The Bible is back

Embedded in the cultural fabric of Texas and Oklahoma is an unmistakable pioneer spirit. Rugged determination and heartfelt resolve characterized this frontier land’s cowboys and early settlers. Today, that same spirit is evident in how these two states are blazing a trail for patriotism and American values in public education. The centerpiece of that effort is the reintroduction of the historical documents that defined America as a nation. Among the most influential of these is the Bible.

“In the early days of America, the Bible was the one essential book in our educational system,” said Steve Crampton, assistant to the general counsel at American Family Association (AFA). “That continued well into the 1800s, alongside McGuffey’s Readers, which sold 120 million copies between 1839 and 1920. It was rooted in biblical imagery, stories, and passages for various purposes.”

According to Crampton, the U.S. Supreme Court only recently began ruling that the use of the Bible in schools violates the Establishment Clause.

Legal decisions

In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lemon v. Kurtzman brought an end to the longstanding practice of Bible reading and prayer in public schools through its Lemon Test, used to analyze Establishment Clause challenges to religious practices.

“The test lacked precision, making it difficult to understand and almost impossible to apply objectively,” Crampton said. “Its overall effect was to remove all acknowledgment of religion in the public schools.”

A half-century later, in 2022, the door opened again for Bible use in public schools. In its Kennedy v. Bremerton School District decision, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively dismantled the Lemon Test, recognizing its hostility toward religion.

“The immediate effect has been remarkable,” said Crampton. “There’s been a surge in new laws recognizing and respecting religion. There’s an enthusiasm for returning the Bible to schools and respecting religion that I’ve not witnessed in my lifetime.”

A new opportunity

Among those to take advantage of the surge was Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters. Under his direction, Oklahoma’s education department issued guidelines for introducing the Bible as instructional support in the state’s schools. The new directive required a physical copy of the Bible, the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Ten Commandments to be provided as curriculum resources.

“The Bible is indispensable in understanding the development of Western
civilization and American history,” Walters said. “These documents are mandatory for the holistic education of students in Oklahoma.”

Using primary sources like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, along with America’s founding documents, Walters hopes to prepare students for what awaits them in college.

“It’s so hard to indoctrinate kids if you can get that foundation correct,” he said.

A new approach

Just across Oklahoma’s southern border, a Texas-sized approach to integrating the Bible into classrooms was underway. In 2024, as part of its newly developed Bluebonnet Instructional Materials, the Texas Education Agency allowed all K-12 English and K-12 social studies classes to use the Old Testament and the New Testament as instructional texts.

Texas State Board of Education member Julie Pickren explained, “You cannot understand great works of Western literature because there are so many references to the Bible. In social studies and civics, you cannot understand the laws of our state and our founding documents unless you have a basic knowledge of the Old and New Testaments.”

The Bluebonnet Instructional Materials adhere to Texas law, which requires that those materials be patriotic in nature and teach the exceptionalism of America and Texas.

“It cannot have critical race theory or shame a student because of the color of their skin,” Pickren added.

Pickren credits a perfect alignment of factors for developing the Bluebonnet Instructional Materials.

“We have a governor who’s very concerned about education,” she explained. “Public education is 52% of our state budget, so we’re talking about billions of dollars. But the wonderful thing about our materials is that we’ve already paid for everything. So, any state that wants to use them, whether it’s a homeschool, private school, or co-op, it’s totally free.”

“I think it’s a game changer,” Walters said about the Bluebonnet Materials. “We’re going to use it in Oklahoma. We’re not only going to block out all the garbage that the Left has been pedaling to kids in school, but we’re going to replace it with a good quality curriculum. They’ve done a tremendous job of developing this in a way that other states, like us, benefit from it as well.”

Organized oppositions

Texas’ adoption of the Bluebonnet Instructional Materials was not without opposition. However, despite 15 institutions and organizations threatening legal action, as of press time, no lawsuits had been filed.

“I’ve been passing education legislation for many, many years,” Pickren said. “If they could sue you, they [would] sue you at 12:01 a.m. after [the legislation] takes effect. They don’t wait nine, ten months, or a year later. They sue you immediately. We had teachers and parents all come before us to say that we’re violating the Establishment Clause by putting the Old Testament and New Testament in English and social studies classes. It is clearly not a violation.” 

“These groups will sue you every step of the way,” agreed Walters. “Texas has a huge influence on other states when it comes to this kind of curriculum. They’ve already taken all the heat; they’ve taken all the bullets and all the arrows and stood firm despite all those attacks.”

Walters knows something about opposition himself. He’s seen intimidation up close in Oklahoma from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF). In one of Oklahoma’s rural school districts, after a fourth-grade student prayed over a school intercom, FFRF sent a threatening letter to the student as well as to school administrators and teachers. But, instead of backing down, Walters turned the tables.

“We sent them a letter, and we’re suing them,” he said. “They have no right to threaten our students; they have no right to threaten our teachers or administrators for protecting their constitutional rights. So, we’re not going to take it anymore. We’ve got to play offense on this front.”

Pickren added, “Thank God for Ryan and what he’s doing to really draw the line in the sand and say, ‘No more.’”

Constitutional courage

Given the opportunities to utilize the Bible, along with America’s founding documents, as instructional material, Walters hopes school administrators will have courage in promoting patriotism and fighting indoctrination.

“These teachers’ unions are not aligned with the American people. They’re not in line with your parents and grandparents,” Walters explained. “I want our kids to love the flag and to understand why the greatest generation was willing to give their lives on the beaches of Normandy. If we can get back to that, we’re going to see a resurgence in America like we haven’t seen in decades.”