Legal, political and faith-based opposition is mounting against Oklahoma’s action clearing the way for the nation’s first religious charter school. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State announced preparations are under way for legal action after the Oklahoma…
Momentum is building to stop an execution in Oklahoma
Legislative and religious momentum is building to spare the life of a condemned Oklahoma inmate and to seek a moratorium — if not an outright ban — on the state’s capital punishment system. Lawmakers and a former parole and pardons…
Oklahoma could have nation’s first publicly funded Catholic charter schools
A Catholic charter school funded by taxpayer dollars is likely coming to Oklahoma soon, based on a recent ruling of the state’s outing attorney general, with support from the re-elected governor and newly elected state superintendent of public education. For…
Oklahoma elects secretary of education who wants to require training in ‘Christian’ version of American history
The man elected to lead Oklahoma public schools for the next four years believes the state’s teachers all need remedial education from a conservative evangelical school in Michigan in order to teach “true history” that favors “Judeo-Christian values.” Republican candidate…
Faith leaders call for urgent opposition to Oklahoma plan to execute an inmate a month for two years
The state of Oklahoma has announced an unprecedented plan to execute 25 inmates over a two-year period beginning this month, about one execution per month. This plan will clear out more than half the current population on Oklahoma’s Death Row,…
Baptist pastor Wade Burleson running for Congress from Oklahoma
A well-known Oklahoma Baptist pastor announced Feb. 1 that he will challenge a 28-year incumbent to represent the state’s Third Congressional District. If elected, Wade Burleson would be the second Oklahoma Baptist pastor currently serving in Congress; Oklahoma Sen. James…
American support for death penalty remains low, as new debates arise in Oklahoma, Ohio and Texas
New research has documented Americans’ continued low support for capital punishment just as an anti-death penalty campaign ramps up in Ohio, conservatives in Oklahoma worry the practice could be endangered in their state, and the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to…
CBF Oklahoma prepares to welcome influx of Afghan refugees
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Oklahoma will participate in an unfolding interfaith effort to welcome 1,800 Afghan evacuees expected to arrive in the Sooner state by the end of the year, Coordinator Kyle Tubbs said. “We will absolutely be involved…
The Tulsa Race Massacre is personal to me, and remembering is a holy act
1921 is personal to me. It is personal for two reasons. 1921 was the year of my mother’s birth in Muskogee, Okla. Had she lived, she would be 100 years old this coming September. My mom used to say, “If…