Installing Chaplains In Public Schools: The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions

May 30th, Oklahoma legislators debated a bill that would allow public schools to “employ or accept one or more volunteer chaplains”.

SB36, a bill by Senator Nathan Dahm, was originally a bill dealing with the Freedom of Information Act – allowing the public access to audio and video footage collected by law enforcement from drones or other video and audio sources. It was heard and passed in the Senate on March 1st.

The bill was then introduced as a Committee Substitute in the House General Government Committee (4.9.24) where the original House author (Rep. Jon Echols (R) was removed and Rep. Kevin West (R) was added. The title and all previous language of the original bill was struck in the Committee Substitute and new language added allowing the addition of Chaplains in public schools.

The bill was then heard on the floor of the House (4.24) where it passed 54 to 37.

This process is not at all transparent, firstly. There are many deadlines and rules that control the ways in which bills are introduced into the legislative process and bill language is to be in place prior to the opening of the legislative session. To change the filed language – especially after it has already passed one house of the legislature – creates confusion in Oklahoma citizens that fouls transparency – a process that should not be encouraged by our elected representatives.

This bill is also an excellent example of the ever-blurring line between church and state.

About the bill, Democrat John Waldron remarked:

“The quickest way to kill and erode the value of religious faith in Oklahoma is to cloak it in the coercive power of the state.”

What exactly does he mean?

For America’s Founders, the Establishment Clause in the Constitution was so important that it was listed as number one of all the Amendments. We have only to study the plight of the Pilgrims – who found tremendous religious persecution in their home country of England – to understand why this was such an important issue to our country’s framers.

The foundation of the idea that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”, was that, if the federal government was unable to establish a national church – as England had with the Church of England – then its people would be free to worship as they chose. Additionally, if the state could tell people who, what or when to worship, again, the people could not be free to worship as they chose.

There are also laws regarding religious discrimination in the United States to help make sure no individual is favored, or denigrated, for their belief system in any way.

So, not only can governments within the United States not dictate the religious practices of its citizens, it can’t discriminate among the religious practices of its citizens either for any reason. One individual can’t be allowed to keep a Christian Bible on their desk, while another is fired for wearing a Hijab to work, for example.

According to SB46, “…a chaplain shall be a person who obtains an ecclesiastical endorsement from their faith group certifying that such chaplain is…A minister, rabbi, priest, imam, lay leader, or similar functionary of the faith group…”, and “Sensitive to religious pluralism and able to provide for the free exercise of religion by all students…”

Herein lies the issue; there is a very large difference between the practice of religion privately and the practice of religion inside an government institution.

For example, as a practicing Christian and a citizen of the United States, I would never consider violating the bounds of religious tolerance for those who practice Islam privately. As I have written in another article, however, because Islam has an historic, practiced, hatred of Christianity, I strenuously object to having state tax dollars devoted to the religion in any way. Yet, if a parent who signs up for the ‘school choice’ voucher in Oklahoma chooses to have state money used for their child to be educated in a Madrasa, it will be. If SB46 passes the Senate, an Imam could counsel children in a government school.

And then there’s this.

Lucian Greaves, the head of the Satanic Temple also threatened to establish a school of Satan in Oklahoma after the ‘school choice’ voucher bill was signed. At that time, I mined that matter with several legislators as a reason to vote NO on the voucher bill, but was simply told, “That will never happen in Oklahoma.” Yet, Iowa had to house a Satanic alter in their state capitol building thanks to anti-discrimination measures employed by the Satanic church after several types of Christmas displays were allowed.

Apparently the legislators I spoke to were unaware that After School Satan Clubs are ‘exploding in popularity‘ thanks to free speech lawsuits filed by supporters in response to Christian Good News Clubs allowed to be held on public school campuses. Satan Clubs now have chapters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, and Connecticut.

Here is the video from the After School Satan Club page advertising the club.

Many well-meaning Christians now see public schools for what they are – indoctrination centers for all kinds of un-Christian values – and wonder why they can’t combat the religion of Climate Change, LGBTQIA+, or SEL by inserting Christian values instead. After all, US public schools were infused with Christianity until 1962 when the US Supreme Court decided that prayer in schools created an establishment of religion (Engel vs Vitale). Why not work to bring that back?

As a Christian, I get it, but Christianity in America isn’t the same today as it was in the 1960’s, and any way used to pump Christianity into ANY public institution will cause an output of taxpayer resources for an equal amount of anything from Islam to Satanism. Is that really what Christians want?

So do Christians just give up on the idea of our mission to bring others to Christ? Absolutely NOT.

First of all, we need to do everything we can to make sure schools are focusing on their abysmal proficiency scores ONLY. Toward that end, we should lobby to get any after school social clubs removed from government schools altogether.

Then, Christians could concentrate on creating private organizations to pick up kids and transport them to churches for after school Bible lessons and tutoring help. Many parents would appreciate the ability to work later hours and have their child get help in their studies – their child’s exposure to Christianity would just be a bonus.

Yes, a return to Christ would help all society, but we must not allow ourselves to fight that battle in government schools. We must absolutely realize that if we do, we’ll open the door to taxpayer supported religious messages from groups that will warp the minds of students to their own ends – including turning them against Christianity – no matter how pure our intentions.