Teaching the Bible

This from the Herald-Leader:

Bill either unconstitutional or unneccessary

In a 1963 case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a required reading of Bible verses in public schools violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. But the ruling in Abington vs. Schempp went on to say objective academic study of the Bible was permissible in public schools....

But Kentucky has its own constitutional language regarding the separation of church and state, and Senate Bill 142 may well trip over it.

Section 5 of the state constitution says in part: "No preference shall ever be given by law ... to any particular creed, mode of worship or system of ecclesiastical polity." And one definition of "creed" in the Random House Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is: "an accepted system of religious or other belief."

One could argue then that any public school system in Kentucky offering an elective course "on the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament of the Bible" must also offer elective courses on other accepted systems of religious belief, such as Islam's Quran.

But even if the state constitution doesn't preclude teaching the Bible in public schools, we see no valid reason for enacting this bill...

Is the Bible making a comeback?

Many public school officials feared

teaching about the text after a

U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Now, scholars are trying

to find ways to teach about it

from an academic standpoint.

Some favorite rock songs have taken on new meaning for Meghan Anderson since she discovered the biblical roots of the allusions and wordplay that have inspired her. Some of the required readings in English class are more evocative as well for the sophomore at First Coast High School here as a result of what she learned this year in a class on the Bible.

“There are a lot of different references to the Bible in books and movies and music that I never realized,” she said. “It’s all over the place.”

Pervasive it is. That’s why Harriet Kisilinsky, a veteran English teacher at the 2,300-student school on Florida’s northeast coast, lobbied school officials to offer an introductory course on the Bible and its influence on literature, history, and popular culture...

...“When they started the countywide push for getting more kids into AP, it struck me that these kids don’t have the background they need to succeed,” said Ms. Kisilinsky of the effort to make the rigorous Advanced Placement courses accessible and achievable for a greater proportion of students in the 125,000-student Duval County public school district. “How can you expect them to read Dante’s Inferno and write about it if they don’t understand his nine circles of hell” and other religious themes the text draws on, she wondered...

...A series of reports and books in recent years have contended that it is essential for students to understand biblical content, particularly as it relates to historical documents and events, literature and the arts, and even current events, if they are to be fully educated.

In 1999, the First Amendment Center convened a group of education, religious, and free-speech groups to draft guidelines for teaching about religion in schools. The report by the Arlington, Va.-based think tank tried to dispel the misconception that court decisions of the 1960s—which banned the promotion of religion and religious rituals—prohibited teaching about religion in public schools.

A 2005 survey conducted by the Bible Literacy Project found that while educators reported that students with knowledge of the Bible had a “distinct educational advantage” over their other peers, fewer than one in 10 had access to such courses...

This from Education Week. (Subscription)

The Bible in the Schoolhouse

Colonial era to 19th century: The primary purpose of schooling, in addition to learning the three R’s, is to teach the lessons of the Bible. By the latter decades of the 1800s, Bible “wars” erupt between Protestants and Catholics over which version of the Scriptures will be used for the recitations that mark the school day. State supreme courts in Ohio (1872) and Wisconsin (1890) strike down mandatory Bible reading

1963: On the heels of several court cases on religion in schools, the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Abington Township School District v. Schempp that a Pennsylvania law requiring daily recitations of Bible verses and the Lord’s Prayer in public school classrooms is unconstitutional. In an 8-1 decision, the court says the Bible may be studied for its literary and historical merits, but may not be used for daily religious exercises in public schools.

1989: A coalition of religious and educational organizations issues guidelines for teaching about religion in public schools, recommending an approach that is academic, not devotional; emphasizes the study of religion, not its practice; exposes students to a diversity of religious views, but does not impose or encourage particular beliefs; and intends to inform students about different beliefs, not have them conform.

1999: The Bible Literacy Project and the First Amendment Center issue a guide to teaching about the Bible in public schools. The guide is endorsed by prominent religious and educational organizations, as well as free-speech groups. Supporters recommend finding middle ground between a traditional “sacred text” approach still evident in some school lessons and a view of public schools as “religion-free zones.”

SOURCES: Bible Literacy Project Inc.; First Amendment Center; Education Week

Bill would add school Bible courses

A key state lawmaker wants to acquaint Texas high school students with the Bible.

After all, reasons House Appropriations Committee Chairman Warren Chisum, how can students study Shakespeare's writings, with their 1,300 references to Scripture, without a basic understanding of the Bible?

All public school districts would be required to offer an elective course in the history and literature of the Old and New Testaments under legislation that Chisum pitched Tuesday night to the House Public Education Committee.

This from the Houston Chronicle.

Teach the Bible in public schools

This Op Ed from the Christian Science Monitor.

Although the 110th Congress has brought to Capitol Hill 43 Jews, two Buddhists, and a Muslim, Washington remains a disproportionately Christian town. More than 90 percent of federal legislators call themselves Christians, making Congress more Christian than the United States itself. Biblical references permeate political speech, yet US citizens know almost nothing about the Bible. Although most regard it as the word of God, few read it anymore.

In their answers to a religious literacy quiz I have given, undergraduates tell me that Moses was blinded on the road to Damascus and that Paul led the Israelites on their exodus out of Egypt. Surveys that are more scientific have found that only 1 out of 3 US citizens is able to name the four Gospels, and 1 out of 10 think that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.

Biblical illiteracy is not just a religious problem. It is a civic problem with political consequences. How can citizens participate in biblically inflected debates on abortion, capital punishment, or the environment without knowing something about the Bible? Biblically illiterate Americans are easily swayed by demagogues on the left or the right who claim – often incorrectly – that the Bible says this about war or that about homosexuality.

One solution to this civic problem is to teach Bible classes in public schools. By Bible classes I do not mean classes in which teachers tell students that Jesus loves them or that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, but academic courses that study the Bible's characters and stories, and the afterlife of the Bible in literature and history. Recently, the Georgia Board of Education gave preliminary approval to two elective Bible courses designed to teach, rather than preach, religion. As long as teachers stick to the curriculum, this is a big step in the right direction...

Georgia Board Gives Tentative Approval to Bible Classes

Yahoo News reports:

On Thursday the Georgia Board of Education approved two classes including Literature and History of the Old Testament Era, and Literature and History of the New Testament Era. The classes, approved last year by the Legislature, will not be required, and the state's 180 school systems can decide for themselves whether to offer them.

The Bible already is incorporated into some classes in Georgia and other states, but some critics say the board's move, which makes the Bible the classes' main text, treads into dangerous turf.

The school board's unanimous vote set up a 30-day public comment period, after which it is expected to give final approval.