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defending the First Amendment against the Christian right ...

Jews On First!

... because if Jews don't speak out, they'll think we don't mind

Included on this page: Prothero book ignites interest in public school Bible courses | Texas legislation mandates Bible Study elective | The Texas Freedom Network report on Bible courses in Texas public schools | The religious right National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools | News and debate about Bible courses in public schools | The McCollum family, who won landmark case on bible study in public schools | State-by-State reports

Background. Religious right state legislators around the country are pushing to establish high school Bible courses -- while avoiding a nonsectarian text approved by moderate (and Jewish) organizations.

Texas legislation mandates Bible Study elective

House bill brings Bible back to school environment

Priscila Mosqueda, The Ranger (San Antonio, Texas), July 2, 2007

A new law soon will require all Texas public school districts to offer a Bible literature course, but one San Antonio public school has been offering a course for more than 30 years.

Churchill High School in the North East Independent School District has offered the Bible as literature since the 1970s, when English teacher Frances Everidge pioneered the course. Last year, Reagan High School, also in NEISD, added the course. New Braunfels High School has offered the course for a year, and Seguin High School will begin offering it in the fall.

In the spring, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1287 along with two other bills regarding religion in public schools. The bill, which Gov. Rick Perry signed into law June 15, states that all school districts must offer the course as an elective at the high school level by the 2009-10 school year. Continue.

Texas House Committee Has Yet to Vote on Bill Requiring Bible as Textbook

Associated Press, FoxNews.com, April 4, 2007

AUSTIN, Texas — A state House committee took no action on a bill to require school districts to offer an elective high school-level courses on the Old and New Testaments and use Bibles as text books.

The House Public Education Committee considered the bill at a hearing Tuesday, but took no vote on the measure sponsored by Republican state Representative Warren Chisum. Continue.

House Bill Proposes that Public Schools Teach Bible as Textbook

The Tyler Paper (Tyler, Texas), April 3, 2007

DALLAS (AP) -- A Texas legislator wants to require the state's nearly 1,700 public school districts to teach the Bible as a textbook, ''not a worship document.''

The House Public Education Committee was set late Tuesday to consider a bill by Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, mandating high schools to offer history and literacy courses on the Old and New Testaments. The courses would be elective. Continue.

Texas House Bill 1287

"AN ACT relating to public school elective courses in the history and literature of the Old and New Testaments eras"

Key language in the bill requiring high schools to offer a bible course as an elective states:

(f) The board of trustees of a school district may recommend which version of the Old or New Testament may be used in a course offered by the district under this section, except that:

(1) the teacher of the course may not be required to adopt the board's recommendation and may use the recommended version or another version; and

(2) a student may not be required to use a specific version as the sole text of the Old or New Testament and may use as the basic textbook a different version of the Old or New Testament from that chosen by the board of trustees or the teacher.

(g) A course offered under this section:

(1) must be taught in an objective and nondevotional manner that does not attempt to indoctrinate students as to either the truth or falsity of the Judeo-Christian biblical materials or of texts from other religious or cultural traditions other than the Judeo-Christian tradition;

(2) may not include teaching of a religious doctrine or a sectarian interpretation of the Old or New Testament or of texts from other religious or cultural traditions other than the Judeo-Christian tradition; and

(3) may not disparage or encourage a commitment to a set of religious beliefs.

Click here to read the bill.

You can find the history of the bill and links to additional information about it here.

Bill to require Bible class

Joann Livingston, Waxahachie Daily Light, April 5, 2007

Austin - Public high schools would be required to offer an elective course on the Bible under legislation authored by state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, who serves as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Four other representatives have signed on as authors, with an additional 43 signed on as co-authors.

If approved, the measure would go into effect the start of the 2007-2008 school year and require the state’s nearly 1,700 high schools to offer elective courses "in the history and literature of the Old and New Testaments eras." Continue.

Lawmaker wants Bible classes mandated in public schools

By Matt Curry, Associated Press, The Houston Chronicle, April 3, 2007

Dallas - A Texas legislator wants to require the state's nearly 1,700 public school districts to teach the Bible as a textbook, "not a worship document."

