Pruitt Defends Bible Distribution In Schools, Plans To Fight Attack On Religious Freedoms
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt defends Bible distribution in schools, says ‘religious freedoms are under attack’
BY ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has sent a letter to public school superintendents across the state vowing to defend religious freedom amid “veiled legal threats” over the distribution of Bibles on campus.
“Few things are as sacred and as fundamental to Oklahomans as the constitutional rights of free speech and the free exercise of religion,” Pruitt wrote Tuesday. “It is a challenging time in our country for those who believe in religious liberty. Our religious freedoms are under constant attack from a variety of groups who seek to undermine our constitutional rights and threaten our founding principles.”
Aaron Cooper, a spokesman, said Pruitt’s office is trying to determine the extent of contact between the Freedom From Religion Foundation and similar groups and Oklahoma school districts. From that information, legal training on the topic of religious freedom will be developed for public school officials, he said.
Andrew Seidel, an attorney at the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said his organization wrote to 26 Oklahoma school districts in February after receiving complaints that Jamison Faught, the adult son of state Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee, had been working with Gideons International to distribute Bibles to public school students in numerous districts.