If you haven’t heard of PragerU, you’re probably not alone – but it’s time to pay attention. What began as a small YouTube channel promoting conservative views has grown into a sprawling far-right media network loved by Christian Nationalists, infusing its historically inaccurate propaganda into classrooms, teacher certification exams — and now the White House.
Despite its misleading name, PragerU is not a university or an accredited educational institution. It’s a media company founded by conservative talk-show host Dennis Prager to offer a “free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.”
AU has reported on PragerU and its Christian nationalist agenda before. Now, its expanding reach poses an even greater threat to the integrity and secular nature of our public schools.
In an alarming move, Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters announced that teachers applying to Oklahoma schools from New York and California must take a new “America First” certification exam – developed by PragerU. The test reportedly includes questions about religion and American history. Walters claims that this move is necessary to protect Oklahoma students from the “radical leftist ideology” supposedly fostered in those states.
Sample questions that have been released to news sources show the stark ideological slant:
Why is freedom of religion important to America’s identity?
This question not only excludes some of the most pressing reasons why religious freedom is important in America (protecting Americans from discrimination, protecting minority religions, keeping the government from funding religious schools), but also frames C and D as mutually exclusive, when in fact both reflect core constitutional principles enshrined in the First Amendment: the government must not promote religion, and it must protect individuals’ rights to practice freely (so long as they do not harm others).
“You’re not gonna lie to kids about the influences Christianity had on American history,” Walters told the New York Post. “We want you to teach history appropriately.”
But we’ve seen what teaching history “appropriately” means to Walters. As AU has reported on in the past, he has “forced schools to teach from the Bible, advocated for prayer in public schools, fostered a dangerously anti-LGBTQ+ atmosphere in public schools that led to deadly consequences, supported the creation of what would be the nation’s first religious public charter school, and tried to whitewash America’s history of racism and slavery.” Walters has made a career out of denying Oklahoma students and families the constitutional guarantee of church-state separation.
The Superintendent’s ties to PragerU didn’t just start this year. In 2023, Walter posted PragerU materials on the State Education Department website after announcing a partnership with them. A year later, he invited Dennis Prager himself (along with other conservative media personalities) to help develop Oklahoma’s new social studies standards, which have since come under wide scrutiny for their overt Christian framing (and which AU is fighting in court).
This is not a teacher certification test. It was not thoughtfully developed by educators or experts, nor was it crafted with the well-being of students and teachers in mind. It has nothing to do with pedagogy or substantive qualifications. This is a political loyalty test. In a state already facing a dire teacher shortage, ranking 50th in public education, and burdened by wasteful voucher programs draining money from public education, this politically motivated decision will harm students and teachers and entrench Oklahoma’s education system into a deeper crisis.
Now, PragerU is being embraced on the national stage. Last month, at a launch event for its new Founders Museum exhibit, the White House introduced PragerU as its new official educational partner. As part of the new exhibit, PragerU created AI-generated videos of figures like John Adams delivering far-right talking points.
Not only is it shockingly disrespectful to use this country’s historical founders as mouthpieces to propel this administration’s agenda, it’s also gravely inaccurate and misleading to students exposed to this material. Contrary to the myth that the founders established America as a Christian nation, an inaccuracy PragerU videos often push, John Adams actually embraced the religious diversity in early America, endorsing and ratifying a legal treaty stating that America was not founded on Christianity.
This partnership comes on the heels of Congress stripping funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports PBS and NPR. These outlets have provided nonpartisan, fact-based educational content to our country for almost 50 years. Replacing them with PragerU—a group known for its Christian nationalist messaging and historical revisionism—is a stark shift in priorities and a troubling sign.
PragerU is no longer a fringe media company. It’s institutionalized and government sanctioned. Right now, PragerU is offered in eight states, including Florida, Louisiana and Texas – all states whose legislatures have been eager to impose religion on public schools. PragerU doesn’t just want to offer Christian Nationalist teachings in public classrooms—by partnering with government agencies, it now seeks to formalize its presence in our education system so that it becomes almost impossible to remove. PragerU’s new partnership with the current administration will only further politicize education.
This month, millions of students across Oklahoma and the country are going back to school. Families trust public schools to provide an accurate and inclusive education to students – not to serve as platforms for religious or political indoctrination. By elevating PragerU’s material and messaging, our elected officials are putting that trust on the line.
Public schools should be spaces where all students — regardless of background or belief — can learn freely, think critically, and grow into informed citizens. When Christian Nationalist ideology is embedded into curricula, certification exams, and federal initiatives, it threatens not only the integrity of our education system but also the constitutional promise of church-state separation.
As classrooms reopen, we must stay vigilant. We must demand transparency, accountability, and a recommitment to secular, fact-based education. The stakes are too high to stay silent.
Mariel Montero is Americans United’s public policy coordinator.