The House Public Education Committee late Tuesday considered -- but didn't vote on -- a bill by Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, mandating high schools to offer history and literature courses on the Old and New Testaments. The courses would be elective.

The idea of teaching the Bible in school seems to be undergoing a revival nationally. Two literature classes on the Bible are included on a list of state-approved courses that Georgia public schools could choose to offer beginning next year. Some critics say it would be the first state to take an explicit stance endorsing and funding biblical teachings. Continue.

Proposed Bill on Bible Classes Could Endanger Religious Freedom, Put Schools in Legal Jeopardy

News release, Texas Freedom Network, April 3, 2007

AUSTIN – Proposed legislation mandating that every Texas public high school offer courses on the Bible could threaten the religious freedom of students and put school districts in legal jeopardy, academics and advocates of religious liberty said today.

Legislators should make sure teachers and school administrators have the guidance and resources to teach classes on the Bible in a way that respects the faiths of all families in the district, said Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network. Continue.

No 'A' for effort on Texas Bible class plan

Linda P. Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 5, 2007

Texas lawmakers shouldn't be asking, "What would Jesus do?" but rather, "What makes sense for Texas students?"

And a bill insisting that every one of the state's 1,031 school districts set up elective classes on the Bible doesn't make sense.

The reasons aren't rooted in hostility toward religion. Continue.

Editorial: Bible a worthy subject, but objectivity elusive

San Antonio Express-News, April 5, 2007

The editorial calls HB 1287 a "slippery slope" and asks "where does the study end and proselytizing begin?" The editorial also says:

The bill calls for objectivity, but [bill sponsor Rep. Warren] Chisum speaks with a devotion that undermines that notion. "If we don't have a moral people, our laws are not sufficient to govern an immoral body of people," he said.

Please click here for the editorial.

House to study Bible classes

Old and New testaments would be primary text

By Jason Embry, The Austin American-Statesman, April 04, 2007

Every public high school in Texas would offer elective courses based on the Bible under legislation pushed by a key lawmaker.

House Bill 1287, written by Appropriations Committee Chairman Warren Chisum, calls for all school districts to offer separate electives on the literature and history of the Old Testament and New Testament eras if there is sufficient interest, which means 15 students wanting to take the class, said Chisum, R-Pampa. Students would not be required to take it. Continue.

Reading, Writing, and Religion

Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools

Texas Freedom Network, September 13, 2006

An explosive new report by the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund details serious problems found in most Bible courses offered in Texas public schools. It also offers school districts recommendations about how to create courses that are academically, ethically and legally appropriate. Click here for the Texas Freedom Network's report, a summary, a news release and additional resources.

Bible In The Public Schools

Presentation for the Texas Freedom Network

by Rabbi Neal Katz, Congregation Beth El, Tyler, Texas, (JewishTyler.com) September 13, 2006

Rabbi Neal Katz was one of several clergy speaking at a news conference to announce the publication of Reading, Writing and Religion, a report by the Texas Freedom Network on the serious problems with Bible courses taught in Texas public schools.

While some Texans see their state's "religious variety as joyful," said Katz, "others are determined to marginalize non-Christian faiths in whatever way they can - including inside of our public schools. As we have learned from the Texas Freedom Network's report on how Bible is taught in Texas public schools, it is all too clear that many non-Christians are learning about the Bible with a decidedly pro-Christian bias." Click here for the full text of Rabbi Katz's presentation.

Prothero book ignites interest in public school Bible courses

The Case for Teaching The Bible

By David Van Biema, Time Magazine, April 2, 2007

Time surveys the current state of Bible study courses in the nation's public schools -- and finds them poised for significant proliferation. This cover story gives prominence to the argument by Boston University religion deparment chair Stephen Prothero in his new book, Religious Literacy. The book, says reporter Van Biema, "presents a compelling argument for Bible-literacy courses." Van Biema provides useful details about the two competing organizations offering curricula for the Bible courses. He also includes a paragraph on the concerns about the classes of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Click here for the article.

