Boren comments on State Board of Education request for $3 million for Bibles

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, issued the following statement after Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting. The Board and Superintendent Ryan Walters aim to spend $3 million on the purchase of New King James Version of the Bible in the classroom, an initiative Walters announced at the Board’s June meeting.

“This is a clear violation of Article II, Section 5 of Oklahoma’s Constitution, which says that no public money or property can be used to benefit or support any religion. Further, the State Board of Education is not empowered by Oklahoma law to endorse an official Bible for the state of Oklahoma, though this effort would have that impact.

“Selecting the Protestant New King James Version of the Bible instead of the many other versions, using state dollars to buy it, and distributing the Bibles throughout Oklahoma is proselytizing by elevating the Protestant Bible as having the most influence on history, literature, and the arts. This decision is significant and prevents an authentic historical review of the impact of the many versions of the Bible in history and humanities.

“The Bible has certainly impacted Oklahoma and American history, but not all those lessons are pleasant. Oklahoma’s history and current events are saturated in the impact of how the Bible was misused to dehumanize Native people and forcibly remove them to Oklahoma. The Bible was also used to justify the kidnapping of Native children and forcing them to attend Christian boarding schools where they were punished for worshipping in the language of their ancestors. This generational trauma is currently impacting Native families and school children throughout Oklahoma.

“Before House Bill 1775, a complete history of the positive and negative impact of the Bible could be taught in age-appropriate ways in Oklahoma schools. But under HB 1775, any history lesson involving the Bible will most likely be whitewashed. Mr. Walters and his Board’s attempts to idealize the impact of the Bible in American history will further their agenda to coerce a belief that their ethnicity is superior to all others. Their agenda is un-Christlike, unconstitutional, and unpatriotic.”  – Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman.

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Mary Boren at 405-521-5553 or Mary.Boren@oksenate.gov