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Should the Bible be taught in schools?

By David W. Shelton | July 31, 2007 |

This is a question that has polarized the secular and religious community since the early 1960’s. A casual glance at most Christian websites that offer political commentary will reveal a very popular assumption, that our national moral decline is a direct result of the Bible being removed from schools. Therefore, they say, the Bible should once again be taught in public schools.

Some youth pastors have encouraged their youth groups to take their Bibles to schools and to even do reports on Bible stories. I won’t comment on prayer in school, since there’s serious prayer every time a hard test is scheduled for the day.

According to School Board director Mike Harris, there are currently no Bible classes in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School systems. As we prepare to start another school year, it might be interesting to entertain this question. Should elective Bible classes be considered as an option for our schools?

Whether or not we believe that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, nearly everyone understands and acknowledges that there was a clear Biblical root to many of our nation’s laws (of course, they didn’t bother passing laws that required stoning adulterers and other more ludicrous notions). Further, the Bible was quoted in early legal books and even the legendary 19th century evangelist Charles Finney was eventually converted to the faith by reading the Scripture notations in the law books he studied. Clearly, holy writ was valued, even revered. 

Eventually, the Scripture notations faded from our legal books, but the laws remained. In the early nineteenth century, Scripture was highly regarded throughout American culture. The family Bible was a critical heirloom. But, like today, most people rarely read or studied the Scriptures.

Some school systems have opted to allow an elective course to be placed on their curriculums. One of these curriculums, presented by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, promotes a more literalist interpretation of the Bible. There are two problems with this. The first is that this curriculum will often ignore differing beliefs from mainline denominations and also dismisses Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic or Episcopalian ideology. This leads to the second problem with the curriculum: it seems to elevate evangelical and fundamentalist teaching over others, a clear violation of the establishment clause of the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

The National Council’s textbook is only the Bible, which some might consider a good idea. Well, it is… if it’s for a church Sunday school setting. However, using the Bible as a textbook is similar to using the Constitution as a textbook for an American history class, where the Constitution is but one document through our nation’s history, so is the Bible but a guidepost for Christian theology. Students should be given a survey of the Scriptures that not only examines the text, but also the setting, message, history, purpose, and recipients of that text.

If there’s any doubt that the National Bible Council promotes Protestant fundamentalist theology, just check out the links page on their website. Notorious ultra conservative groups like the American Family Association and the right-wing political group Wallbuilders have direct links to the Council’s website.

While elective Bible classes are certainly an option, the National Bible Council’s curriculum shouldn’t be the one that’s used. The curriculum skirts the First Amendment with its clear preference to evangelical Christianity. Because of this, their clear preference for a literalist inpterpretation of Scripture has no business being in our schools. Yes, many of our local churches embrace this view of Scriptures. However, the establishment clause, “Congress shall pass no law respecting the establishment of religion,” clearly applies here.

We should be careful that programs that encourage proselytizing are not put into our schools. Our children should indeed have an opportunity to learn about one of the most influential elements of our nation’s history, but any issues of doctrine should be left to the church setting.

Thankfully, there are other curriculums available to school districts. The Bible Literacy Project is a non-profit group which has produced an in-depth textbook and teacher guide whcih has received accolades from a wide range of scholars, education officials, and critics. Their course is a complete study of the Bible as well as its history, and does an excellent job in presenting viewpoints from all faiths which revere the Holy Bible, Jewish and Christian alike.

This diversity is certainly reflected in Clarksville, where people of all Christian denominations as well as several religions reside. Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools should indeed consider presenting elective courses on the Bible, but should take care to select a curriculum that respects all faiths, and doesn’t promote the agenda of any one group in its teaching.

Further, anyone teaching the Bible as a class should be certified in history in order to be able to present a full spectrum of information to students. The Bible is one of the primary foundations of the lives of many in our city, and it should never be used as a wedge or a political sparkplug. If it is to be taught, then the religious agenda should be left alone.

Consider the benefits of an elective Bible class. Children would have an opportunity to learn not only the Scriptures themselves, but would also have a solid foundation to understand their history and relevance to our modern lives today. No matter their faith, or even if they have no faith, they’d still have an opportunity to gain a better understanding of Christian and even Jewish history.

The Clarksville-Montgomery County School system should certainly consider adding an elective Bible class in our schools, but they should be very careful about which curriculum is used.

About David W. Shelton

Posts by David W. Shelton are copyright (c)2006, 2007, 2008 by the author. All rights reserved. David W. Shelton is a writer, speaker and activist in Clarksville, and serves on the Clarksville Human Relations Commission. His passions include film and complete equality for all people, and he has worked in various capacities to work toward this goal. He is currently an illustrator, graphic designer, trainer, and is the owner of Imagine Media Solutions. He is an Adobe® Certified Instructor in Photoshop®.

