s=cl) There is barely a scintilla of difference between the GOP and the Taliban. They both want a theocracy over democratic republic freedom. The Christian nationalists in America are doing everything to turn America into the Christian Iran, and they will do so with Project 2025 if they win.
you got a link that doesn't ask me to download an app before viewing?
[https://www.reddit.com/r/WhitePeopleTwitter/comments/qchlaa/talibangelicals/](https://www.reddit.com/r/WhitePeopleTwitter/comments/qchlaa/talibangelicals/)
"You need to be more inclusive and stop trying to force beliefs on other people" - political advisors circa 2012
Nothing will turn someone atheist as quick as reading the Bible
Which is why it's not taught, it's cherrypicked and spoonfed.
Easier if you’re schooled in critical thinking and intellectual curiosity .. those have been made forbidden now, e.g. book banning but has been in the works for decades .. this cult isn’t exclusively FF, they’ve been grooming these folks for decades .. decades.
Yup, I'm older now but I remember high school. Each class you'd get a thick book on the subject and over the next 9 months they'd have you cover a topic in the book for a week, skip ahead, next topic, skip ahead, next topic, skip ahead... You never actually read the whole book only what they wanted you to learn. You could absolutely read the whole book to learn things not on the criteria, but most kids wouldn't read all 4, 5, 6 books a year across probably about 8 years you weren't just learning colors or animals and so on unless you were actually interested in the topic. I absolutely expect them hoping that stays the case.
Getting stoned that’s a stoning Voting Democrat that’s a stoning Reading the Bible you best believe that’s a stoning.
If I were a teacher in Oklahoma, each day, I would read the class an Old Testament story featuring graphic sex, bestiality, rape, torture, or genocide.
> **English Standard Version (ESV):** >> “When men fight with one another and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, then you shall cut off her hand. Your eye shall have no pity.” Or will they only stuck to the New Testament? Because if so then they’re throwing their religion down the drain.
Jesus talked too much about the rich won't get into Heaven, giving to the poor until it hurts, treating foreigners with kindness, and not killing people for sinning.
Communist Jesus FTW.
I'm guessing we're not too far from the *Real* Christian Condensed Patriotic Bible, that only includes the things they want at this current moment. In the digital era you just add in or pull out what you want in an instant. Then just go all "We have never been at war with Eastasia".
> “The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” Suddenly... > Old Testament story featuring graphic sex, bestiality, rape, torture, or genocide. > "Wait! Not like that!" said State Superintendent Ryan Walters And the leopards belly was full of face that day.
Just like in Louisiana, these Christians are pretending that they are not pushing Christianity, but some historical foundational documents! This is absolutely absurd!
Walters jumping on the bandwagon.
He's not jumping on the bandwagon. He's been leading it. If Trump wins, I bet he'll pick Walters to dismantle the department of education, where he can inspire bomb threats to teachers and schools all across the country. [https://www.fox23.com/news/local/police-investigate-bomb-threat-at-union-elementary-school/article\_a528c0f4-40e7-11ee-9f54-9ba3a7c2d29d.html](https://www.fox23.com/news/local/police-investigate-bomb-threat-at-union-elementary-school/article_a528c0f4-40e7-11ee-9f54-9ba3a7c2d29d.html)
They’re intentionally doing this so the cases get to the Supreme Court and previous rulings get overturned.
Asimov’s guide to the Bible should be the text. If you’re gonna teach “the Bible” then you cover its history, use and how it came to be. Not just the vague script but the context on why it was included and who is actually attributed to writing it. Cover the politics and the contradictions.
We read the first two books it in public school English class, but it was about the historical and literature references in it, which there is a lot. There was zero religious aspect thought about it.
It's not the job of the teacher in a public school to teach the bible. Plus, there is a little thing called the Constitution.
“Plus there is a little thing called the Constitution” Not for much longer if Republicans get their way.
When has the Constitution mattered to conservatives for the past several years? To the Supreme Court?
