Education

By Andrew Seidel Christian nationalists are always looking for ways to use our public schools to promote their warped, revisionist version of U.S. history. Myths like Christianity and the Bible playing a central role at the Constitutional Convention (nope, and it didn’t include a formal prayer either), like George Washington praying in the snow at Valley Forge …

By Lisa Needham A federal district court in Iowa ruled last week in favor of a religious student group that openly rejects LGBTQ individuals—a victory in the ongoing conservative battle to give religious organizations license to discriminate in the name of faith. The case stems from a conservative Christian student group at the University of Iowa that sought …

By Sophie Lewis An elementary school in Britain has canceled its performances of a musical on evolution after complaints from some Christian parents over some of its lyrics. About 90 students were preparing to perform “Darwin Rocks!,” a musical about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, next month at Hartford Manor Primary School — …

By Hemant Mehta Some state legislators try to push Creationism into science classrooms by using coded language. For example, they say they want schools to teach the “strengths and weaknesses” of various scientific ideas. But South Carolina Republican Reps. Dwight A. Loftis and James Mikell “Mike” Burns never got that memo. They’re the sponsors of House Bill 3826, …

By Hemant Mehta Virginia State Sen. Charles Carrico is one of several Republicans across the country to introduce a Project Blitz-inspired piece of legislation to push the Bible in public schools. His bill, SB 1502, would force public school districts in the state to offer Bible courses to students. While the bill calls for religious neutrality, forcing such classes on …

By Sean Ross Public school students in Alabama could soon be allowed to study the Bible as an official elective class offering. Senator Tim Melson (R-Florence) has prefiled legislation that would allow the Bible to be taught as an elective for grades six to twelve and require the State Board of Education to adopt rules and policies to …

By Emily L. Mahoney A bill that would allow school districts to teach Florida students alternatives to concepts deemed “controversial theories” — such as human-caused climate change and evolution — has been filed in the state Legislature. The language of the bill sounds fairly unremarkable, requiring only that schools “shall” teach these “theories” in a …

By Hemant Mehta Illinois is the latest state with a Christian legislator pushing for “In God We Trust” signs in every public school. House Bill 341, filed by Republican State Rep. Darren Bailey, would allow schools to display the phrase in a “conspicuous location inside or outside each school building.” It wouldn’t be mandatory, so there’s …

By Aaron Rupar President Donald Trump began the first week post-shutdown with a seemingly odd (for Trump) and random endorsement of Bible study in public schools, an issue that’s never been a central component of his agenda. The Monday morning tweet made some sense when Twitter users saw a segment about “Bible literacy bills” was …

By Hemant Mehta Earlier this month, after Karen Pence announced she was teaching art classes at an anti-gay Christian school, “Exvangelical” Christopher Stroop began a hashtag #ExposeChristianSchools encouraging people to share their own experiences. A lot of them were obviously disturbing. There were stories about whitewashed history, misguided science, a lack of sensible sex education, and lots of bullying. They weren’t …

By Brett Samuels President Trump on Monday embraced proposals from lawmakers in six states that would allow public schools to offer Bible literacy classes. The president’s tweet came shortly after the subject was discussed on “Fox & Friends.” “Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn …

By Chris Dunker “In God We Trust” first appeared on United States currency in 1864, at the height of the Civil War, before it was adopted as the national motto during the advent of the Cold War in 1956. The text, which is part of the little-sung fourth verse of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” appears in …