Why Some Christians Don’t Want to Bring the Bible Into Public Schools - The New York Times

As the idea of incorporating the Bible into classrooms gains traction, concerns about the mission of public schools — and differences across the faith — have led even some conservative Christians to push back. Oklahoma’s state superintendent announced in June that every teacher in the state would be expected to teach the Bible. Credit... Desiree Rios for The New York Times Supported by By Troy Closson In Caddo, Okla., a two-block stretch of the small town contains churches of at least four denominations, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and nondenominational. More than four in five voters in the neighboring counties went Republican in the last national election. This rural region near the border with Texas might seem an ideal testing ground for an emerging but highly contested campaign by conservative officials to expand the role of religion in children’s education and mandate that history, literature and even math classes teach the Bible to students in grades five to 12. Yet even here

As the idea of incorporating the Bible into classrooms gains traction, concerns about the mission of public schools — and differences across the faith — have led even some conservative Christians to push back. Oklahoma’s state superintendent announced in June that every teacher in the state would be expected to teach the Bible. Credit... Desiree Rios for The New York Times Supported by By Troy Closson In Caddo, Okla., a two-block stretch of the small town contains churches of at least four denominations, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and nondenominational. More than four in five voters in t