His decision comes just a week after the governor of Louisiana, also a Republican, signed into law a law that plans to display the “Ten Commandments” in all classrooms. This law was immediately challenged in court by an association believing that it is unconstitutional and violates the separation of Church and State.
The measure announced in Oklahoma also has every chance of ending up in court. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the establishment of a national religion or the preference of one religion over another.
An announcement welcomed by Trump which courts evangelical Christians
But in recent years, the Trumpist right has multiplied its identity-based discourses aimed at bringing Christian values back to the center of public debate.
Last week, Ryan Walters had thus welcomed the Louisiana law, explaining that he wanted to imitate it. “We must bring God back to school and not allow the radical left to transform our schools into atheist centers that talk about our country without taking into account the influence of faith,” he insisted on FoxNews.
A speech immediately welcomed by Donald Trump himself, who is counting on the support of evangelical Christians to try to win back the White House against Joe Biden in November. “Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters did a great job on FoxNews last night. He is strong, decisive and knows his stuff. I LOVE OKLAHOMA!” applauded the former Republican president on his Truth Social network.
A member of the southern “Bible Belt” state, Oklahoma recently attempted to fund a private religious school with public funds, which would have been a first in the United States. The project was rejected this week by the local courts, but the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
