Ryan Walters, a man of deep conviction and who is serving as the State Superintendent of Education in Oklahoma is now working on establishing the “Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism.” This is what bringing our country back to its Christian roots. The initiative is the latest project for Walters who has caught a lot of national attention for the efforts he’s made to put Bibles back in classrooms across his state.
According to a report from The Christian Tribune, “On Tuesday, Walters announced the establishment of the religious liberties office at the State Department of Education. According to reports, the office will ‘serve to promote religious liberty and patriotism in Oklahoma and protect parents, teachers, and students’ abilities to practice their religion freely in all aspects.’ Furthermore, the office will investigate violations of religious liberty in the state.”
Ever since taking office, Walters has maintained conservative stances toward the role of faith in the education system arguing for its integration into the public school systems. For example, Walters has taken a stance that the Bible is an integral part of American history and, therefore, should be included in the state curriculum. However, as to be expected with secular leftist opponents of Christianity, Walters’ efforts have faced legal attacks.
Walters went on to say, “For decades our nation’s public schools have tragically been ground zero for the erosion of religious liberty across our country. The radical left never misses a chance to co- opt the teacher unions and their minions to indoctrinate our children against traditional values of faith and family, seeking to attack any display of faith or religion or patriotism. It is no coincidence that the dismantling of faith and family values in public schools directly correlates with declining academic outcomes in our public schools. In Oklahoma, we are reversing this negative trend and, working with the incoming Trump Administration, we are going to aggressively pursue education policies that will improve academic outcomes and give our children a better future.”
A statement put out by the Oklahoma State Department of Education revealed, “The new office will be charged with supporting teachers and students when their constitutional rights are threatened by well-funded, out of state groups as happened in Skiatook last year when a school was bullied into removing Bible quotes from a classroom. At the time, Superintendent Walters was clear in his assessment: “the removal of Bible verses from display in Skiatook under the threat of a baseless lawsuit is unacceptable. The Constitution guarantees, and the Supreme Court has affirmed in Kennedy v. Bremerton, the right of teachers to religious freedom and expression. American citizens do not give up their right to practice their faith at the schoolhouse door or anywhere else.”
A lot of folks aren’t necessarily saying that no other perspective on things should be taught in school. No, the point here is that students should be shown all sides and allowed to make up their own minds. Teaching kids how to think, not what to think. Isn’t that what should really be done in schools? And if parents are teaching their kids Christian values at home, they should have those reinforced at school.
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