God’s Charter? Blocked by the Supreme Court, Praise Be!

So Oklahoma tried to go full Handmaid’s Tale and build a taxpayer-funded religious charter school. And just when it looked like St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School was about to start baptizing your WiFi signal, the Supreme Court threw a divine wrench in the machinery.

Technically they tied—4 to 4, thanks to Amy Coney Barrett awkwardly ghosting the case. But that tie lets the lower court’s block stand. No Jesus-grammed homework (yet).

Oklahoma's Theocracy Ambition: Church on the Taxpayer's Dime

This wasn't some back-alley Bible club gone rogue. The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore, a fully Catholic online school, to operate as a public charter school.

And they weren’t even coy about it. The school’s application openly stated it would operate “in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church.” Mass, rosaries, doctrine—the works. And the public? They’d be paying for it.

This wasn’t about “values.” It was about taxpayer-funded evangelism. And it would've been a blueprint for religious grift nationwide.

Legal Smackdown: The Lawsuit That (Temporarily) Saved Secular Education

Enter Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), the ACLU, and Americans United. Together, they sued the state of Oklahoma for treating the Establishment Clause like a suggestion instead of a rule.

A lower court agreed. Barrett recused herself, and the 4–4 deadlock means the block stands—for now.

“This is not a win in the conventional sense,” said FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. “But it blocks this egregious violation for now. We’ll keep fighting.”

Why Atheists, Secularists, and Basically Anyone With a Brain Should Care

• 🚨 It would've made religious indoctrination a public education norm.
• 💸 Taxpayer dollars funding faith-based nonsense? Nah.
• 🧱 The blueprint was ready for national replication.

Christian nationalism is itching to dismantle public institutions one state at a time—and education is the golden goose.

The Bigger Picture: Christian Nationalism Goes to School

It started with cases like Carson v. Makin and Espinoza v. Montana, where SCOTUS chipped away at secular funding laws. Oklahoma just pushed it to its theocratic limit—and they nearly got away with it.

This isn’t about school choice. It’s about state-sponsored belief systems disguised as “curriculum.”

What Comes Next? (Spoiler: More Bullsh*t)

Oklahoma’s not backing down. Neither are red states watching from the wings. And SCOTUS? Next time Barrett stays in, and the tiebreaker could go full evangelical.

If you want to see what that future looks like, read our post on Christian nationalism’s hypocrisy in politics or how televangelists fleece the flock with prosperity gospel BS.

Final Take: Burn the Blueprint, Not the Books

Secular public education isn’t just a policy preference. It’s a guardrail against theocracy. If the state gets to decide your child’s faith—or lack thereof—you’re already too late.

Celebrate this delay, sure. But remember: the next bill, the next case, the next Christian nationalist “school” is already in the works.

Stay loud. Stay vigilant. Stay godless.