Who Writes History?

Last Friday, Professor Kathleen Wellman joined us to talk about her book Hijacking History: How the Christian Right Teaches History and Why it Matters.

She's an acclaimed educator who's studied this topic for years in the heart of Christian nationalism: Texas' Southern Methodist University. Don't miss her unique insights into how the religious right whitewashes and rewrites history to make themselves seem like the "good guys." 

Click here to watch on Secular AZ's YouTube channel. 

In-Person Secular AZ Events

Hey secular Arizonans! You've been telling us you want more in-person events... and we listened. Save the date for not one, but TWO in-person events. 

Please join us on December 29 for our first-ever Secular Community Celebration at the Humanist Center in Mesa. And on January 4th, we'll meet for our annual Secular Summit at Shadow Rock UCC in Phoenix. 

What Vouchers Have Wrought

It's no secret that Secular AZ opposes unchecked school voucher expansion. We stand against attempts to funnel taxpayer money away from public schools and into unaccountable, non-transparent private schools that can discriminate against students. 

And as Save Our Schools Arizona points out, it's already-marginalized populations that bear the brunt of "school choice." Just one example: The Roosevelt School District is considering closing up to five schools, all of which serve as crucial community hubs. 

All of the schools on the chopping block have a student enrollment that's at least 96% (or more) children of color. In addition, a majority of families served by these five schools are low-income. 

Closing public schools harms all of us. We strongly recommend that you attend your local school board meetings and be ready to speak up in favor of the public schools that provide so much for our communities. 

Things Aren't OK in OK

Oklahoma public schools stand as a prime example of what happens when Christian nationalists take over and push their agenda. 

In our last newsletter, we discussed how OK Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters tried to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on Trump bibles for schools, added Trump bibles to the syllabus for AP Government courses, and required teachers to play videos of himself praying for Trump in classrooms.

We loved the reports of educators across Oklahoma flat-out refusing to comply with these ridiculous (and unconstitutional) demands. ✊ 

In response, Walters came out this week and said that the teachers who refused to teach the Bible were indoctrinating students. Yes, you read that right: The teachers who refused to push his specific religious perspective are the ones doing the indoctrinating.

RIP irony.