FFRF petitions to stop Oklahoma bible mandate
The Freedom From Religion Foundation and several other groups are representing more than 30 Oklahomans in a lawsuit urging the state’s Supreme Court to block state Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters’ mandate that all public schools incorporate the bible into their curricula.
The lawsuit, Rev. Lori Walke v. Ryan Walters, also asks the court to stop the state from spending millions of taxpayer dollars on bibles to support the mandate.
The 32 plaintiffs include 14 public school parents, four public school teachers and three faith leaders who object to Walters’ extremist agenda that imposes his personal religious beliefs on other people’s children — in violation of Oklahomans’ religious freedom and the separation of church and state. The plaintiffs come from a variety of faith traditions, and some identify as atheist, agnostic or nonreligious. Some are of Indigenous heritage, and some have family situations — such as LGBTQ-plus members or children with special educational needs — that cause particular concerns around teaching the bible in public schools, especially around bullying.
The plaintiffs are represented by FFRF, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Oklahoma Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice.
On June 27, Walters issued a mandate unilaterally requiring every public school in Oklahoma to “incorporate the bible, which includes the Ten Commandments,” into the curriculum for grades 5-12, an abuse of power that ignored state laws. Walters then fast-tracked plans to spend $3 million of taxpayer money on an expensive, Christian nationalist version of the King James Bible that includes the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Pledge of Allegiance and Bill of Rights, another abuse of power and gross violation of Oklahoma taxpayers’ religious freedom. Walters wants to spend another $3 million on bibles next year.
The lawsuit asserts that the bible-education mandate violates the Oklahoma Constitution’s religious freedom protections because the government is spending public money to support religion, as well as favoring one religion over others by requiring the use of a Protestant version of the bible. The mandate also violates the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act and other state statutes because officials did not follow required rules for implementing new policies and for spending public money.
“Superintendent Ryan Walters cannot be allowed to employ the machinery of the state to indoctrinate Oklahoma’s students in his religion,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “Thankfully, Oklahoma law protects families and taxpayers from his unconstitutional scheme to force public schools to adopt his preferred holy book.”
The attorneys and legal staff on the team representing the plaintiffs include FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott and FFRF Senior Litigating Attorney Samuel Grover.