Web Site: http://www.skippingtothepiccolo.com/

Email: dwshelton@charter.net

Sections: Politics, Spirituality
Topics: Bible, Clarksville TN, Religion, School

6 Responses to “Should the Bible be taught in schools?”

1. Christine Anne Piesyk Says:
   July 31st, 2007 at 9:31 pm

   Thoughtful, thought-provoking, probably controversial, but maybe an idea whose time has come. In many schools, colleges and universities across the country, the Bible is a distinctive part of classes on comparative religion and is studied as history and literature as well. The trick is, as you so eloquently wrote, to keep a level playing field among many denominations, not denigrate the beliefs of those with other perspectives and beliefs, and integrate a historical perspective to such a course. Good work, David, as always.

2. Bill Larson Says:
   August 1st, 2007 at 1:23 am

   A class on religion and philosophy would be a good thing, but a class on Christianity only would not. Too many people can not keep separate their religion from their professional lives. The question is where do we stop. I have some Cherokee in my ancestry so would the Cherokee beliefs be taught on an equal footing, What about Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and lets not forget Wicca, Paganism, and druidism. The question is where do we draw the line who decides one belief structure is good enough to be entitled for inclusion while others are a load of bunk and must be excluded. Until you can ensure that all religions get fair and equal treatment then none should be taught in our schools.

3. Scott Beasley Says:
   August 1st, 2007 at 8:03 pm

   Well, I was just talking to my wife regarding this issue last week and I think there should definitely be a religous history class taught. It really should teach an understanding of different beliefs so that students can get a working knowledge of the major religions, agnostics and atheism. It seems funny that the taboos in society, you know, never speak of politics or religion in social settings are ironically, and arguably, the two most influential aspects of the day. As for Christianity, I don’t have a problem with that being taught as long as it is in the perspective of history. That being said, as long as there is a demand for other religions, I wouldn’t have a problem with those being taught either. We would run into problems is if a Buddist wanted to take a class regarding their beliefs and there was no one qualified to teach as that would would pose a potential dilemna, just like Bill said. I would really have no problem teaching religion in a historical sense in our schools.

4. Jeff Mack Says:
   August 1st, 2007 at 8:22 pm

   Shocking as this may seem, a class to teach purely the bible would not be good. That leaves the door open for other religions to be taught on an even footing. (which they don’t deserve) Bill, you forgot to mention islam, satanism, and host of other crack pot religions, that I’m sure would that someone would try force into the curriculum. I do think that subject of history should include and at the very least mention, Jesus of Nazareth. I don’t think anyone could argue the fact that he was the most influential person to have ever walked God’s green earth. If you believe that he was the son of the living God, as I do, or merely a prophet, he should be included. On equal historical footing with Ghandi, the Dali Lama etc. (Side note: I clearly and up front say that I would hope that the mention of Jesus, would spur some of them to further investigate His history, His sacrifice and His saving grace. I wouldn’t be a good literalist/evangelical if I didn’t say so. LOL!!) The bible should again atleast be mentioned as a historical basis of the constitution. As the article David wrote, it should leave the doctrine at the door. David, I think you your interpretation of the religious establishment claus is wrong. The law was made so the the government could not establish a state run religion. (like many Middle Eastern countries) But is there for freedom “OF” religion not freedom “FROM” religion. The line is way too thin to be walked. Other than a historical mentioning of Jesus and the bible, should be left alone.

5. mommyof3 Says:
   August 2nd, 2007 at 10:12 am

   I agree that the Christian faith and the Bible are definitely a part of the history of our country. However, to offer an entire class on the subject would be dangerous, for many reasons, some of which have been mentioned already. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world right now. If one is going to introduce a class based on Christian beliefs, then you can be sure the day will come when someone will want to offer an elective class that centers around the Koran! It would be inevitable! This is why we should uphold the idea of the separation of church and state when it comes to our public schools. I personally do not want public school employees to use their time on religious electives when I can arrange for my child to be taught these things on our own private time. When my kids are at their public school, I want them to have every opportunity to learn about math, science, literature, music, and art. I’m sure I could think of a few more things to add to that list. Let me say one more time, that I do think it is very appropriate to teach, in the context of a regular history class, the infuence of the Christian religion on our nation. At the same time, it should only be mentioned as a part of our history. There should not be a whole class devoted to the teachings of it.

6. David W. Shelton Says:
   August 3rd, 2007 at 3:00 pm

   Great comments, everyone. Keep it up!

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