An outrageous new resolution introduced in the Oklahoma Legislature “proclaiming Christ is King” is an un-American attack on religious freedom and needs to be deep-sixed.
The resolution states: “That the Oklahoma State Legislature hereby proclaims ‘Christ is King,’ recognizing the spiritual significance of this declaration to many of its citizens and honoring the role of faith in the history and culture of Oklahoma.”
FFRF points out how the history of the United States illustrates the falsity of such a notion.
“The revolutionaries who founded the United States threw the king out,” says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “Along with rejecting a monarchy, they deliberately adopted a godless Constitution, whose only references to religion are exclusionary, and which forbids the government from establishing any religion.”
The Oklahoma Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 is a variation of legislation introduced in North Dakota that deservedly died a quick death there, although it spawned a copycat resolution in Montana. The Oklahoma resolution, while jettisoning the bible verses in the original, is nevertheless a brazen attempt to inject Christian nationalism into government and is a clear violation of the First Amendment.
In a patently unpersuasive attempt to try to justify the resolution’s unconstitutional purpose, the legislation insists that “this resolution is not intended to establish any religion or infringe upon the rights of any individual.”
FFRF isn’t buying it. The resolution goes on to say, “This proclamation serves as an expression of gratitude for the blessings bestowed upon the State of Oklahoma and as a recognition of the enduring influence of Christian faith in the lives of its people.” It also insists that the phrase “‘Christ is King’ represents a declaration of faith for millions of Oklahomans and Christians worldwide, symbolizing the sovereignty of Jesus Christ.”
However, the U.S. Constitution explicitly places sovereignty not in a divinity, but in “We, the People,” FFRF maintains.
Majority does not rule when it comes to matters of conscience and faith, Barker adds. Everyone in the state of Oklahoma could identify as Christian and yet Oklahoma, under the state and federal constitutions, still could not proclaim Christianity to be the state religion.
Nevertheless, the latest “Religious Landscape Survey” by Pew Research Center shows that 26 percent of Oklahomans have no religion and are either atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular.” Another 2 percent identity with religions other than Christianity. These citizens cannot be treated as second class or be asked by the Legislature to bow down to someone else’s deity.
FFRF calls on Oklahoma lawmakers to honor their oath to uphold the U.S. and Oklahoma Constitutions and to swiftly and soundly reject this unconstitutional resolution.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 42,000 members nationwide and hundreds in Oklahoma. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
