'If God Is Real'? US School Assignment Asking Students Religious Questions Sparks Outrage Online

A high school homework assignment given by a school has generated significant controversy online after a worried parent shared a photo of the questions on social media. 

The assignment, which included the question "Is God real?" prompted outrage when it was posted by Olivia Gray, who described it as "some crazy stuff."

The assignment, titled "How Did the World Start?" was part of her daughter Nettie Gray's World History class. It concluded with two provocative questions: "Is God real?" and "Is Satan real?" Olivia Gray expressed her frustration in a Facebook post, pointing that her daughter just started school a week ago when this assignment was given.

Gray’s post has since amassed over 375 likes and nearly 500 shares. Reactions in the comments section varied widely:

"I could understand questions about world religions in a World History class, including Christianity alongside other religions, but this seems plain weird and inappropriate. How could such questions be graded fairly?" wrote one user.

“I find it extremely disturbing content...how old is Nettie? And I thought there was separation of church and state in the US Constitution?” added another.

Another user was curious to know the grading rubric used by teacher “I would love to see the teacher’s grading rubric… that’s an assignment I would struggle with as a college level student. What are the “right” answers? I don’t think I even wanna know”.

In response to the uproar, the school district has issued a statement. According to People, the district said, "Skiatook Public Schools became aware of the World History assignment in question through a social media post. After reviewing the assignment, it was determined that the way the material was presented did not align with our instructional plan."

The statement concluded, "Administration and staff will continue to work together to ensure that our practices meet the Oklahoma Academic Standards."