Religion's presence already felt in Georgia classrooms

By Bridget Gutierrez, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 23, 2006

Marlene Holland waltzed across her social studies classroom handing out worksheets on the "Three Holy Books," an exercise in identifying quotations from the Torah, New Testament and Quran.

"OK," she said to her students at Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone. "Tell me ... one that is so obviously Islam."

A bill in the Legislature to allow Bible classes in public schools has drawn national scrutiny and public controversy this year. But as lessons like Holland's show, religion already is being taught inside Georgia classrooms.

Through curricula that cite the Bible and Islam, courses such as "Comparative Religions," policies that allow students to leave campus to take religious classes, and textbooks that include works of faith, religion is a regular feature in the state's public schools.

"I was raised going to church. But the first time I actually sat down and read the Bible was for ... class," said Megan Routh, a senior at McIntosh High School in Peachtree City. "I think if I didn't read it, I'd be at a disadvantage."

Throughout the state and nation, public school students are offered religion electives and units on the Bible in English or social studies classes.

Georgia now is close to becoming the first state to legally sanction taxpayer-funded Bible courses in public schools. But other states soon may follow: Alabama and Missouri are considering similar laws.

"We simply cannot graduate people into the world today who are ignorant about religion," said Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center, a Virginia-based group that advocates for improving the teaching of religion in public schools. "You would have thought we would have done more about it, given how important religion is these days. But I think post-9/11, we've woken up to this."

Critics: Courses go too far
The Bible is cited in the state's new curriculum for English language arts, which expects high school students to recognize religious allusions in literature. But critics say courses devoted solely to the Good Book, as the bill proposes, go too far, even if they're not mandatory.

Previous failed attempts to adopt Old and New Testament-related courses at the state Board of Education and to pass similar laws in the General Assembly demonstrate such programs are not easy to implement, either.

"I think it'd be intriguing because it would have to be taught objectively," said Anna Goeglein, a Sandy Creek High School senior who wears a jeweled cross on a silver chain around her neck. "It would be interesting to see how they can pull that off."

Both Republicans and Democrats backed this year's measure to create two high school electives about the holy book and its influence on law, government, literature, art, music, history and culture.

Supporters of Senate Bill 79, which passed the House 151-7 this week and is awaiting final approval in the Senate, say the classes are needed to ensure students understand the roots of American democracy or the inspiration for great works of art.

But many of those lessons already are being taught in English and social studies classes.

In Georgia, students learn the role religion played in historic events, such as the settlement of American colonies, and key facts about the translation of the Bible.

As early as seventh grade, students learn the origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the Middle East, as well as the division between Sunni and Shia Muslims. In high school, they read world literature textbooks that include selected works from the Torah, Bible and Quran.

Some school systems, including Gwinnett County, even allow students to earn academic credit by attending religious classes, some held at local churches, for part of the day.

"You can't understand the rise of Western civilization unless you understand the rise of the ... church," said Eddie Bennett, the middle and high school social studies supervisor for Cobb County schools. "You just have to have that understanding."

Bennett, who is also executive director of the Georgia Council for the Social Studies, helped write the state's new curriculum, which he said purposefully emphasizes the role of religion throughout history.

"I get a lot of questions from parents. Sometimes they ask about the teaching of Islam," Bennett said. "I say we're not teaching Islam, we're teaching about Islam — just as we teach about Judaism and Christianity. We're not teaching it as if you were in a church or a mosque or a synagogue. But we are teaching about it."

Teachers: Study advantageous
According to the Bible Literacy Project, a Virginia-based nonprofit group that promotes the academic study of the Scriptures, top English teachers believe that knowledge of the Bible gives students an academic edge in high school and college.

Dawn Burnette, chairwoman of the English department at McIntosh High School, agrees. Burnette requires that students read Genesis, Exodus, Job and Ecclesiastes to prepare for discussions about biblical allusions in such works as "The Old Man and the Sea" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

She also expects them to learn parables and religious concepts, such as tithing.

"We call these inside jokes for educated people," Burnette said, pointing to a list of topics ranging from Armageddon to "an eye for an eye" that she requires her students to learn. "They're just things you should know to be culturally aware."

Still, religion can be a touchy subject, even when classes focus on facts, not faith.

Holland, whose "Comparative Religions" is one of the most popular electives at Sandy Creek, admits that, after 10 years of teaching the course, the lessons still challenge her.

It's difficult to find age-appropriate, scholarly materials, and when she lectures she has to constantly monitor her tone and posture to make sure she's not giving away her personal views.

Most students appreciate Holland's objectivity, but sometimes they miss the point.

One, when he discovered the course would not be taught from his own faith's perspective, decided not to take the class.

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