We live in the land of biblical idiots

Opinion article by Stephen Prothero, Los Angeles Times Editorial, March 14, 2007

Although the 110th Congress has brought to Capitol Hill 43 Jews, two Buddhists and a Muslim -- Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who took his oath of office on Thomas Jefferson's Koran -- Washington remains a disproportionately Christian town. More than 90% of federal legislators call themselves Christians, making Congress more Christian than the United States itself. The president is an evangelical Protestant. Catholics enjoy a majority on the Supreme Court. Biblical references -- from the Jericho Road to the golden rule to the promised land -- permeate political speech. Yet U.S. citizens know almost nothing about the Bible. Although most regard it as the word of God, few read it anymore. Even evangelicals from the Bible Belt seem more focused on loving Jesus than on learning what he had to say. Continue.

Americans get an 'F' in religion

By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY, March 7, 2007

In this report on Stephen Prothero's new book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, Grossman notes that televangelist and Christian Zionist leader Pastor John Hagee, among others on the religious right, have attacked The Bible and its Influence, a moderate textbook backed by some Jewish groups as an alternative to the overtly Christian fundamentalist The Bible in History and Literature.

The Bible and Its Influence has been blasted by conservative Christians such as the Rev. John Hagee, pastor of the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. Hagee calls it "a masterful work of deception, distortion and outright falsehoods" planting "concepts in the minds of children which are contrary to biblical teaching."

Hagee wrote to the Alabama legislature opposing adoption of the text, citing points such as discussion questions that could lead children away from a belief in God. Example: Asking students to ponder if Adam and Eve got "a fair deal as described in Genesis" would plant the seed that "since God is the author of the deal, God is unfair."

Hagee prefers the Bible itself as a textbook for Bible classes, used with a curriculum created by a group of conservative evangelicals, the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, based in Greensboro, N.C. The council says its curriculum is being offered in more than 300 schools.

Sheila Weber, a spokeswoman for The Bible Literacy project, says their textbook has been revised in the second printing issued last month with the examples cited by Hagee removed. The teachers' edition was reissued in August. The first printing was approved by numerous Christian scholars and seminaries and is already in use in 82 school districts.

Click here to read the USA Today report.

See also: Hagee's March 2006 letter to the Alabama legislature, from which these quotes are drawn. Click here to see a PDF copy of the letter on the website of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools..

Bible Literacy Project Corrections to Bible Textbook are Non Sequitur

News release from Wiley Drake, 2nd Vice President of The Southern Baptist Convention, Christian Newswire, March 20, 2007

Dr. John Hagee, of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Tx., called "The Bible and Its Influence" "a masterful work of deception, distortion and outright falsehoods." Bible Literacy Project Communications Vice President Sheila Weber has claimed that "misrepresentations" about the textbook "The Bible and Its Influence" have been corrected. However, many of Hagees' strongest concerns remain unchanged.

Page 29 of the Bible Literacy Project textbook reads "other origin stories tell of many gods who are created, etc." Hagee says this "plants the concept in the mind of children that polytheism is just as acceptable as monotheism, which is contrary to the Bible." Also unchanged is a Bible quotation from an interpretation by Dr. Robert Alter, an endorser of and contributor to the textbook, saying God created the world "out of welter and waste." Hagee contends this leaves a "completely wrong" impression of the creation account. Hagee says the unchanged phrase on page 34 promotes polytheism: "By contrast, some traditions and philosophies see humans as no more or less sacred than other living creatures." Continue

See also: Hagee's March 2006 letter to the Alabama legislature, from which these quotes are drawn. Click here to see a PDF copy of the letter on the website of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools..

New Stephen Prothero book, 'Religious Literacy,' Supports Approach of New Student Textbook for Public Schools, 'The Bible and Its Influence'

Prothero recommends a course on the Bible for all high school students

News release, Bible Literacy Project, March 9, 2007 via Earned Media

FRONT ROYAL, Virginia, Mar. 9 /Christian Newswire/ -- Stephen Prothero’s well publicized new book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—and Doesn’t, recommends that “public schools should include a required course on the Bible for all high school students,” and cites the Bible Literacy Project’s student textbook, The Bible and Its Influence, as a good approach.

