Oklahoma officials are laying the groundwork to introduce Christianity into the state’s public school system. Spearheading this movement is Ryan Walters, the state’s superintendent for public instruction, who has made it clear that he intends to bring “God back to schools” and reintroduce prayer into the classroom. Walters announced this agenda during a Family Research Council meeting in September last year as part of a panel discussion titled “Strategies for Saving America’s Schools and School Children.”
This marks a significant shift in Walters’s career. Less than a decade ago, he was a celebrated U.S. history and Advanced Placement world-history teacher who was even a finalist for Oklahoma’s Teacher of the Year award. His approach to teaching once included interactive lessons like re-enacting historical debates, including the 1824 debate on Indian removal. Now, he has become a self-styled “culture warrior” who dismisses the constitutional separation of church and state as a “myth” created by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Walters’s shift in ideology can be traced back to a specific moment. During a training lunch nearly a decade ago, he claims to have been alarmed by colleagues expressing discomfort with teaching the Declaration of Independence due to Thomas Jefferson’s status as a slave owner. Walters reportedly challenged them, arguing that they had overlooked the larger impact of the Declaration, which he says acknowledged human rights as coming from God and changed the course of human history. This moment, Walters claims, solidified his mission to restore what he sees as America’s Judeo-Christian roots in education.
Since becoming Oklahoma’s top education official, Walters has taken bold steps to integrate these values into the curriculum. One of his most controversial moves has been lobbying the state legislature to fund the purchase of Bibles for public school classrooms, specifically advocating for Trump-endorsed versions like the “God Bless the U.S.A.” Bible and the “We the People” Bible. Walters also formed an executive committee to review Oklahoma’s social studies standards. This committee includes prominent conservative figures such as Dennis Prager, founder of the conservative media organization PragerU, and Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation and a key architect of Project 2025, a conservative plan for federal government reform.
Shortly after taking office in January 2023, Walters established the Oklahoma Advisory Committee on Founding Principles. According to documents obtained by the watchdog group American Oversight, the committee’s mission includes “Putting God Back in the Classroom.” One of the most ambitious goals emerging from this effort is the creation of the nation’s first religious charter school. This proposal could upend longstanding precedents in American education and potentially challenge the interpretation of the constitutional separation of church and state.
Walters’s push for religious education has not gone unnoticed. His efforts have drawn national attention, with some speculating that he could be a contender to lead the Department of Education in a future Trump administration, despite previously calling Trump a “charlatan” in 2016. Over the past year, his influence has grown as he aligns himself with prominent conservative thought leaders and reshapes Oklahoma’s educational landscape.
While critics argue that Walters’s actions undermine constitutional principles and threaten to blur the line between church and state, his supporters see him as a champion of traditional American values. The introduction of a religious charter school would undoubtedly spark legal challenges, as opponents are likely to argue that it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Still, Walters appears undeterred, framing his efforts as a necessary step to restore what he believes to be America’s foundational principles.
As the movement to integrate Christianity into Oklahoma’s public education system gains momentum, its consequences could extend far beyond state borders. The establishment of a religious charter school could serve as a test case for similar initiatives nationwide, setting the stage for a broader legal battle over the role of religion in public education. All eyes are now on Oklahoma, where Walters’s agenda is poised to redefine the relationship between education, faith, and the state.
