Bible Literacy Project News
Reuters:
New US textbook aims to teach Bible as knowledge
By Alan Elsner
Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:11 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since the U.S. Supreme Court banned the
promotion of religion in public schools in 1963, the Bible has
virtually disappeared from most American classrooms.
But in recent years, as evangelical Christians have grown in numbers
and gained political clout in the United States, Bible studies have
been creeping back into schools.
Now, a new textbook for high school students aims to fill a gap by
teaching the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, in a
nonsectarian, nonreligious way as a central document of Western
civilization with a vast influence on its literature, art, culture
and politics.
"It's not about belief. It's about crucial knowledge and knowledge
belongs in our schools," said Chuck Stetson, a New York investment
banker who is the driving force behind and co-author of "The Bible
and Its Influence" -- a glossy, 387-page book recently released and
now being tested in a small number of schools mainly on the West
Coast.
Stetson knows he was stepping into a potential minefield. But he
said polls have shown that over two-thirds of Americans want to see
the Bible taught in public schools while only around 8 percent of
schools were offering it.
The process of approving the book for use in schools differs from
state to state and district to district. In some places, it can be
added to the curriculum as an elective by the principal; other
locales require the approval of a local school board and in some
places the state itself would have to approve it. Stetson is hoping
to see the book used by hundreds of school districts by the next
academic year.
"This is the first student textbook we've had that is both
constitutional and age appropriate," said Charles Hayes of the
Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center, a nonpartisan foundation
that monitors free speech.
"It teaches the subject in a way that will satisfy people who take
the Bible as their scripture, but it will also appeal to a broad
range of students interested in becoming biblically literate," he
said.
"The Bible and Its Influence" is not the only game in town. A North
Carolina group called the National Council on Bible Curriculum in
the Public Schools has a Bible course now being used in 381 school
districts in 38 states.
'CROSSES THE LINE'
The Anti Defamation League has denounced this program, which uses
the King James translation of the Bible as its text, saying it
"blatantly crosses the line by teaching fundamental Protestant
doctrine." But the group's legal counsel Mike Johnson denied this.
"Take the resurrection of Christ. A teacher cannot tell a classroom
that it's a historical fact. That would be a violation of the
Constitution. But a teacher can say that the Bible says it's a
historical fact," he said.
"One can't teach that the Bible is objectively true, but one
shouldn't teach that it's objectively false," he added.
"The Bible and Its Influence" sets out its ground rules and
philosophy on its opening pages. "You are going to study the Bible
academically, not devotionally. In other words, you are learning
about the Bible and its role in language and culture," it tells its
readers.
"You will be given an awareness of religious content of the Bible
but you will not be pressed into accepting religion. You will study
about religion as presented in the Bible but you will not be engaged
in the practice of religion."
With prominent theologians of different religions and denominations
among its editorial board, the authors made a serious effort to make
sure that the book did not elevate one religion over any other.
'FACTUAL ERRORS'
"We caught quite a few factual mistakes, but I also looked for
places where the Christian point of view was assumed. There were
some and we made some changes," said Marc Stein, general counsel of
the American Jewish Committee who reviewed the text before
publication.
Still, there has been criticism of the book coming from both the
political left and right. On the liberal side, Barry Lynn of
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State said the
book sanitized the effect of religion throughout history, by
minimizing Christian support for slavery and Christian
anti-Semitism.
"To teach religion objectively, you really have to teach the good,
the bad and the ugly and this book only teaches the good," he said.
On the other side, Dennis Cuddy, a Christian conservative who has
worked as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Education, said
the book raised doubts about God and prompted students to ask the
wrong questions.
"If you are going to teach the Bible, are you going to teach it as
if it were the word of God? At the least, it should be taught as
truthful. It shouldn't be presented as something that is false," he
said.
[Editorial Note from the Bible Literacy Project- We do not
present the Bible as false and do not seek to undermine the faith of
students. We allow the text of the Bible to speak for itself.]
But Joan Spence, a high school teacher in Battleground, Washington,
said she as well as students of her elective English class on the
Bible appreciated it very much.
"Before I had this book, I had to do all the research myself to
teach a class on the Bible as literature. This book, with its many
examples of art and literature, makes it easier to keep the class
academic rather than religious," she said.
© 2005 Reuters
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