“The Bible courses envisioned here would include but would not be limited to teaching about the Bible as literature,” writes Prothero, chairman of the religion department at Boston University. “Many advocates for religious studies in the public schools--including the people at the Virginia-based Bible Literacy Project behind a textbook called The Bible and Its Influence (2005)--have stressed the Bible-as-literature approach, in part because it is relatively uncontroversial…But neither should teachers and students approach it as literature alone, as if its words have resonated over the centuries solely in the imaginations of poets and playwrights. Students must understand the historical force of the Bible….This appears to be the approach of a bill signed into law in 2006 in Georgia requiring elective Bible courses statewide, and of the Bible Literacy Project’s new textbook. (Religious Literacy: pages 133-134)Continue.

Breakthrough public school Bible textbook receives wide acclaim from scholars, the media and national faith leaders

After first 18 months, The Bible and Its Influence, is used in 83 school districts in 30 states

Overview section of the Bible Literacy Project's website. (Home page is similarly promotional)

Used along with the Bible

Praised for its scholarship and broad support

Widespread Recognition of the NEED: Recent national media coverage shows overwhelming support among educators for Bible literacy courses in public high school. Research shows that educators unanimously agree that students’ ability to understand literature, art, history and music and culture is harmed by ignorance of this foundational document of Western civilization.

Academic study of the Bible is LEGAL: In the past, teachers have been fearful about how to teach about the Bible, even though the courts have said that academic study of the Bible is beneficial for education, and that it is legal to teach its content but not promote nor disparage belief. Only 8 percent of the nation’s public high schools offer such a course; our goal is to increase that level to 80 percent. Click here.

Christians Pleasantly Surprised by Time's Pro-Bible Article

By Doug Huntington, Christian Post, March 30, 2007

Christians have been voicing their shock and delight over a recent cover story featured in 'TIME' called 'The Case for Teaching the Bible,' because it supports the teaching of the Bible in public school.

The author of last week’s Time magazine cover story, who favors the introduction of the Bible into classrooms, gave fresh hope that the Bible could really be included among public instruction.

“At first glance, you might think the wrong magazine had landed on the rack in the grocery store check-out line next to Newsweek and People magazine,” commented Chuck Colson during his radio talk show Breakpoint this week. “The cover features a picture of a black-and-yellow CliffsNotes version of the Bible. What is this, you think—the annual Easter-season bashing of Christians? Continue.

The religious right National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools

National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools Board Of Directors and Advisory Board

This body includes representatives of religious right groups and elected officials. Click here.

Chuck Norris Helps the NCBCPS Spread David Barton's Lies

By Chris Rodda, Talk to Action, April 15, 2007

In an April 9, 2007 article on WorldNetDaily entitled Bringing the Bible Back Into Public Schools, National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools (NCBCPS) board member and spokesman Chuck Norris regurgitates the following erroneous claim, almost verbatim from the NCBCPS website's "Founding Fathers" page.

A study by the American Political Science Review on the political documents of the founding era, which was from 1760-1805, discovered that 94 percent of the period's documents were based on the Bible, with 34 percent of the contents being direct citations from the Bible. The Scripture was the bedrock and blueprint of our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, academic arenas and heritage until the last quarter of a century.

The study referred to by Norris was conducted by Donald S. Lutz of the University of Houston, whose findings were published in a 1984 article in The American Political Science Review. Misrepresentations of Lutz's study have been around for years, the first appearing in John Eidsmoe's 1987 book Christianity and the Constitution, followed a few years later by the version most often seen today, taken from NCBCPS advisory board member David Barton's book Original Intent. Continue.

Note: Scroll down to the end of this posting for links to Rodda's previous essays on the subject.

Public Schools Adopting Bible Curriculum - Yours Can Too!

