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The Ohio House voted during Wednesday’s House meeting to advance a bill that would require public schools and public universities to teach about the positive impact of the Judeo-Christian religion on American history.
Ohio House Bill 486also known as Charlie Kirk American Heritage Actit now heads to the Ohio Senate for consideration.
All Ohio Democrats present at Wednesday’s session voted against the bill.
Kirk, a political activist who founded Turning Point USA and often spoke about his Christian faith, was killed Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University.
Republican state representatives Gary Click and Mike Dovilla introduced HB 486 less than two months ago.
The bill originally only mentioned Christianity, but an amendment by the House Education Committee expanded the scope of the bill to include Christianity Judeo-Christianity.
“We’re not talking about indoctrination,” Click said. “We’re not talking about preaching to disciples. We’re not talking about narrative religions. We’re not talking about a Bible course. We’re talking about actual events in history.”
With the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses constituting the First and Second Clauses of the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights, the United States Constitution is the most significant document in history establishing religious freedom in the nation since its founding.
“The bill violates the First Amendment because the government has no interest in supporting or promoting a particular religious tradition,” said Ohio Rep. Sean Brennan, R-Parma.
“I have never had a teacher tell me before that they were afraid to teach about the positive or negative impact of religion on American history.”
The bill outlines several teachable examples, including the history of the Pilgrims, the religious backgrounds of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the influence of religion on the U.S. Constitution, Benjamin Franklin’s call to prayer at the constitutional convention, the separation of church and state, the role of the Ten Commandments “in shaping American law,” the influence of religion on the civil rights movement and the influence of evangelist Billy Graham, among others, according to the bill’s language.
“These are examples,” Click said. “This is not an exhaustive list, but these are examples that can help teachers understand what they can teach and what is legal or legal.”
History teachers already teach it in Ohio classrooms, said Brennan, the former teacher.
“I presented many of the documents mentioned in this bill,” he said. “…A teacher has nothing to fear unless he or she proselytizes,” Brennan said.
“The constitution does not prohibit us from teaching about religion. It prohibits us from promoting it. There is a big difference in that.”
The religions of America’s Founding Fathers varied greatly, but the majority were Protestant. Many came from Anglican, Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches, some from Quakers, Lutherans and Dutch Reformed, and some Catholics.
A significant minority of the founders were Unitarians or deists, who believed in a supreme creator but not in divine intervention. These include Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine.
Follow the OCJ reporter Megan Henry in Bluesky.
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