Republicans want students to get religious indoctrination during the school day, but Satanists say they'll have another option for families

Jun 06, 2024

Oklahoma, a state whose education system is ranked worst in the nation by at least one account, is about to give students permission to ditch classes in order to learn more about the Bible. If that happens, however, Satanists are ready to offer lessons of their own.

House Bill 1425 requires public school districts to create what’s known as a “released time course” that would allow students to have excused absences for up to three classes per week (125 classes per year) in order to “attend a course in religious or moral instruction.” Schools would also have to give students elective credit for these courses… even though there’s no set curriculum, and even though the courses wouldn’t have to be taught by licensed or certified teachers.

Which is all a fancy way of saying students would get to skip class to attend Bible study. And there’s nothing that requires those Bible studies to be academically rigorous in any meaningful way.

There are some secular safeguards in place, but they don’t change the calculus much. These religious classes would be taught by outside organizations, parents would have to opt in to letting their students participate, and no school funds would be used for any of this. For example, if students are transported to a local church for these lessons, the church would have to pay for the buses. Students would also have to make up any missed assignments, and they can’t skip certain classes (like English or Math).

That’s why, in theory, this is all legal. But in practice, this is a Christian Nationalist dream come true. That’s because it’s usually evangelical/Catholic churches that have the resources to offer these courses and pay for the costs associated with them.

The practical problems with this are obvious.

Students who skip class for these church lessons—especially if they leave the same class each time—will likely be academically behind their peers, even if they’re skipping an elective. It also makes life harder for those teachers who may have to catch students up on lessons they may have missed so that they can make sense of what’s happening when they’re actually present—it’s the same reason a field trip for one class could have ripple effects on so many other teachers. And while students couldn’t skip certain required classes, they would be able to skip art, music, or gym… which implies that those subjects (and those teachers) aren’t as important for their development.

Plus, churches already have all kinds of ways to indoctrinate children; they don’t need to interrupt the school day to do it.

Then there’s the peer pressure. If your friends are taking this Bible course, and getting prizes and candy while they’re there, you’re going to want to go to, too. That’s not illegal, but it’s another strain on families who are religious minorities. It’s not hard to imagine a public school where, at some point in the day, only Muslim or Jewish students are sitting in class because their Christian peers have gone off to church.

In 2020, when Tennessee passed a law requiring public schools to allow these programs to exist, it meant students could skip up to 180 hours per year. That’s 22.5 full days of instruction, gone.

In Ohio and elsewhere, a Christian ministry called LifeWise Academy has become a powerful force in the “released time” world, offering their courses across the state. They take care of the curriculum, staff, and background checks; local chapters (usually churches) can tap into the network for use in their own local public school districts. NBC News reported in April that the group now has chapters in “more than 300 schools in a dozen states, teaching 35,000 public school students.”

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And while church/state separation is supposed to be maintained, that’s not what actually happens:

Opponents have also documented several instances of teachers and administrators promoting LifeWise to students, either by allowing LifeWise volunteers to visit classrooms, hosting schoolwide assemblies or advertising the program in paperwork sent home to parents — actions that, according to some legal experts, could violate the First Amendment.

All of that brings us back to Oklahoma, where the state is on the verge of passing a law that would create this “released time” so that groups like LifeWise can take even more advantage of an already overwhelmingly Christian state.

The bill passed by a wide margin in the State Senate (38-7 with three absences) and a somewhat slimmer margin in the State House (51-40 with 10 absences). It now awaits a signature from Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Christian Nationalist himself. It’s not a matter of if he’ll sign it; it’s a matter of when.

In case you’re wondering why this bill received so many no votes—25 House Republicans voted against it!—it’s because “time release” programs are already legal due to an old Supreme Court ruling. (A bill like this isn’t necessary; it’s just a symbolic reminder of Christian supremacy.) Depending on how these “released time” classes go, it could also lead to lawsuits. Furthermore, as one Democrat pointed out, it won’t help students do better in their core classes because it’s literally removing instructional time that could be spent elsewhere. Why not let families handle moral and religious instruction while allowing the school to focus on academics?

It’s telling that LifeWise refuses to offer their classes before or after school. They want to waste part of the school day, dammit. They want to be a replacement for secular classes, not an addition to them.

But if Stitt signs this bill, The Satanic Temple says they will begin offering classes of their own via their “Hellion Academy of Independent Learning (HAIL).”

The Satanic Temple believes that public schools should be free from religious influence. We are, however, prepared to ensure our members' children receive the same opportunities as those participating in other religion's programs. By not vetoing HB 1425, Governor Stitt will allow the state to grant elective credit for religious and morality classes taught by The Satanic Temple, making it possible for parents to invite TST's HAIL program to their local public schools as soon as this fall.

Will Governor Stitt make history by being the first to award school credit for classes taught by The Satanic Temple? We'll find out shortly.

There is, of course, a big difference between merely offering those courses and having parents sign their kids up for them. But there is a track record of success here.

June Everett, the campaign director for HAIL, told me they’ve already completed their second year in Pennsylvania and that, yes, “parents were excited to send their children to HAIL.” She added that those parents typically didn’t align with Christian Nationalism or didn’t appreciate biblical indoctrination. As for the curriculum, it’s similar to what The Satanic Temple offers in their After School Satan Clubs, “influenced around and inspired by” the Seven Fundamental Tenets.

If Satanists can create a more entertaining experience for children—perhaps one where kids learn art, music, and other subjects that are far more useful than anything they might learn from the Bible—the peer pressure could very much swing in the other direction.

(Unlike one atheist activist in Ohio, who pretended to have his own “released time” curriculum but never bothered to offer evidence of that, the Satanists have experience putting together alternative programming.)

Ryan Walters, the Christian Nationalist who serves as Oklahoma’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction, has already insisted, “There will be no Satanists in Oklahoma schools.”

He was referring to Satanists taking advantage of a different bill that would allow Christian chaplains in public schools, but the issue is still the same. If he or any other elected official says non-Christian groups cannot provide “released time” classes, you can bet a lawsuit will be forthcoming.

Oklahoma doesn’t need to put itself in this situation. But because Christians are running the show and most Republicans are too cowardly to speak out against it, this bill is almost guaranteed to become law very soon.