To the editor: As his editorial notes, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters went to great lengths to specify that the Christian Bible and the Ten Commandments should be prominently featured in history lessons, among other subjects, in public schools. (“Religious Liberty Under Attack in Oklahoma Schools,” editorial, Aug. 1)
Hopefully he'll add more guidance on “thou shalt not kill.” After all, early American Christians got rid of women considered pagan witches by hanging them in gruesome ways. And later, the Ku Klux Klan, using Christian memes like crosses and prayers, perpetrated gruesome lynchings of African Americans well into the 20th century.
I can see it coming: Walters and his pious brethren in the red states will accuse learned historians of inventing something resembling a critical race theory — say, a critical theory of faith — the better to promote an education that glosses over uncomfortable stories of religiously rooted crime and bigotry.
If only schoolchildren in red states could be spared the conflicts of the culture war.
Mr. Edward Alston, Santa Monica
