The Constitution Was Not Written By God (Part 2)
Last time, I covered how the government uses the Constitution as the end-all, be-all document — if it’s not listed in there, tough luck, you don’t get to have it. But now, Oklahoma is adding a new twist: mandatory Bible classes in public schools. According to State Superintendent Ryan Walters, “The Bible is indispensable in understanding the development of Western civilization and American history.” Let’s break down why that statement is both misleading and a little too convenient.
First off, it’s not just any Bible. The state has specific requirements: it must be the King James Version, bound in leather (or leather-like material), and packaged with the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. Sorry, Catholics and anyone else not in the King James camp — your beliefs don’t count here. The mandate sends a loud message that only one belief system is valued, despite the diversity in public schools.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting: the only Bible meeting these criteria is sold by none other than Donald Trump. Even better, his version conveniently skips Amendments 11–27, leaving out little things like the abolition of slavery. So, kids might get a crash course on adultery, but will they learn about their actual rights? (Hint: Oklahoma ranks 49th out of 50 states for education, so that’s a no.)
Let’s be clear: THE CONSTITUTION WAS NOT WRITTEN BY GOD. This mandate violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which explicitly prohibits the government from establishing or favoring one religion. By pushing a specific Bible in public schools, Oklahoma is ignoring this prohibition, blatantly entangling church and state. The idea of using a public school platform to promote one religious text is problematic, alienating students who don’t subscribe to that version of Christianity (or any religion at all).
Pairing the Bible with the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and other foundational American documents implies that American governance is tied to Christianity. That’s not just historically inaccurate; it’s borderline idolatrous. The Founding Fathers, influenced by Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke, built the Constitution as a secular framework designed to keep religion separate from governance — precisely to prevent the kind of entanglement Oklahoma’s mandate is creating.
And about that claim from the superintendent — “The Bible is indispensable in understanding Western civilization and American history.” Sure, the Bible has had some influence on Western thought, but the idea that it’s essential to American history is a stretch. The Bible is a Middle Eastern text. Its events and teachings took place in ancient Israel, Babylon, and Rome — not in Europe or the Americas. Western civilization owes as much (if not more) to Greek philosophy, Roman law, and Enlightenment ideals — sources that sometimes directly opposed biblical teachings. Democracy, scientific inquiry, and secularism all emerged from thinkers who weren’t drawing from scripture.
The Founding Fathers knew the dangers of intertwining religion and law, as European history often demonstrated. That’s why the Constitution and Bill of Rights protect freedom of religion and emphasize laws based on reason and fairness, not religious scripture. So, if we want to teach American history or Western civilization accurately, we should look to the philosophers, lawmakers, and thinkers who shaped those ideas — not a religious text with no direct link to the formation of American law.
In short, Oklahoma’s attempt to mandate the Bible as part of the school curriculum isn’t just unconstitutional; it’s historically inaccurate and exclusionary. While Oklahoma struggles with literacy and ranks 49th in education, its focus on a Bible mandate shows just how much politics and religion are being used as tools to distract from real educational needs. Because if we’re more focused on leather-bound Bibles than student literacy and civic education, it seems like the priorities are as old and outdated as the text they’re pushing.