Website of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, September 10, 2003

The American Family Association is now working in cooperation with the National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools (NCBCPS) to return Bible curriculum to the public high schools of America, on campus, during school hours, for credit with the Bible as the textbook. The NCBCPS has had great success with school districts over the past eight years with this curriculum; and over 153,000 students have already taken this course nationwide.

The Supreme Court says that it is legal to teach Bible curriculum, as does the National Secretary of Education. Continue.

Bringing The Bible Back To School

by Pat Centner, American Family Association Journal, September 2000, Website of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools

Washington, D.C.’s National Press Club was the setting July 25 for an important announcement that is likely to have far-reaching impact on the students attending our nation’s public schools and, perhaps, the future of America itself.

The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS) is a proactive organization based in Greensboro, North Carolina, that is devoted to returning the study of the Bible as an elective course to junior and senior high school classrooms nationwide. Its president, Elizabeth Ridenour, says tremendous progress has been made in this effort, but there have also been threats along the way from organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way who vehemently oppose even the mention of God’s name in a classroom. During those confrontations, NCBCPS has been assisted primarily by the American Family Association Center for Law and Policy (CLP).

The working relationship between the two entities has flourished, and along with it AFA’s desire to help NCBCPS achieve its goal. As a result, the Washington press conference was the forum through which Steve Crampton, chief counsel for CLP, made public the fact that AFA intends to more actively support the NCBCPS efforts and play an even more prominent role in the future by: 1) providing legal services free of charge to any school districts sued by the ACLU or others like it who attempt to intimidate or block the districts from using the Bible curriculum, and 2) networking and using its various media outlets to increase awareness of the curriculum and the relative ease with which it can be introduced into a school district’s curriculum. Continue.

The Bible, Public Schools, and Mainstream Media

By A. Urti, Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, March 28, 2007

A recent Time Magazine piece lauds the idea of teaching the Bible in America’s public schools. In the piece, Time’s religion editor, David Van Biema points out myriad reasons why the Bible is foundational to any Western education, namely due to its pervasiveness in literature, the founding of political movements, and even in the scientific realm. Without an understanding of what the Scripture basically says, there is no context to understand much of contemporary American, and for that matter, global life. Continue.

News and Debate

Schools Sued Over Bible Classes Supported By Conservative Christian Groups

by The Associated Press, 365Gay.com, May 27, 2007

(Dallas, Texas) Two advocacy groups have filed a federal lawsuit against a West Texas school district on behalf of eight parents who say a Bible course violates their religious liberty.

The American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way Foundation sued the Ector County Independent School District, asking the Odessa school system to stop teaching the course. Continue.

Bible Literacy Project Garners Supporters, Responds to Criticisms

The Bible Literacy Project remains widely acclaimed despite recent criticism.

By Linda Zhang, Christian, January 20, 2007

In its first year, more than 85 school districts in 29 states have introduced courses about the Bible using the textbook, and more than 1,000 educators are now reviewing The Bible and Its Influence for use next fall.

Although Scripture or Christian teachings are increasingly being ruled out in public schools, the Bible Literacy Project (BLP) published national reports that revealed 98 percent of high school English teachers and 100 percent of university professors agreed that students need to know the Bible in order to be well educated.

“This text provides an extraordinarily helpful background—the Bible’s impact on literature, the arts, and life. If anyone is looking for a comprehensive academic understanding of the roots of modern civilization, this book is an indispensable resource,” commented Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries. Continue.

Publisher Responds to Pastor's Gripes About Bible Textbook

By Jody Brown, AgapePress, September 29, 2006

The publisher of a textbook for use in teaching the Bible in public schools says recent criticisms about the book leveled by an official with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) are essentially no longer valid -- because editorial changes to the latest edition of the book address his concerns.

Earlier this week, Rev. Wiley Drake, a Southern California pastor who is also the recently elected second vice president of the SBC, went public with his concerns about the content of The Bible and Its Influence [the text endorsed by some Jewish organizations], a student textbook published by the Bible Literacy Project (BLP). The textbook, according to the BLP, is the basis of Bible course work in more than 80 districts in 27 states, and is being reviewed for similar usage next fall by more than 900 educators. Continue.

