Religion in schools

[Sam the Centipede]

Written by a United Methodist clergy in Arkansas:

So, Mr Oklahoma State Superintendent of Schools, which Bible must now be taught to all students?
The Roman Catholic one? Protestant one? Those other ones?
Which translation? Jerome’s Vulgate? The king James? NIV? NRSV? CEB? Or the other hundreds of translations out there? Which one will be the “authorized” version for Oklahoma school kids?

Translations?!??!
no! no! no!

The Bible should be taught using original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts!

The Dead Sea Scrolls should be framed and and in each room for students to study during breaks. Advanced classes could also learn Coptic, Nabatean and Arabic to study other texts from there and from Nag Hammadi library, for a greater insight into gnostic and other Christian and Judaic thought.

Religion shouldn't be easy!

[Volkonski]

The bibles that Oklahoma wants in schools.

Oklahoma defends Bibles-in-schools proposal after report that only Trump’s might qualify

https://thehill.com/homenews/education/ ... n-walters/

Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters’s (R) office is defending the process for how the state will select newly mandated Bibles in classrooms after a report was released that the criteria is so narrow that essentially no Bibles qualify — besides ones endorsed by former President Trump.

The Oklahoman reported on Friday that few editions match the specific parameters the superintendent calls for in his request for proposal (RFP): a Bible that is bound by leather or material like leather, has the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and is the New King James version of the Old and New Testament.

“The RFP on its face seems fair, but with additional scrutiny, we can see there are very few Bibles on the market that would meet these criteria, and all of them have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump,” Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Executive Director Colleen McCarty told the news outlet.



The two Bibles that Trump has endorsed, We The People Bible and God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, both meet the criteria and are sold for $90 and $60, respectively.

[Frater I*I]

The bibles that Oklahoma wants in schools.

Oklahoma defends Bibles-in-schools proposal after report that only Trump’s might qualify

Am I the only one that thinks this stinks of kickbacks.....

[Resume18]

The bibles that Oklahoma wants in schools.

Oklahoma defends Bibles-in-schools proposal after report that only Trump’s might qualify

Am I the only one that thinks this stinks of kickbacks.....

It stinks of more than that.

[DrConspiracy]

There is a new edition of the God Bless the USA Bible, "The Day God Intervened" edition. It has those words embossed on the cover, along with Trump's name, former title and the date of the failed assassination attempt.

[DrConspiracy]

The bibles that Oklahoma wants in schools.

Oklahoma defends Bibles-in-schools proposal after report that only Trump’s might qualify

Am I the only one that thinks this stinks of kickbacks.....

It stinks of more than that.

Financial disclosures indicate Trump has gotten $300,000 royalties on the Bible sale so far. In depth article at the Oklahoman.

'Trump Bible' one of few that meet Walters' criteria for Oklahoma classrooms.

[zekeb]

I cannot believe they would be allowed to teach religion in public schools. A particular religion, no less. Has no one challenged this?

[Rolodex]

As I saw on the xitter - so, putting bibles in schools will teach kids to be good citizens (or something). Interesting that churches are full of bibles and seems like there's a lot of sexual predators and child rapists there.

[Volkonski]

Republican State Rep. Requests AG Opinion Into OSDE $6 Million Request For Bibles
A state lawmaker is raising questions over a request for 55,000 Bibles in public schools. Now, an opinion from the Attorney General has been requested.

https://www.newson6.com/story/6704622ce ... for-bibles

A state lawmaker is raising questions over a request for 55,000 Bibles in public schools. Now, an opinion from the Attorney General has been requested.

State superintendent Ryan Walters wants to redirect $3 million of the State Department of Education’s budget to Bibles and requested an additional $3 million from state lawmakers. Both of which are now in question.

"The request will be made and then it'll move through the legislative process. And my hope is that the legislature will stand strong against this request and remember that is unconstitutional to use taxpayer dollars for religious purposes,” said Rep. Munson.

Republican State Representative Mark McBride sent this letter to Attorney General Gentner Drummond, asking him to answer four questions:

Can OSDE move appropriated funds from one category of line items in Section 2 of SB1122 “Limits Bill” to another category without legislative approval?
Does the process outlined in Title 62, Section 34.52 apply to OSDE when moving funds from one appropriated line item category to another?
Does Executive Order 2023-12 require that any expenditure by OSDE over 425,000 be approved by the Secretary of Education?
Does Section 23 of SB1122 give the Attorney General to enforce any said parts of the Limits Bill?
Rep. McBride adds at the bottom of the letter, “Lastly, I have no problem with Bibles in classrooms and libraries.”

