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DARE TO ASK: ‘Teaching’ the Bible in grade school

By PHILLIP MILANO

Question

The Bible was here before Christopher Columbus, before Lincoln and before Elvis. So why can’t it be fashioned into a history textbook and offered as a course in grade schools?

Rhonda, 42, Christian, Knoxville, Tenn.

Replies

If we’re going to go there, we need a book on Jews, the Buddha and . . . and . . . and . . .

Heather, 31, West Virginia

I do not think the Bible should be made into a textbook. However, I do believe there should be a Bible class in every school. Since our country was founded on a Christian basis, I feel everyone should be familiar with the Bible.

Mary, Jacksonville, Miss.

Hell no! All those people you mentioned are real people who lived real lives and left behind solid evidence.

Erika, 15, atheist, Allyn, Wash.

I think the Bible should be taught in school. There’s a lot of great stories about morality in the Bible, which is something the American school system needs right now.

Hernando, Roanoke, Va.

In the words of George Carlin, “Keep thy religion to yourself.”

T., male, Middletown, Conn.

Educators use more criteria for texts than whether or not the book predates Elvis Presley.

Rochelle, Williston, N.D.

Expert says

And on the eighth day we did not debateth whether it be goodeth or evileth to teach the Bible in school, but instead approacheth the topic from a legal standpointeth. OKeth?

Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Virginia who focuses on religion issues, wrote The Bible and Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide, a document that actually received the (legal) blessing of groups like the American Jewish Committee, Council on Islamic Education, National Association of Evangelicals and People for the American Way.

He recommends schools not “teach the Bible,” but offer elective courses that teach about the Bible. If done right, and especially if other World Religion electives are offered, a school district can help protect itself against a lawsuit.

Problems arise when teachers aren’t trained, he said.

“Few have a background in religious studies, and there is confusion . . . about the difference between teaching the Bible in Sunday School and teaching about the Bible in an academic setting.”

One key to passing constitutional muster is for educators to use a textbook that guides students through the Bible with good scholarship and context.

Basically, he says, there’s a middle ground between Biblical indoctrination and Biblical ignorance.

“You could say that about any religion: Should we not expose kids to what’s . . . had a deep influence for better or worse in world history? Bible literacy is not about pushing religion, it’s about giving kids an education they need in order to be part of this culture and world events.”

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