United States | God and grades

Pious pupils in America perform better

But that does not justify Republican efforts to put Christianity into classrooms

An illustration of a high school student taking notes dictated by God's hand.
Photograph: Leon Edler
|Washington, DC

Religion is making a comeback in American public schools, and Republicans are leading the charge. In April Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, signed a bill to allow clergy in public schools (Texas and Louisiana have passed similar laws). In June Louisiana passed a law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public-school classroom. A week later Oklahoma’s state superintendent directed all public schools to teach the Bible.

Explore more

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “God and grades”

From the August 17th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from United States

Xiaohongshu And TikTok Logos

A protest against America’s TikTok ban is mired in contradiction

Another Chinese app is not the alternative some young Americans think it is

Joe Biden drives a machine that's rolling out a carpet of the US flag for Donald Trump to walk on

How Joe Biden wound up serving Donald Trump

In some ways, his administration will look less like an interregnum than like MAGA-lite


Kids skate at the Venice Skatepark in LA, which is covered in ashes as smoke rises from the Palisades Fire

How bad will the smoke be for Angelenos’ health?

Expect more sickness and disrupted schooling


Should you have to prove your age before watching porn?

America’s Supreme Court weighs a Texan law aimed at protecting kids

Tulsi Gabbard, Sean Penn and the hunt for an American hostage

A controversial trip to Syria in 2017 produced a possible sighting of Austin Tice, an imprisoned journalist

How flush Americans feel depends on their views of Donald Trump

Republicans expect a Trumponomics boom, Democrats dread a bust