House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson raised similar concerns last week.

“The state superintendent continues to again focus on culture war issues that we know are not actually benefiting our children. They're not benefiting our teachers,” said Rep. Munson, (D) OKC.

Representative Mark McBride requests an attorney general’s opinion looking OSDE’s request to spend $6 million towards supplying bibles for Oklahoma classrooms.

[Volkonski]

Oklahoma has slightly modified the specifiatio0ns for its school bible RFP.

OSDE changes requirements for vendors looking to fulfill request for 55,000 Bibles in schools

https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-s ... s/62541680

The new request includes the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, but they can either be included in the Bible or separately from it. Those documents also have to bound in a "durable material."

According to the new request for proposal, the OSDE is allowed to consider multiple suppliers for provision of the Bibles and material. Price also has been added as an evaluation criterion.

OSDE officials also extended the closing date for the proposals from Oct. 14 to Oct. 21. Click here to read the full updated RFP.

According to the OSDE, the changes come after a recommendation from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.

The OSDE plans to spend $6 million to put Bibles in Oklahoma schools, but the department raised eyebrows last week because many of the then-restrictions on what would qualify. There didn't seem to be many publishers currently printing anything that meets the criteria.

KOCO 5 reached out to publishers across Oklahoma and across the country, and the only one meeting the requirement was the “God Bless the USA Bible,” which is endorsed by former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

[Rolodex]

Having them "bound" is so specific. There are bibles you can get for free from the internet. When kids have extra reading or books they study for class (Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird) don't they have to buy those on their own?

Someone should offer a really substantial copy - large print and lots of pages. The kids in kindergarten could use it to stand on when washing their hands. Literally "standing on the bible."

[MN-Skeptic]

For school children, I would be more focused on the durability of the pages. For those of us who have used Bibles, you know what I'm talking about. The Bible I got for confirmation from my parents had those thin pages - you know what I'm talking about. But for a book you would want in a classroom, I would want durable pages comparable to what you would find in a textbook. Funny how that's not specified in the requirements.

[Rolodex]

For school children, I would be more focused on the durability of the pages. For those of us who have used Bibles, you know what I'm talking about. The Bible I got for confirmation from my parents had those thin pages - you know what I'm talking about. But for a book you would want in a classroom, I would want durable pages comparable to what you would find in a textbook. Funny how that's not specified in the requirements.

From what I remember of a review the trump bibles, the pages were exceptionally thin. And I've seen the Constitution part leaves out Amendments 11-17 (I think those are the right numbers, and I haven't verified that myself).

[Flatpoint High]

For school children, I would be more focused on the durability of the pages. For those of us who have used Bibles, you know what I'm talking about. The Bible I got for confirmation from my parents had those thin pages - you know what I'm talking about. But for a book you would want in a classroom, I would want durable pages comparable to what you would find in a textbook. Funny how that's not specified in the requirements.

From what I remember of a review the trump bibles, the pages were exceptionally thin. And I've seen the Constitution part leaves out Amendments 11-17 (I think those are the right numbers, and I haven't verified that myself).

only the original 10 are there - 11- 27 are missing.
https://meidasnews.com/news/amendment-a ... umps-bible

[zekeb]

Why not save the taxpayers a ton of money and get them from The Gideons? Consider those little pocket versions too. Like the one someone handed me when I was departing for to military.

[Volkonski]

Why not save the taxpayers a ton of money and get them from The Gideons? Consider those little pocket versions too. Like the one someone handed me when I was departing for to military.

Doing that wouldn't line Trump's pockets.

[noblepa]

I cannot believe they would be allowed to teach religion in public schools. A particular religion, no less. Has no one challenged this?

I'm sure that the ACLU or someone will challenge it if it becomes law.

I've always believed that the desire to have public schools teach the parents' religious beliefs is a rather explicit admission, on the part of the advocates, that they are incapable or unwilling to do so themselves. If the parents were doing it at home, there would be no need to do it at school.

