Oklahoma’s superintendent orders public schools to teach the Bible – relying on controversial views about religious freedom

Instruction about the Bible can be legal – the question is how it's done, and what the intent is. Pascal Deloche/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

In the days since Oklahoma’s state superintendent, Ryan Walters, ordered school districts to teach the Bible, he’s been defending his mandate.

For example, he claimed in an interview on NewsNation that the Bible had “been removed from classrooms, and we’re saying, listen, we’re proud to be the first state to bring it back.”