Ryan Walters, Oklahoma state superintendent of public instruction, suggested on Wednesday that former President Donald Trump's legal strife could be due to schools not teaching the Bible.
Oklahoma schools last week were required to incorporate the Bible as part of the curricula in grades five through 12. According to a memo Walters sent to all districts, schools are instructed to refer to the Bible and Ten Commandments for their "substantial influence on our nation's founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution."
The Bible, however, is not once mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.
"We'll be teaching from the Bible in the classroom to ensure that this historical understanding is there for every student in the state of Oklahoma," Walters said at a state Board of Education meeting last week.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a nonprofit civil liberties group, condemned the policy, saying it is "trampling the religious freedom of public school children and their families."
Appearing on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast with guest host Ben Harnwell on Wednesday, Walters discussed his stance on the decision of requiring Bibles as part of the curricula as he was asked to "explain exactly what has happened in Oklahoma and why you push this."
Walters pointed toward the "radical left" being seen in schools as he suggested that Trump's legal troubles were due to Bibles not being taught in the education system.
Newsweek has reached out to Americans United and Walters' office via email for comment on Wednesday.
"You know, when you look at an issue like this, what you've seen in our schools is a radical left. And one of the things that they've done is they've taken the Bible out of schools. They say, listen, you can't talk about our rights coming from God ... I mean, you see what's happening to President Trump right now, where they're arresting him," Walters said.
He added: "They're giving this banana republic nonsense in a courtroom. Look what they're doing to Steve Bannon right now."
Walters' comments come as Trump, who became the first former U.S. president to be criminally convicted after a New York jury found him guilty of 34 felony charges in his hush money trial, continues to face a myriad of legal woes.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, was also charged in August 2023 by Special Counsel Jack Smith, accused of conspiring to overturn the results of his election loss to President Joe Biden in the run-up to the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol.
Also in August 2023, Trump and 18 others were charged in Georgia by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with participating in a scheme to unlawfully attempt to overturn the state's presidential election results.
In June 2023, Smith charged Trump with retaining classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida after he left the White House in January 2021, and with obstructing government demands to return them.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing in all cases.
Bannon, former White House chief strategist in Trump's administration, was sentenced to four months in prison in October 2022 after he was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to respond to a subpoena issued to him by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack.
After failing to appeal his conviction and remain out of jail, Bannon reported to federal prison in Connecticut on Monday.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time legislation involving religion in public school classrooms has been considered.
Last month, a new bill requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in school classrooms in Louisiana sparked outrage across social media, with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) telling Newsweek there needs to be division between church and state.
The legislation requires a poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments in "large, easily readable font" in all public classrooms starting in 2025 and makes Louisiana the first state to require such a display.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU, the ACLU of Louisiana and the Freedom From Religion Foundation announced they will file a lawsuit to challenge the law, arguing it violates long-standing Supreme Court precedent and the First Amendment.
ACLU of Louisiana executive director Alanah Odoms previously told Newsweek that the legislation undermines religious freedom.
"While faith is a vital part of the lives of many, the separation of church and state is a bedrock of our nation's democratic principles. Governor [Jeff] Landry's mandate to display the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom undermines religious freedom and infringes upon students' and parents' constitutional rights," Odoms said.
Similar bills have also been proposed in Texas, Oklahoma and Utah.
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About the writer
Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