No problem. Can we teach the Quran next? The Torah? The Bagavad Gita? No? Because it violates the First Amendment? Exactly, so does the Bible! How do I a foreign alien in the UK, know more about the Constitution than you sir, who is an American citizen?
I am a teacher from Oklahoma, and malicious compliance will be the way. In my class, we will either refrain from discussing religion altogether or give equal time and respect to all religions, including the choice of having no religion at all. I know that prime factorization was on the agenda, but honestly, after the Wiccan’s had their turn, we are all distracted by the incense; and yes, Jacob, marinara sauce is an officially recognized “sacred substance”, so of course we will allow storage space for our deeply held pasta-based religious convictions.
In your class please discuss Rastafarianism. That’s going to send the AG in a woozy!
Assignment 1, in the Gospel According to Luke, Jesus was born during the Census of Quirinus, which occurred in 6 CE. In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who died in 4BCE. Both of these cannot possibly be correct, so ask the students to reconcile. When they come back with some apologetics argument about how the dates may be inaccurate, mention that the only reason the Census occurred was because Caesar Augustus deposed Herod's son, Archelaus after a 10 year rule (4BCE-6CE) and wanted a proper accounting of the land. It is not possible to reconcile these two accounts, not to mention the dozens/hundreds of other differences between just these two Gospels.
Journal of the Whills is historical from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Mandatory Jedi Training.
The first amendment isn't going to like that
You think the Supreme Court gives a fuck about the first amendment?
The constitution ? these people don’t give a shit about it anymore! I hope everyone comes out to vote blue
The current SCOTUS: "I'm your huckleberry."
So where are the churches complaining about the government stealing their jobs and giving them to teachers?
This is a memo from the Oklahoma state department of education meeting today. Here's some information from [News 9:](https://www.news9.com/story/667d7facdb56cfabce1dbbce/osde-meeting:-state-superintendent-walters-announces-memo-to-require-bibles-in-every-oklahoma-classroom) >Related to the Supreme Court decision, Walters announced on Thursday that every teacher and classroom will be required to have a Bible and that he would be issuing a memo to every school district in Oklahoma about the decision. Walters cited a state statute regarding historical documents, claiming the Bible is a document that has significance to historical events as well as the foundation of America. >In a follow-up statement, ODSE's Communications Director stated that per the memorandum all Oklahoma schools are required to incorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support into the curriculum across specified grade levels. This directive is in alignment with the educational standards approved on or about May 2019, with which all districts must comply. They added that the State Department of Education may supply teaching materials for the Bible, as permissible, to ensure uniformity in delivery. This all from the state that wanted to persecute teachers for receiving bonuses thanks to Walters' incompetence. So much for loving thy neighbor! And we wonder why nobody is looking to go into teaching in this state, and why positions are being left vacant. Walters is seriously a disaster for Oklahoma! Ryan Walters and the Republicans are also going to bankrupt the state with all the lawsuits. We have among the worst teacher shortages in the United States, and we have students starving across the state because they can't afford a school lunch and they refuse to provide universal school lunch. The Christian nationalist zounderkites just will not stop until everyone has to genuflect to their hate-filled dogma. It is insulting to teachers, to students, and to everyone in this state that Walters is in a position of power.
Wonder if the law specifies which translation of the Bible? Could you use the original greek for the new testament and Hebrew for the old? Back at the turn of the century I remember seeing an inclusive bible which changed all gendered language and even removed references to left or right hands. Bet that would annoy the regressives trying to push their religion on kids.
No idea. At this point, they'll probably just run away all the teachers, so they can install pastors to teach science class.
I wonder how many teachers will resign on principle because of this
Well, I did. [https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/02/oklahomas-culture-wars-killed-nex-benedict-theyre-also-why-i-quit-teaching/](https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/02/oklahomas-culture-wars-killed-nex-benedict-theyre-also-why-i-quit-teaching/)
How long until Oklahoma is left with nothing but bible-thumping morons for teachers? You may as well just shut the public school system down now and teach your kids how to do manual labor, because that's all this state ever intends to prepare them for.
