A Republican governor is pushing for the presence of faith in schools after arguing that most people misunderstand the First Amendment.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is pushing back at critics who she believes misunderstand the First Amendment, specifically over the presence of faith in public institutions. The Republican leader appeared in a podcast to share her thoughts on religious freedom in schools.
"I have been, over the last 10 years, just constantly surprised by the amount of people who think that religion and prayer cannot be in our schools," Gov. Noem told "The Prodigal Stories Podcast." "And that that is what our Constitution and Founders intended, which is not true whatsoever."
Gov. Noem argued that the real purpose of the constitutional language surrounding religious freedom was to safeguard religion that "could not be unduly burdened by the government," Faithwire reported. The Republican governor added that Americans' "freedom of religion is incredibly important," a strong belief that is at the core of her legislative journey to protect prayer in public schools.
Previously, Gov. Noem championed "A Moment of Silence," a now-defunct bill that would require learning institutions to establish a moment in which students could "pray in schools at the start of every school day," or simply use the time to reflect. Fellow Republicans in the committee shot down the bill, which disheartened Gov. Noem, who believed it was unfortunate that her own party members derailed the prayer effort. She urged that the public school system must be a place where religious freedom is defended and clarified.
"I think that it was a discussion necessary to have in our public school systems," Gov. Noem remarked. "It would have allowed them to have a moment of silence every day that gave the students an opportunity to reflect, pray, meditate, have a moment where they found a purpose in how they were going to approach their day."
Gov. Noem said she wanted every faculty, teacher, and student to know they are free to pray in schools. She is determined to push for the legislation despite it being blocked by the GOP-dominated House Education Committee.
Religious freedom in schools is not the only advocacy Gov. Noem is fighting for as this week, she signed an executive order targeting critical race theory in state schools. According to Fox News, the move came after the GOP-led state Senate Education Committee rejected a similar measure that she previously proposed.
On Thursday, Gov. Noem signed an executive order aimed at prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 state schools. The order requires South Dakota's Department of Education to ensure that educational materials do not have any "divisive concepts" based on race.
"Political indoctrination has no place in our classrooms," Gov. Noem said in a statement. "Our children will not be taught that they are racists or that they are victims and they will not be compelled to feel responsible for the mistakes of their ancestors."
"We will guarantee that our students learn America's true and honest history - that includes both our triumphs and our mistakes," Gov. Noem promised.
