Religion

Under a bill making its way through the state legislature, all public schools in Arkansas would be required to display a copy of the Ten Commandments. Senate Bill 433 would require a Ten Commandments display in all state and local government buildings, including public schools and universities.

Almost 100 years ago, the nation’s attention was focused on Dayton, Tennessee, as Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan traded legal arguments in the Scope Monkey Trial. The trial is detailed in Ed Larson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion."

Tontitown residents are keeping their attention focused on a proposed permit regarding air quality. On today's show, we hear from Ozarks at Large’s Daniel Caruth, who was at last week’s public hearing. Plus, Ed Larson will be at the University of Arkansas this week to talk about his Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Scope Monkey Trial.

The bill would allow students and employees of any religion to pray, assemble, study and promote their faith at public schools.

The phrase “Christian Nationalism” isn’t new, but it certainly seems that it has been used in public discourse more in the last decade. Amanda Tyler is the lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism and author of the book “How to End Christian Nationalism.” She'll be in Fayetteville this weekend.

A bill to create the ‘Religious Rights at Public Schools Act of 2025’ passed through an Arkansas Senate committee Monday morning. The bill would allow students and employees of any religion to pray, assemble, study and promote their faith at public schools and allow districts to offer classes that provide “academic study of the Bible.”

Recent shifts in immigration policy are creating some concern for parents of adopted children. On today's show, Ozarks at Large’s Daniel Caruth talks with parents and an adoption attorney. Also, we learn the growing importance of outdoor recreation for Arkansas’ economy. Plus, a rare bird is generating excitement in Carroll County.

Frigid temperatures may have shifted the Northwest Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Council's annual Freedom March from the outdoors to a virtual exercise inside TheatreSquared, but spirits could not be dampened.

Pastor Clint Schnekloth, from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayetteville, regularly offers book recommendations on Ozarks at Large. This time, he suggests "Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church," a book about a Philadelphia church's formation and eventual unraveling.

Summer camps have long been a staple of the season, and there are plenty of nontraditional options in northwest Arkansas. Ozarks at Large's Kyle Kellams takes us to an interfaith gathering at Friends Camp NWA, a culinary camp at Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food and theatre camp TheatreSquared.