Oklahoma schools chief spars with CNN host over teaching the Bible in classrooms in heated interview

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Oklahoma Schools chief debates CNN host over Bible teaching in classroom

Ryan Walters defended a new mandate requiring the Bible and 10 Commandments to be incorporated into classroom lessons, while on CNN.

Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters defended a new mandate requiring the Bible to be incorporated into classroom lessons during a heated clash on CNN on Tuesday.

"The Bible includes beheading, rape and incest," CNN host Pamela Brown said to Walters at the start of the interview. "Do you support teaching children about those topics?"

Walters did not directly address Brown's question, but explained that referencing the Bible was necessary to understand historical documents and important events in our nation's history, from its founding to the Civil Rights movement. 

"It had a profound influence on American history. It was the best-selling book in American history. To not teach that in the classroom is academic malpractice," he told Brown.

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Oklahoma Schools Chief Ryan Walters debated CNN's Pamela Brown on the Bible being taught in Oklahoma public schools on CNN on Tuesday.

The two sparred as Brown continued to press him to answer if the more graphic elements in the Bible were acceptable in the classroom.

"Will you allow teachers to teach all aspects of the Bible? How are teachers supposed to know what of the Bible to teach and what not to teach? It's a simple question," she asked again, before referencing the conservative figure's fight to eradicate pornographic books from school classrooms and libraries.

"Let me be crystal clear: The Bible is not on the same plane as ‘Gender Queer’ and ‘Flamer,’ Walters retorted. "These are pornography."

"We have academic standards that tell our teachers that you are to talk about the Bible in reference to the Mayflower Compact, letters from a Birmingham Jail, the Declaration of Independence," he continued. "It‘s very clear from primary sources that these individuals referenced in our history, they referenced the Bible. So, look, when it‘s historically accurate, we're absolutely going to include that. I mean, think about how absurd it would be to teach about the Pilgrims if you don‘t mention their intention for moving to the New World? It‘s crucial and we‘re not going to allow the radical Left to continue to push a false history on our kids that said that faith played no role. Well, just read the history. It’s clearly there."

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A new mandate in Oklahoma requires public school teachers to incorporate the Bible as a reference in history lessons, the school superintendent argued. (iStock)

Brown continued to push back on Walters' arguments, offering counterpoints to his stance on the influence of the Bible and Christianity on the founding of America.

"We should note… God is not mentioned in the Constitution. It is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, but not a Christian God, right, and it also says that all men are created equal. And one would argue it‘s not creating a stature of, ‘If you‘re a Christian, if you believe in the Bible, you are of a higher stature,’" she responded. 

Walters maintained his argument and told the CNN host, "People can be offended by that, they may not like it, but they can't rewrite our history."

"To censor the Bible out of our schools is to create our schools to be state-sponsored atheist centers," he continued. "Our position is purely historical."

The new directive from the top education official requires all public schools in Oklahoma to add the Bible and the Ten Commandments as "instructional support into the curriculum across specified grade levels." The religious text will be referenced as appropriate in the study of "history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion…as well as for their substantial influence on our nation’s founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution," the memo states.

Walters said in the memo that his directive aligns with educational standards approved in May 2019.

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Although Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill into law last week requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom by 2025, Walters says Oklahoma is the first state to require the Bible be used in all classrooms, effective immediately.

Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this article.