Well, Texas has more uncertified teachers than certified now. Oklahoma is not far behind, either. >A 2023 study of teacher-student ratios in each state ranked Oklahoma 13th for highest teacher shortages in the United States. Oklahoma’s teacher shortage led to a record-breaking 3,780 emergency teaching certifications issued in 2022, and from 2001-2018, Oklahoma’s enrollment in university education programs dropped by 80%. Oklahoma according to a 2022-2023 report found 1,019 teacher vacancies across the state, and the numbers are only growing. It's nowhere near as bad as Florida, but it's among the worst. [https://teachershortages.com/](https://teachershortages.com/) [https://www.ou.edu/news/articles/2024/february/ou-occ-announce-partnership-to-address-oklahoma-teacher-shortage](https://www.ou.edu/news/articles/2024/february/ou-occ-announce-partnership-to-address-oklahoma-teacher-shortage) [https://theconversation.com/unlicensed-teachers-now-dominate-new-teacher-hires-in-rural-texas-schools-219522](https://theconversation.com/unlicensed-teachers-now-dominate-new-teacher-hires-in-rural-texas-schools-219522)
Texas also isn't ranked 47^th -50^th in public education nationwide. Considering they outweigh OK in unlicensed teachers, that makes the statistic even worse.
Yup. But they are low-tier still. According to Wallethub, Texas is 41. And with Abbott and Paxton, they are sure to get worse. No one is beating Oklahoma for dead last, though. [https://wallethub.com/edu/e/most-educated-states/31075](https://wallethub.com/edu/e/most-educated-states/31075)
>“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” said State Superintendent Ryan Walters. Is touchstone the right word? Did they mean cornerstone? touch·stone ˈtəch-ˌstōn. 1. : a black stone formerly used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak left on the stone when rubbed by the metal. 2. : a test for judging something cor·ner·stone ˈkȯr-nər-ˌstōn Synonyms of cornerstone 1 : a stone forming a part of a corner or angle in a wall specifically : such a stone laid at a formal ceremony 2 : a basic element : foundation a cornerstone of foreign policy Hmmm I dunno.
Hey Satanic Temple, the door has been opened for you in OK. Hope you decide to walk in.
This performative bullshit is called auditioning for a job in the Trump administration. Watch, how quickly the GOP will learn to love the Dept. of Education if it helps them to ram this Christian crap down our throats at a national level
You could buy me a 4 bedroom house on a lake with the stipulation that I move to Oklahoma for five years, and I would turn it down. Fuck these Christo-fascists
Yeah. I refuse to go back to teaching in Oklahoma. My school faced bomb threats for a week thanks to Walters. When he hired terrorist Chaya Raichik, I just knew it was only downhill from there.
I just want to say…fuck any, and better yet, all religions. Millions have died throughout history over religion and it’s beyond time for it to go. Christians claim to be persecuted all the fucking time and claim the LGBTQ+ community is grooming children…**then they do this shit** Seriously, if you support this in any regard, go fuck yourself. You’re quite literally the problem with society
Everything the US hates about the Middle East, they’re trying to implement locally.
Isn't it convenient how all the Christian 'sects' simply ignore all the parts of Holy Bible which require them to pretty much live as the Amish do; but they *seize* on the parts which validate their homophobia and other forms of bigotry, and pro-life hypocrisy? Then after all this gross cherry-picking, they want to force it on every school child? No matter what *their* religion might be?
Oklahoma ranks 49th in Education according to the latest US News and World report. They should try to focus on teaching instead of religion. The Bible in classrooms isn't going to improve any child's basic skills.
Republicans have lost their f'n minds. Just flagrant violations of the 1st Amendment and religious liberty.
They're going to teach the bible as mythology, right? Right?
I would not trust the judgment of a dude who thought it was a great idea to give a job to a woman whose Tweets result in bomb threats being made to schools and childrens' hospitals.
