HB1491 asks a simple but controversial question: Did America remove faith from public education… or remove history itself? Tennessee lawmakers are moving to put religious liberty and biblical context back into the classroom.
Tennessee legislators are advancing a bill that represents a long-overdue course correction in public education. House Bill 1491, if passed, restores respect for religious liberty, acknowledges the nation’s Christian heritage, and protects the constitutional rights of students and families of faith.
Representative Gino Bulso filed HB 1491, the Protecting Religious Liberty and Expression in Public Schools Act, which seeks to ensure public schools do not exclude religious expression or biblical instruction under an expansive and historically inaccurate interpretation of “separation of church and state.”
For many Christian parents and advocates, the legislation addresses a central concern: that faith has been systematically pushed out of public life, particularly in education, despite the Constitution’s clear protection of the free exercise of religion.
The Bible is Foundational
HB1491 requires public schools to teach the Bible as a foundational text in literature and history. The bill emphasizes that this instruction is academic, not devotional, and focuses on the Bible’s influence on Western civilization, moral philosophy, and the development of American law.
From the Founding Fathers to the civil rights movement, biblical principles have shaped the nation’s understanding of justice, human dignity, and liberty. Excluding the Bible from education creates historical illiteracy and deprives students of essential context. Students cannot fully understand American history without understanding the biblical worldview that shaped it, and this legislation will restore that missing context.
Participation in Bible teaching is not mandatory. Parents and eligible students retain the right to opt out, preserving freedom of conscience while ensuring access for families who desire such instruction.
Religious Expression & Prayer
The bill also protects the right of students and school personnel to engage in voluntary prayer or the reading of religious texts, not exclusive to Christianity, during designated periods. Written parental consent is required for minors, and participation is strictly optional.
Prayer/personal expression of faith should not be treated as a disruption or a prohibited act simply because it occurs on school grounds. This legislation affirms that religious liberty does not end at the schoolhouse door, as it is a fundamental part of identity.
Progress in Other States
Tennessee’s legislative effort follows similar initiatives in other states, most notably Oklahoma. In 2024, on the heels of Louisiana passing a bill requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public schools, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced measures to require Bible instruction and ensure that Bibles were available in public school classrooms. While these efforts drew legal challenges and debate over implementation, Oklahoma demonstrated a growing willingness among state leaders to push back against decades of religious exclusion in public education.
Representative Bulso’s bill seems to reflect lessons learned from Oklahoma’s experience. Rather than issuing top-down mandates or prescribing specific Bible editions, HB1491 emphasizes local implementation, parental consent, and voluntary participation. These are key elements that make this legislation both effective and constitutionally durable. Oklahoma showed that the appetite exists, let’s hope our Tennessee legislators have the will to lead well and show how to do it responsibly.
Dispelling the Critic Who Cries ‘Separation of Church and State’
Opponents of HB1491 cite the separation of church and state. Advocates counter that this phrase appears nowhere in the Constitution and has been routinely misused to justify government hostility toward religion.
For nearly 200 years, the Bible was taught in American schools, based on our rights coming from God, not government, until a 1962 Supreme Court ruling reversed Vidal v. Girard’s Executors (1844), two centuries of constitutional practice. This is striking, especially considering that God is referenced more than 200 times across our state constitutions. One of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Rush, even wrote a pamphlet defending the teaching of the Bible in schools as essential to moral education.
For Christian lawmakers and advocates, HB1491 represents a return to this original understanding. The bill does not compel worship, establish a denomination, or force belief. Instead, it prevents the government from discriminating against religious expression. A government that silences faith is not neutral. It is taking sides.
Standing for Religious Liberty
The Protecting Religious Liberty and Expression in Public Schools Act is seen as part of a broader effort to reclaim constitutional freedoms and moral clarity in an increasingly secular public square. At a time when many Christian families feel marginalized by public institutions,
the bill sends a clear message: faith has a place in public education.
As the legislation moves forward, we are watching closely. This legislation is not merely an education bill, but a statement about religious liberty, historical truth, and the role of faith in shaping the next generation. This is more than policy. This is about whether our laws will reflect the freedoms our nation was founded upon or continue to deny them.
Ask yourself, how can a system rooted in God-given rights survive when the people no longer understand who God is and where our rights as citizens come from? History shows that one of the first steps toward socialism and communism is the removal of God, because when God is removed, government becomes the highest authority.
The source of truth and morality has been removed, but we can put it back in Tennessee.
***TAKE ACTION***
Track the bill HERE: HB 1491
Bill status: Assigned to the Civil Justice Sub Committee for today 2/4 at 1:30 pm.
Email the Civil Justice Sub Committee members to ask for their support:
rep.lowell.russell@capitol.tn.gov
rep.elaine.davis@capitol.tn.gov
rep.andrew.farmer@capitol.tn.gov
rep.johnny.garrett@capitol.tn.gov
rep.gloria.johnson@capitol.tn.gov
rep.tom.stinnett@capitol.tn.gov
rep.chris.todd@capitol.tn.gov
rep.ron.travis@capitol.tn.gov
References:
https://www.capitol.tn.gov/
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/08/17/god-or-the-divine-is-referenced-in-every-state-
constitution/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Walters_(politician)
https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1248&context=plr
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