Oklahoma’s top education official ordered public schools Thursday to incorporate the Bible into lessons for grades 5 through 12, the latest effort by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms.

The directive drew immediate condemnation from civil rights groups and supporters of the separation of church and state, with some calling it an abuse of power and a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The order sent to districts across the state by Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters says adherence to the mandate is compulsory and “immediate and strict compliance is expected.”

  • Marshall Stack@mastodon.social
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    6 days ago

    @Stopthatgirl7
    I actually wouldn’t mind kids being taught critical thinking, ethics & the Bible as a subject.
    Start with an ethical dilemma, apply critical thinking to it and then overlay an appropriate Bible passage.
    Could cover original sin, lots daughters, midionite genocide, slavery, creation of hell, eternal torture for a finite crime, 10 commandments etc.

    • Valmond@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      What does critical thinking & ethics has to do with an old religious book though?

      Is the final exam to show how crap it is?

    • ouRKaoS@lemmy.today
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      5 days ago

      That would be a nice class to take, just not in a public school and not for children.

      • pdxfed@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        I always giggle when I see comments in a religious thread “Deleted by creator”.

      • Marshall Stack@mastodon.social
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        6 days ago

        @HogsTooth
        Well that was a total misunderstanding of my post.
        The idea is to come up with an ethical dilemma, apply critical thinking, and then show how crap the biblical approach is. With the examples I cited, I’m amazed you think this is teaching the Bible as fact. More like proving it wrong ethically & logically using itself as evidence.

        • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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          6 days ago

          You don’t need to mention the usernames of people whom you reply to; their instance will put a notification in their inbox automatically unless they have blocked you (in which case they cannot see it anyway)

        • HogsTooth@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          And it was deleted when I reread your comment and couldn’t decide if you were a troll, genuine, or just stupid. Judging by the votes I wasn’t the only one.