Georgia to Teach Bible

Democrats and Republicans disagreed about what to use as a textbook

by James Jewell, Christianity Today, May 19, 2006

This article has little about Georgia, instead quoting several religious right leaders on The Bible and its Influence, the text that First Amendment advocates prefer. "D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries called the book 'antibiblical' and 'extremely radical.' John Hagee of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio wrote to an Alabama legislator and said the text is a 'masterful work of deception, distortion, and outright falsehoods.'" The article also has links the site's past coverage of the issue, going back to 2000. Click for the article.

Playing politics with the Bible: Coming to a school near you?

Inside the First Amendment

By Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar, First Amendment Center, April 16, 2006

"Just in time for Holy Week and Passover, new fights are breaking out in states across the nation about how to teach the Bible in public schools. Competing "Bible bills" are popping up everywhere, with Republicans and Democrats vying to see who can thump the Bible the loudest..."

"Unfortunately, the unseemly rush to pass Bible bills appears to be less about education and more about partisan politics and stealth attempts to promote one religious view of the Bible in public schools." Click here

'World religions' course boosts liking for religious liberty

New study also finds students didn't change own beliefs

News release, First Amendment Center, May 8, 2006

ARLINGTON, Va. — A report released today on a required ninth-grade world religions course in Modesto, Calif., offered since 2000 found that students in the class gained new respect for religious liberty, but did not change their own religious convictions. Continue

Bible Guide For Public Schools Gets Jewish Okay

By Jennifer Siegel, Forward, December 30, 2005

"In an effort to neutralize the growing popularity of a right-wing Bible textbook for public schools, two major Jewish organizations are backing an alternative study guide. But some liberal watchdogs warn that the alternative textbook also could lead teachers to violate the separation of church and state." Click here to read the report on the Forward's site.

Coral Ridge Leader Labels Bible Text for Schools 'Relativistic'

By Jim Brown, Agape Press, March 2, 2006

"A well-known Christian pastor is denouncing a controversial new Bible curriculum designed for public schools which he says encourages students to question whether the Bible is the inspired Word of God." Click here for the article

Public Schools Still Wary of Lessons on Bible

Yet in a New Study, Teachers Report Need for Grounding in Biblical Knowledge

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, Education Week, April 27, 2005

An in-depth report on the efforts to popularize BIble courses for public schools looks at both the Bible Literacy Project and the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, an organization backed by religious right groups. Click here for the report.

ADL Says Bible Teaching Guide for Public Schools 'Unacceptable'

Anti-Defamation League News Release, November 7, 2005

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) criticized a new curriculum for teaching the Bible in public schools, saying it "advocates the acceptance of one faith tradition's interpretation of the Bible over another." Click here to read the news release.

Public schools looking at Bible literacy class

By Mike Linn, USA TODAY, January 24, 2006

Report examines the increasing acceptance of a text book accepted by many policy groups as less objectionable than blatantly sectarian texts used by some school districts. Click here for the report.

The McCollum family, who won landmark case on bible study in public schools

Separating church, state; Central students get lesson from the source

by Melissa Jenco, The Daily Herald (Illinois), January 12, 2007

Like any public school, Naperville Central doesn't teach religion classes.

On Thursday, a group of students met the man whose family played an integral role in keeping religion out of schools.

Jim McCollum, whose mother was the plaintiff in the landmark 1948 McCollum vs. Board of Education Supreme Court case, spoke to students before giving a speech for the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

"The kids need to be conscious of the First Amendment," said Gloria Schor Andersen, president of the west suburban chapter of the group. "They need to be conscious of what it ... takes to protect it and what it took to protect it and don't take it for granted."

McCollum, who was raised an atheist, grew up in Champaign. In 1943, his school started offering Christian Bible classes that were voluntary -- but he said teachers pressured students to participate. Continue.

