Singer Lee Greenwood is teaming up with the superintendent of Oklahoma’s public schools in a bid to secure the funding necessary to ensure the placement of the “God Bless the USA Bible” in classrooms across the state as the effort faces pushback from the courts and lawmakers.
In a statement Thursday, the Oklahoma Department of Education announced a partnership with the 82-year-old Greenwood, a country artist known for his signature song “God Bless the U.S.A.,” for a “nationwide campaign to donate Bibles to classrooms across the state of Oklahoma.”
The agency defended the collaborative effort, saying it seeks to bring “foundational texts into the educational system, emphasizing their historical and cultural significance.”
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“The Bible is indispensable in understanding the development of Western civilization and American exceptionalism, history, and all similar subjects,” said Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters. “The ongoing attempts to remove it from our classrooms is an attack on the foundation of our country.”
The department identified the fundraiser as necessary in light of “significant opposition from the Legislature,” which has “stripped all funding away from getting Bibles into the classroom.”
Additionally, a decision issued Monday by the Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Dustin Rowe blocked the Education Department’s measure that would have purchased 55,000 Bibles for public schools across the state.
The fundraiser’s official website says it seeks to provide copies of the Greenwood-endorsed “God Bless The USA Bible” to “as many schools as within the State of Oklahoma Department of Education as possible.”
“The God Bless The USA Bible makes a strong visual connection of the [King James Version] translation (red letter edition) along with our nation’s Founding Father Documents — The US Constitution, The Bill of Rights, The Declaration of Independence, and The Pledge of Allegiance — providing a profound visible teaching asset for all.”
Individual Bibles are available for purchase and donation to the Oklahoma Department of Education at the price of $59.99.
The “God Bless the USA Bible” made headlines during Holy Week last March when then-presidential candidate Donald Trump announced the endeavor as a partnership between himself and Greenwood, whose signature song is a staple at Trump’s rallies.
Trump said that “religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country.”
“I think it’s one of the biggest problems we have,” Trump added. “That’s why our country is going haywire. We’ve lost religion in our country.”
Trump’s promotion of the “God Bless the USA Bible” drew mixed reactions from Christian leaders. Some think it could encourage people to read the Bible, while others view the fusing of Scripture with America’s founding documents to be a “syncretistic expression of civil religion.”
Greenwood endorsed the effort to stock Oklahoma classrooms with Bibles on X last week, describing the Bible as “the most influential document in American history” and encouraging his followers to “join the fight.”
Walters first announced his directive ordering the placement of a Bible in every classroom in the state last year. In an interview with The Christian Post, Walters pushed back on the idea that the directive was unconstitutional.
“To not have the Bible prominently part of a historical curriculum, of this historical context in American history, is unacceptable,” he said. “We want our kids to know more about American history than any other kid, and that includes understanding the role that the Bible plays in our history.”
The department described the push to put Bibles in the state’s classrooms as part of “a commitment to providing students with access to materials that offer profound religious context.”
“The inclusion of the Bible in classrooms is viewed not only as a religious text but as a pivotal document that has shaped societal values, legal systems, and cultural norms,” the agency claims.
The office of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said last year that Walters doesn’t have legal authority to dictate the content of curriculum that is taught in local public schools.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
