Republicans in the US state of Ohio have introduced a bill that would allow history teachers to teach American Christianity in a way that critics say promotes a “revisionist and positive” view of Christianity that violates the First Amendment.
State Republican lawmakers Gary Click and Michael D. Dovilla introduced Ohio House Bill 486 (HB 486), named the "Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act".
The lawmakers state that “the teaching of the historical, positive impact of religion on American history is consistent with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
They add that an “accurate and historical account” of Christianity’s influence on the freedoms and liberties ingrained in American culture is “imperative to reducing ignorance of American history, hate, and violence within our society.”
Lawmakers say the bill allows public school teachers to educate students about the “positive impacts of religion” on American history, including the “authentic history of pilgrims” and the treaty between Native Americans and pilgrims.
The bill also proposes that educators teach students about the religious background of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, how the Ten Commandments shaped American law, and the religious influences behind the Civil Rights movement in key figures such as Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Booker T. Washington, and Frederick Douglass.
Opponents argue that the bill whitewashes history and excludes LGBTQ+ communities. While the First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, there are no references to any religion other than Christianity.
“Deeply embedded in the history of the United States is the appropriation of Christian doctrine to keep the powerful and the wealthy in power and to further oppress the marginalized,” wrote Rev Dr Ben Huelskamp in The Buckeye Flame. “We might not have needed a civil rights movement had it not been that generations of Christian pastors and supposedly Christian leaders used the Bible to support slavery and later the oppression of all people of color.”