Vashti Cromwell McCollum, 93

Won Her Case Against Religion in Schools

By Jon Thurber, The Los Angeles Times, August 28, 2006

Vashti Cromwell McCollum, the Illinois housewife whose objection to her son's taking religious training in school led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming the separation of church and state in public education, has died. She was 93. Continue.   

Alabama

Vote prevents debate on Bible class bill

By John Davis, The Montgomery Advertizer (Montgomery, Alabama), February 20,2006

Alabama House Republicans killed a Democratic bill to institute a Bible course in the state's public schools because they didn't like the text, which has been approved by numerous moderate organizations. Click here to read the report.

Alabama House Rejects Bible Literacy Bill, Generating Mixed Reactions

By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker, Agape Press, February 9, 2006

"Alabama Senator Hank Erwin says he is delighted the bill is now 'history,' because he feels the textbook favored by the legislation included a leftist theological view of the Bible. With satisfaction he notes,'Our State House of Representatives stepped up to the plate, went to the podium, fought that bill and defeated it in the House.'" Click here for the report.

Alabama Lawmakers Push Elective on Bible’s Role in History, Literature

By David J. Hoff, Education Week, January 18, 2006

Republicans oppose Bible study curriculum bill sponsored by Democrats because it mandates a text book approved by organizations that support church-state separation, The Bible and Its Influence. Click here for the report.

Georgia

See You in Bible Class

Georgia plans to teach the Good Book in schools.

By Sarah Childress, Newsweek, May 1, 2006

Fresh from a bruising federal court fight over the teaching of evolution, Georgia marched back into the culture wars last week when Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a bill allowing Bible classes in public high schools. An estimated 8 percent of the nation's schools offer some form of Bible study. But the Georgia law is the first to set statewide guidelines and earmark public dollars for a Bible course. Five other states are considering similar measures. Georgia's school board has until February 2007 to decide how the courses should be taught, and forces on both sides of the issue are bracing for a messy battle. Click here for the report

GOP Bible Bill Upsets Liberals, But Ga. Dems See Political Gains

By Jennifer Siegel, Forward, April 14, 2006

"In a stark reversal of political fortune, Democratic legislators attempting to seize the pro-religion spotlight in Georgia last month have found themselves unexpectedly converted into backers of a Republican bill to teach the Bible in public schools.

"The bill, which was overwhelmingly approved by the legislature and is expected to be signed by Republican Governor Sonny Purdue later this month, would make Georgia the first state in the nation to require that the Bible itself be used as the core text in classes on the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. The measure supplanted a proposal, introduced in January by three Democratic state senators, that would have instructed the Georgia Department of Education to develop a state-funded elective course on the Bible and approve a textbook to be used in the class.

"The partisan tussle has shone a spotlight on the increasing efforts of Democrats to appeal to Christian conservatives. This is particularly the case in Georgia, where evangelical and born-again Christians make up 41% of the electorate and Democratic control has eroded steadily over the past four decades, culminating with Republicans taking control of Georgia's state legislature in 2004." Continue

Bill for school Bible classes sent to Perdue

By Bridget Gutierrez, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 28, 2006

If, as expected, Gov. Sonny Perdue signs the bill, the ACLU will monitor how schools implement the course. The state's Christian Coalition chair said: "To be fearful that this is just going to promote something — goodness, as nefarious as Christianity... I think ... their fears are baseless." Click here

Teaching the Bible in Georgia's Public Schools

By Brenda Goodman, The New York Times, March 29, 2006

Georgia's legislature has decided to fund public school "history" and "literature" classes on the Bible which use the Bible itself as a text. Other states have so far used text books. However, Missouri and Alabama are considering following Georgia's lead. Click here for the report

Georgia Passes Bill to Fund Bible Courses in Public High Schools

By Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2006

"The bill — which still must be signed into law by Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue — would fund separate high school courses on the Old and New Testaments in the context of history and literature. The bill states that the classes should be taught 'in an objective and nondevotional manner, with no attempt made to indoctrinate students as to either the truth or falsity' of the works." Click here to read the report.

