Just four days ago I published a post about how the state of Louisiana had just enacted a law mandating that the Ten Commandments be prominently displayed in all public school classrooms grades Kindergarten through 12th grade and in all state-funded universities, making Louisiana the first state in the nation issue such a mandate.

Today, on my iPhone’s newsfeed I just saw this headline:

Oklahoma state superintendent orders public schools to teach the Bible in grades 5 through 12

Oklahoma’s top education official ordered public schools today to incorporate the Christian Bible into lessons for grades 5 through 12, the latest effort by conservatives to promote the Christian religion in secular, public school classrooms. The order sent to districts across the state by Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters says adherence to the mandate is compulsory and immediate and strict compliance is expected.

“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” Walters said in a statement. “Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction.”

The directive drew immediate condemnation from civil rights groups and supporters of the separation of church and state, with some calling it an abuse of power and a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

“Public schools are not Sunday schools,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, in a statement. “This is textbook Christian Nationalism: Walters is abusing the power of his public office to impose his religious beliefs on everyone else’s children.”

The directive is the latest salvo in an effort by conservative-led states to target public schools: Louisiana has required them to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, while others are under pressure to teach the Bible and ban books and lessons about race, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

I know that a lot of Christians believe that the United States either is or should be a Christian nation. But the fact is that the United States is a secular nation and it says so in the very first line of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof

Requiring public schools to teach the Christian Bible is tantamount to the promotion of the Christian religion above any and all other religions, as America’s national religion. Will the next step be to ship Jewish kids, Muslim kids, and children having been brought up in non-Christian households to “Christian Indoctrination and Reeducation Camps”?

Can we count on the far-right, Christian fundamentalist majority on the Supreme Court to find that such an order is in clear violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? I’m not holding my breath.