Catholic School to get Oklahoma tax dollars!

Weekly Opinion Editorial 

THE RELIGION OF THE UNRELIGIOUS!

by Steve Fair

         On June 5, Oklahoma became the first state in the country to approve a religious charter school.  The 3-2 vote will allow St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School’s application to receive Oklahoma tax dollars.  Immediately after the vote, Dr. Robert Franklin, the board chairman resigned.  Franklin said those who voted to approve did so in direct violation of the state constitution.

     Governor Kevin Stitt applauded the approval, calling it a win for religious and education freedom.  Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the move was unconstitutional and a blow at the heart of religious liberty.  Drummon vowed to challenge the school board’s decision in court.  So did Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a liberal think tank. Ryan Walters, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction, says he urged the board to approve and believes their action gives parents more choices in their child’s education.  Three observations:

     First, government money always comes with strings.  While St. Isidore may get tax dollars, with those funds comes the long arm of government.  Many religious private schools understand that and do not/will not accept government money because they don’t want government poking its unwanted nose into their business.  With tax money comes rules and regulations.  Taking tax dollars invites scrutiny and submission to an overreaching government.   

      Second, tax dollars are already being used to teach a religion-Secular Humanism.  John Dewey, often cited as the most prominent American intellectual in the first half of the 20^th century, is considered be the father of modern public education.  Dewey believed humans can be ethical and moral without a belief in religion or God, aka secular humanism.  Dewey was responsible for transferring some of his radical, secular ideas to the classroom and shaped today’s public education.  Public school textbooks are screened to exclude any reference to religion or God.  They must be secular or non-religious. 

     In 1961, the no-religion/no God ‘secular humanism’ and ‘atheism’ were acknowledged to be a religion in a Supreme Court case.  In Torcaso vs. Watkins, Justice Hugo Black wrote: “The state, nor the federal government, can constitutionally force a person to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion.”  Among the non-religions cited by Black were Secular Humanism.  Black was far from a conservative, but he recognized unbelief was actually a belief system.  Much like when the apostle Paul declared the ‘unknown God’ to the Greeks, Black’s ruling recognized cynicism was confidence.  It takes more faith to believe no one created the world than to believe someone did.

     Third, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has already ruled regarding use of tax dollars by religious schools.  In a 6-3 vote in June 2022, the SCOTUS ruled faith-based schools CAN get public money.  Chief Justice John Roberts  wrote the majority opinion saying Maine’s exclusion of religious schools not being able to get public funding violates the First Amendment. 

     After the SCOTUS ruling, AG Drummond’s predecessor John O’Connor, issued an AG opinion consistent with the SCOTUS ruling.  Drummond defeated O’Connor in the GOP primary and when he was sworn into office, he rescinded O’Connor’s opinion.  In the reversal, Drummond (a lawyer) contended the SCOTUS ruling was narrow and did not carte blanche open the door to religious schools getting tax dollars.  Clearly, Stitt and Walters (not lawyers) disagree. 

     Drummond’s position has angered many conservatives and school choice advocates in GOP ranks.  Some believe Drummond plans to run for governor in 2026.  If that is the case, angering conservatives by taking a stand against religion isn’t the way to the Republican nomination.