Republicans in Ohio want to allow educators in the state to teach the positive impacts of Christianity on America in public schools and charter schools.

Lawmakers in the state’s general assembly this week heard testimony in support of Ohio House Bill 486, known as the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act. Its supporters say the bill would remove the “invisible shackles” on teachers, allowing them to provide “full transparency in the teaching of American history.”

The bill comes as Republican lawmakers in conservative states are increasingly pushing to infuse religious teaching and messaging in public schools. States such as Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas recently passed laws requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, but those laws have been blocked by federal courts and are facing ongoing legal challenges.

One of the sponsors of the Ohio bill, a state representative, Gary Click, told lawmakers he has heard from teachers who feel the law currently prevents them from discussing Christianity’s impact on history. 

Mr. Click said, “This legislation allows Ohio’s educators, when teaching American history, to include instruction on the positive influence of religion — particularly Christianity — on the development of our nation’s ideals, its civic institutions, and its culture.”

“This is not about rewriting history. It is about restoring honesty and depth to the way we teach it,” he added.

Mr. Click said he named the bill after Charlie Kirk because he was “known for being a conservative, and Charlie Kirk was also known for being a Christian.”

“And Charlie often brought to light those historical facts from our history, and people didn’t like to hear that,” he said. 

Democrats took issue with the fact that the bill only mentions Christianity and no other religion. A Democratic representative, Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, said, “The religion part of the First Amendment has two parts to it: the freedom to exercise and the freedom from the government establishing any one religion. This bill only talks about Christianity, so I’m trying to sort out how this specific legislation would not violate the establishment clause.”

Mr. Click responded, “The reason it focuses directly on Christianity is because those are the complaints that I have received personally, is that people don’t feel comfortable teaching that.”

The legislature has considered other religious measures for public schools. Last week, lawmakers passed a bill that allows public and private schools to carry overdose reversal medication, which had an amendment added onto it that provided more flexibility for students to leave school in the middle of the day for religious instruction.