Christianity In The USA

Moved a lot of prot debate to prot debate thread. I want this thread to be about general news and happenings within Christianity inside the USA, such as Church events, politics, or culture related stuff. Not theology. Otherwise every thread will become cluttered with theological debates and it will become a nightmare to find specific things.
 
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/oklahoma-orders-schools-teach-bible-every-classroom-2024-06-27/

Oklahoma orders schools to teach the Bible in every classroom​

By Jonathan Allen
June 27, 202411:42 PM GMT+1Updated 3 days ago



Members of the community read from the Bible during a prayer service at the Arcadia First Baptist Church in Santa Fe

Members of the community read from the Bible during a prayer service at the Arcadia First Baptist Church in Santa Fe, Texas, U.S., May 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman/File photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
June 27 (Reuters) - Oklahoma's Department of Education ordered every teacher in the state to have a Bible in their classroom and to teach from it, in an announcement on Thursday that challenges U.S. Supreme Court rulings that have found state sponsorship of religion to be unconstitutional.
Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's superintendent of public instruction, announced the order with immediate effect at Thursday's Department of Education board meeting, in which he said special attention will be afforded to the Ten Commandments.
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"Every teacher, every classroom in the state will have a Bible in the classroom, and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom to ensure that this historical understanding is there for every student in the state of Oklahoma," he said.
He called the Bible, the holy scriptures of Judaism and Christianity, one of the "foundational documents of ... Western civilization." He said important historical figures, including civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., referred to the text.
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Both the Hebrew and Christian Bible include the Jewish prophet Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, while only the Christian Bible includes the New Testament. Walters, who is Christian, did not stipulate which version teachers must use to comply with his order, and his spokesperson declined to answer questions.
The Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment has been interpreted to prohibit the state from sponsoring or establishing any particular religion. The Oklahoma Constitution, opens new tab goes further, stipulating that any public school and spending of public funds must be nonsectarian, and not benefit "any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion."

That part of the state constitution was cited two days before Walters' announcement, when the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down an effort in which Walters was involved to create the first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in the U.S.
The main teachers' labor union in Oklahoma said Walters' Bible order was unconstitutional and that state law said school districts have the right to decide which books are available in their classrooms.

"Teaching about the historical context of religion (and the Bible) is permissible; however, teaching religious doctrine is not permissible," the Oklahoma Education Association said in a statement. "Public schools cannot indoctrinate students with a particular religious belief or religious curriculum."
Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here.
Reporting by Jonathan Allen Editing by Bill Berkrot
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
 
magoo said:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/oklahoma-orders-schools-teach-bible-every-classroom-2024-06-27/

Oklahoma orders schools to teach the Bible in every classroom​

By Jonathan Allen
June 27, 202411:42 PM GMT+1Updated 3 days ago



Members of the community read from the Bible during a prayer service at the Arcadia First Baptist Church in Santa Fe

Members of the community read from the Bible during a prayer service at the Arcadia First Baptist Church in Santa Fe, Texas, U.S., May 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman/File photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
June 27 (Reuters) - Oklahoma's Department of Education ordered every teacher in the state to have a Bible in their classroom and to teach from it, in an announcement on Thursday that challenges U.S. Supreme Court rulings that have found state sponsorship of religion to be unconstitutional.
Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's superintendent of public instruction, announced the order with immediate effect at Thursday's Department of Education board meeting, in which he said special attention will be afforded to the Ten Commandments.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue

"Every teacher, every classroom in the state will have a Bible in the classroom, and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom to ensure that this historical understanding is there for every student in the state of Oklahoma," he said.
He called the Bible, the holy scriptures of Judaism and Christianity, one of the "foundational documents of ... Western civilization." He said important historical figures, including civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., referred to the text.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue

Both the Hebrew and Christian Bible include the Jewish prophet Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, while only the Christian Bible includes the New Testament. Walters, who is Christian, did not stipulate which version teachers must use to comply with his order, and his spokesperson declined to answer questions.
The Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment has been interpreted to prohibit the state from sponsoring or establishing any particular religion. The Oklahoma Constitution, opens new tab goes further, stipulating that any public school and spending of public funds must be nonsectarian, and not benefit "any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion."

That part of the state constitution was cited two days before Walters' announcement, when the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down an effort in which Walters was involved to create the first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in the U.S.
The main teachers' labor union in Oklahoma said Walters' Bible order was unconstitutional and that state law said school districts have the right to decide which books are available in their classrooms.

"Teaching about the historical context of religion (and the Bible) is permissible; however, teaching religious doctrine is not permissible," the Oklahoma Education Association said in a statement. "Public schools cannot indoctrinate students with a particular religious belief or religious curriculum."
Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here.
Reporting by Jonathan Allen Editing by Bill Berkrot
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Click to expand...
Screw it, game on. The secularists broke their side of the deal so I fail to see the problem in doing the same.
 
Shaquilleoatmeal said:
Just asking, how specifically did they break their side of the deal?

(Not saying I don’t think they did I just wanna know the specifics.)
Click to expand...
“Government shall make no law establishing religion or preventing the free exercise there off” notice that second part. Where do you want to start.

• prayer in school is ok. You just can’t beat kids who don’t participate.
• you can have nativity scenes in public places
• you can pray in public
• this doesn’t apply to Christian’s alone, many Asian neighborhoods have Buddhist processions.

Problem is our secular government removed these things from PUBLIC which we have a FREE EXERCISE RIGHT. It’s this very grounding that we get the Baphomet statues. However, my own city had to remove its nativity scene from the square when I was young. What gives? I guess this is why I see it as shots fired.

-edit-
In an authentic open society you’re allowed to share your faith in public. So are other faiths. The problem is authentic Christianity would slay and our secular overlords don’t want that. It’s why they were ok with the lukewarm churchianity in the Bush Era. It couldn’t light the world on fire like the more authentic forms cropping up these days.
 
The guy above (CosmicSkeptic/Alex O' Connor) has done quite a turn around in the last few years. First time I heard about him was around 2022 when he was still a Hitchens/Dawkins type of atheist. He's still an atheist but he doesn't have the same vitrol and anger that he did back then. He did a lot of debates with Christians in the last few years and that seems to have tempered his view on Christians all being uneducated simpletons that believe in things without evidence or argument.
 


33484.jpeg

More Young Men Are Now Religious Than Women in the U.S.​

Younger generations of women are less religious than their male counterparts in the United States, according to data from a Statista Consumer Insights survey. This marks a shift, as historically, U.S. women have been the more religious group. As this chart shows, for both genders, religion is becoming less widespread overall.

Christianity is the dominant religion in the U.S. Statista data shows that 51 percent of Gen Z males self-identify as Christian, with the next biggest religious groups Islam (six percent) and Buddhism (two percent). Only six percent of Gen Z men are atheists and 17 percent non-religious. For Gen Z women, 48 percent said their religion is Christianity, while only two percent said Islam and two percent Buddhism. Six percent of Gen Z women are atheists and 22 percent identify as non-religious.
Click to expand...
www.statista.com

Infographic: More Young Men Are Now Religious Than Women in the U.S.

This chart shows the share of U.S. male and female respondents who say they are religious, by generation (in percent).
www.statista.com www.statista.com
 
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