Georgia's Law Mandating the Bible as Textbook

The preamble of Senate Bill 79, which funds public school classes using the Bible as a text, states its purpose:

To amend Part 2 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to competencies and core curriculum for elementary and secondary students under the "Quality Basic Education Act," so as to provide for the offering of state funded high school courses in the History and Literature of the Old Testament Era and the History and Literature of the New Testament Era; to provide for the adoption of the curricula for such courses by the State Board of Education; to provide for reading materials, and methods of teaching in such courses; to provide for certain matters relating to the employment and assignment of teachers of such courses; to provide for the granting of academic credit for the successful completion of such courses; to provide for the monitoring of the content and teaching of such courses; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

For the Georgia Legislature's page on SB 79, click here

Religion's presence already felt in Georgia classrooms

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

"A bill in the Legislature to allow Bible classes in public schools has drawn national scrutiny and public controversy this year. But ... religion already is being taught inside Georgia classrooms." Click here

'Bible Bill' Sponsor Touts Historic, Literary Value of World's Best-Selling Book

By Jim Brown, Agape Press, April 3, 2006

"A Georgia lawmaker is hailing passage of a bill to fund elective Bible courses in the state's public schools. Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams says his legislation passes constitutional muster because it requires the Bible be taught without indoctrination or proselytization. Williams, who says he introduced the same measure eight years ago when Republicans were the minority party, contends the bill is needed in the Peach State." Continue

Ga. poised to OK Bible studies bill

By Nancy Badertscher, Bridget Gutierrez, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 21, 2006

"In committee, some House members voiced concern that the measure favors Christianity over other religions. But State Rep. James Mills (R-Gainesville), a supporter of the bill, was the only lawmaker to speak on it Monday." Click here

Dueling Bible Literacy Bills Have Georgia Senator Crying Wolf

He Says Democrat Supporters of One Course Want to Pull the Wool Over Christians' Eyes

By Jim Brown, Agape Press, January 31, 2006

Georgia Senate hardliners fight against move to replace "Bible literacy" course with a nonsectarian alternative. Click here for the article.

Missouri

Some public schools offer courses on the Bible

By Tim Townsend, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 4, 2006

A reporter looks at how Missouri public schools teach the Bible without teaching religion. In some instances it is as simple as prefacing the biblical material with the phrase "According to..." Click here to read the report.

South Carolina

The Bible as Literature -- 'It has everything'

High school offers different kind of Bible study

Devon Copeland, The State (South Carolina) via The Round Table on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, November 27, 2006

When the Rev. Teddy Higgins walks into his Old Testament Bible class at Batesburg-Leesville High, the collar comes off.

In his class -- the only one of its kind in the Midlands --students identify passages in the Old Testament, interpret the text and identify literary methods.

This isn't a Bible study class in the traditional sense.

"The doctrine is for their individual (spiritual leaders) to take care of," Higgins said.

The Bible as Literature class is new to Batesburg-Leesville this year. This semester, students study the Old Testament. In January, they turn to the New Testament.

South Carolina is the second state in the nation to allow schools to give students academic credit for such instruction. Continue

Tennessee

Bible-class vote might wait

Wilson board members say feedback on proposed elective mostly favorable

By Natalia Mielczarek, The Tennessean, November 5, 2006

Wilson County School Board members say they've been flooded with comments, overwhelmingly positive, from constituents about a proposed Bible elective in high schools, but they may delay Monday's scheduled vote.

The pitch, made recently by a local man, has sparked a heated local debate over a curriculum that has had a polarizing effect in numerous school districts across the nation. The course, which uses the Bible as the sole textbook, has been praised by scores of religious conservatives but slammed by some biblical scholars and civil liberties groups. Continue.

Texas

Texas District Adopts Disputed Text on Bible Study

By Barbara Novovich, The New York Times, December 22, 2005

A Texas school district has decided to use a bible study text backed by Focus on the Family and other right-wing groups, which, critics say, promotes fundamentalist Protestant Christianity. The district selected the text over a highly regarded alternative with an ecumenical approach. Click here to read the report.

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