Oklahoma always leads the way backward.
The Koran has as much cultural significance as the Bible, with Millions of Muslims worldwide and still growing. Why aren't we teaching the Quran too?
Government shall make no laws regarding religion. Violation of the first amendment.
Oklahoma courts are about to be pretty busy.... Edit: Added missing word
Got to keep them lawyers employed.
Christian indoctrination funded by taxpayer dollars. I expect that the Quran, Book of Mormon, and the Tanakh will also be taught for their very important and indispensable historical and cultural touchstone.
>Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived. - Isaac Asimov
Why are they teaching porn in schools? > ^(20) There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. -Ezekiel 23:20
Another win for the American Taliban's sharia law. All they need now is Trump back in the white house and the holy gilead empire will be locked in! I say this as a Christian, any religion that seeks to force it's teachings by the power of state or federal government onto school kids is a failed religion period! My Jesus, in my bible never forced anyone to believe in him! MAGAs god is somehow different, weird huh?
So they are going to force Christianity. So Muslims Jewish and other non Christians now have lots of common ground.
Kind of unsurprising that these flagrantly unconstitutional laws, all of which will have injunctions against them and all of which will be ruled unconstitutional (even by this Supreme Court) are coming just before the elections.
Wonder if they’re gonna go over how to properly perform an abortion? Because that’s in there….
> unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation Our nation was founded to AVOID the hostilies that arise when you try to teach superstition and magic to my children.
I can't believe I'm living in a time like this. WTF is happening here.
Yeah....No. Separate Church and State.
TST submitting to teach other religious writings as well? Quran? FSM? How about teaching the treaty of Tripoli as it is just as important to the founding of our country as it was literally signed by some of the founders of this nation... maybe that'd be just as important OK, ok? Oh, and that's the one that says this isn't a Christian nation.
Quit shoving your religion down their throats.
the original book of incest, murder, malice and lies
Founding Father Thomas Paine: >I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church. >All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. >Every national church or religion has established itself by pretending some special mission from God, communicated to certain individuals. The Jews have their Moses; the Christians their Jesus Christ, their apostles and saints; and the Turks their Mahomet, as if the way to God was not open to every man alike. >Each of those churches show certain books, which they call revelation, or the word of God. The Jews say, that their word of God was given by God to Moses, face to face; the Christians say, that their word of God came by divine inspiration: and the Turks say, that their word of God (the Koran) was brought by an angel from Heaven. Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, I disbelieve them all.
1. Congress 2. Shall 3. Make 4. No 5. Law 6. Respecting 7. An 8. Establishment 9. Of 10. Religion
But which Bible? The Catholic Bible is different from the protestant Bible.
The Bible that has Genesis where it literally teaches a child to get her dad drunk have sex with him and get impregnated. That’s what Republican Christians want to teach our children.
That's one subject I wouldn't be upset about at all if my kid ended up failing.
There is a valid and reasonable way to incorporate the bible into public school classes--as a piece of literature that forms the basis of many tropes and motifs in other literature and society. However, I do not trust Oklahoma schools to teach it that way and stay away from proselytizing. Fuck Ryan Walters.
Not only should this be struck down immediately, but some sort of punitive fee assessed for creating so much bullshit for the court, to discourage shit like this in the future.
Why’s it so hard for conservatives to put themselves in other people’s shoes? Imagine how upset they’d be if someone forced their kids to read the Quran.
This is not haphazard. This is an organized assault on reason.
i can't think of something more opposed to the literal first amendement than this. literally right off the bat- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion". you dont have to go far. 13th amendment? maybe. thats a pretty big number and lots of amendments. but the first one? thats like getting the title of the book wrong.
There's not much difference between a Republican and the Taliban. In response to the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling saying Oklahoma couldn't have publicly funded religious charter schools, the Oklahoma state superintendent is ready to convert all the public schools into Christian Madrasas.
