Letter to the Editor of the Oklahoman

I find it ironic that just weeks after the death of Jamie Coots, the snake handling preacher in Kentucky, the Oklahoman published an Op-Ed by State Representative John Bennett encouraging our State Senate to pass his misguided "Religious Freedom Anti-Discrimination Act."

Bennett's bill creates an open forum for religious debate in every classroom. Litigation seeking a voice for every religious belief will certainly proliferate like the lawsuits for religious monuments on the grounds of the state capital.

Do our legislators really want Oklahoma's science teachers to split instructional time between the conclusions of medical science and the religious beliefs of snake handlers?

Public school instruction and policies must remain neutral in regard to religion because they educate children from families of every faith and no faith. The proper domain for religious education is the family's home and house of worship -- not the public schools.