[Rolodex]

I cannot believe they would be allowed to teach religion in public schools. A particular religion, no less. Has no one challenged this?

I'm sure that the ACLU or someone will challenge it if it becomes law.

I've always believed that the desire to have public schools teach the parents' religious beliefs is a rather explicit admission, on the part of the advocates, that they are incapable or unwilling to do so themselves. If the parents were doing it at home, there would be no need to do it at school.

Indeed, that's their argument against having sex education in schools. Parents should teach it at home.

[neeneko]

As I saw on the xitter - so, putting bibles in schools will teach kids to be good citizens (or something). Interesting that churches are full of bibles and seems like there's a lot of sexual predators and child rapists there.

They do not see those things as immoral. It is all the fault of the child for embarrassing their community and upstanding members. Sexual predation is only immoral when it it outsiders and their children.

[pipistrelle]

I cannot believe they would be allowed to teach religion in public schools. A particular religion, no less. Has no one challenged this?

I'm sure that the ACLU or someone will challenge it if it becomes law.

I've always believed that the desire to have public schools teach the parents' religious beliefs is a rather explicit admission, on the part of the advocates, that they are incapable or unwilling to do so themselves. If the parents were doing it at home, there would be no need to do it at school.

The purpose of doing it at school is to evangelize and to legitimize. Same with school prayer. Sure, any kid can pray at any time, but doing so as part of a school-sanctioned activity makes it a legitimate part of the greater community.

[noblepa]

The purpose of doing it at school is to evangelize and to legitimize. Same with school prayer. Sure, any kid can pray at any time, but doing so as part of a school-sanctioned activity makes it a legitimate part of the greater community.

I'm sure that is true. But the school-sanctioned-prayer advocates always scream about how prayer has been banned in school.

I know of no statute in any state or the federal government, nor any court rulings that ban prayer in school.

Indeed, there have been a couple of rulings that upheld an individual's right to bow their head and say a quick prayer as long as doing so does not disrupt the class or other school activity. A student is perfectly free to say "grace" before eating lunch.

The old joke that, as long as there are history tests, there will be prayer in school, is, in a very real sense, true.

It is only school-sanctioned or teacher-led prayer that has been banned.

[MN-Skeptic]

The idea of teaching religion or having prayer in school always puzzled me. Even if it's all Christian based, there isn't unity in the Christian world. First of all you have the major Catholic / Protestant split. But then there are so many denominations of Protestants. It's all well and good if the teacher doesn't deviate from your beliefs, but I can't tell you how upset my parents would have been, and would have made it known, if I came home and told my folks that my teacher was teaching us the Rosary. And when I was a kid, my dad was one of the four doctors in our small town and that carried some weight.

-------------------

Funny story... my husband went to a Catholic school through 8th grade. Naturally, most of the teachers were nuns. He told me how, as a young boy, he was puzzled when the nuns would instruct the children about hygiene, but cautioned the boys against spending too much time washing "down there".

[zekeb]

Perhaps they should be teaching the history of religion. Teach how religions have formed and split since the time of Moses. Teach how religions such as Buddhism and other Eastern religions came about to be. Teach how almost every religion was connected in some way to the governments of various countries. This might open the eyes of many Christian Nationalists.

[neeneko]

The idea of teaching religion or having prayer in school always puzzled me. Even if it's all Christian based, there isn't unity in the Christian world. First of all you have the major Catholic / Protestant split. But then there are so many denominations of Protestants. It's all well and good if the teacher doesn't deviate from your beliefs, but I can't tell you how upset my parents would have been, and would have made it known, if I came home and told my folks that my teacher was teaching us the Rosary. And when I was a kid, my dad was one of the four doctors in our small town and that carried some weight.

Historically it tends to be other denominations that bring the 'get prayer out of schools' lawsuits for just this reason. But that never stops the locally dominant denomination from hoping to use the state to settle its interfaith disputes.

[noblepa]

Perhaps they should be teaching the history of religion. Teach how religions have formed and split since the time of Moses. Teach how religions such as Buddhism and other Eastern religions came about to be. Teach how almost every religion was connected in some way to the governments of various countries. This might open the eyes of many Christian Nationalists.

Nice idea, and I agree that such a course might be useful, but the ones advocating teaching religion in schools would scream that the government is trying to convert their children to Buddhism, just by mentioning the name.