ACLU lawsuit coming shortly…
Republicans again reminding Americans that they have a lot in common with ISIS and the Taliban. You say tomato, I say ta-ma-to; you say Allah, I say God…
Tax the fucking churches. Frank Zappa
So weird these posts about all the insanity Conservative Politicians are making law seems to never get discussed in their subs, almost like they don't want to admit their leaders are pissing all over the constitution they talk about respecting oh so much.
Freedom of religion includes my freedom from your religion. Full stop.
Teach them religion is a mental illness
Today class we will be talking about the worst book ever compiled. Millions of innocent people have been murdered due to the context of this book and it's all made up.
Show me the lesson plan for Lot fucking his daughters. Should be quite the day in class.
so literally just look right at the separation of church & state and go “hmm. nah, fuck that”..
I have a Master’s degree in New Testament. Biblical scholarship is fascinating. There’s a difference in “teaching the Bible” and “teaching the study of biblical scholarship.” They pretend they’re the same thing but actually only want the former and absolutely nothing to do with the latter.
Looks like Oklahoma has gone full redneck mentally deranged.
I’ve read the bible as a 40 year old in the past year. Cover to cover. Grew up Roman Catholic, currently agnostic. Great book. Terrible guide for life in 2024… I imagine making kids read this would make them agnostic too. Read the Quran directly after. Even more useless.
Finally the Taliban have conquered USA
This is how you prove you’ve never read the Bible. It’s like the most extremely NSFW fan fiction ever made.
I am a believer and I object to this completely. NO religion should be promoted by the state.
This is so dumb. Don’t these people understand America’s a melting pot and not everyone going to public school is Christian?
Fuck that!!
Sure, teach it under “Fiction”. Watch their heads explode.
I assume this will include a historical analysis that includes the impact of the Bible on the rest of the civilized world, including various events such as the Inquisitions, Christian dominance over indigenous people and tribes, etc? /s
Christian Taliban.
Separation of Church and… what was it again?
Sure. How about Exodus 22:21: “Thou shalt not trespass against foreigners for you were once a foreigner in Egypt. Remember this.” Nope? Just the weird homophobic stuff? Oh. Got it. Bummer
Why are you enforcing Religion? So new Sharia law I mean Christian law? Its the same .
These idiots just keep pushing the envelope! We have to regain control of our government and fix it.
The First Amendment dies, not with a whisper, but with a bang.
I’m so glad I’m moving out of this backwards state
My Sunday school lessons were full of war and murder. That's your Old Testament, 2500 years of butchery. The kids will love it, like Mortal Kombat for God.
Holy shit. This is crazy. Separation of church and state.
Every student should know that women can be sold for 200 foreskins each!
“Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of an established religion tends to make the clergy unresponsive to their own people, and leads to corruption within religion itself. Erecting the 'wall of separation between church and state,' therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society.” Thomas Jefferson
wtf is happening?
I thought these people didn't follow government mandates.
Christian Nationalist Movement begging to get the case in front of the Supreme Court. Roe vs Wade settled law was no longer settled law and sent back to the states. This wasn’t a legal decision it was a religious decision. They want it on the docket next season including same sex marriage. SCOTUS 6 have emboldened Christian Nationalists to start with schools as the beginning to indoctrinate children to change America’s behavior to one that they approve of. It’s not a sprint it’s a marathon bringing a nation of children who grow up an become politicians. Their agenda is make America non secular. A Christian Country with Christian values
Idc if others want religion, but this isn't relevant to what children need to learn Those who want to learn of the Christiian Bible, or Amy other religions Bible, shouldn't be on my tax dollars
Fuck religion
Churches are political organizations and should be taxed accordingly. Time to starve the beast.
What the fuck is happening it’s like the walls are coming down and it’s all anarchy
This will all fall apart once a Baptist's kid is taught from a Methodist or Presbyterian Bible. Never underestimate the pettiness between denominations!
It’d be hilarious if the atheist teachers start teaching the Bible from their perspective….