Bibles in schools secularize the sacred

Bibles in schools secularize the sacred

Commentary by Becky Tallent | FāVS News

As of July 1, at least 19 states have pushed forward legislation or dictates requiring the Ten Commandments or the Bible be taught in public schools.  

There are several serious issues at hand here, not the least of which is the First Amendment specifically grants freedom of religion. It does not say any specified religion, just a statement allowing people to worship as they please.  

But pushing a Christian Bible on all students not only detracts from a person’s own faith — be it any of the various sects of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism or any of the multitude of faiths in this country — it also secularizes the sacred.  

American schools the new religious oppressor

While combined all kinds of Christianity are the dominant U.S. faith at 66%, the remaining 34% of Americans are of other faiths, with 22% listing no faith. According to the Pew Research Center the Pacific Northwest is the most unchurched part of the country, registering 32% in Washington and 27% percent in Idaho.  

For those who argue this country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, reality is the framers of the constitution borrowed heavily from the Great Law of Peace established by the Iroquois Confederacy sometime around 1200.  

Presuming the myth that America was founded by Christians for Christians only belies both the history of what happened and the fundamental freedom to worship — or not — as one pleases. Early settlers were often fleeing religious persecution. These types of laws and mandates make American schools the religious oppressor for a large swath of people, undermining the concept of religious freedom of all. 

Many of these changes to common education are in the wake of the 2022 case Kennedy vs. Bremerton, when a Washington high school football coach won his case before the U.S. Supreme Court allowing him to lead a prayer on the football field. But, while the court said he has the right to pray, it left in place many court cases separating religion and public schools, including a prohibition of requiring forced Bible readings or prayer in schools. 

‘Whose Bible will be taught?’

As the Christian nationalism movement grows, many of these new laws and mandates are echoing the ideals of that group. This brings up another major issue: Whose Bible will be taught?  

On social media, many have guessed how different groups will “lose their minds” if the “wrong Bible” is used. After all, which one will be used? The King James, which is rife with 16th Century British politics? The Catholic, Hebrew, Islamic, a modern translation using current slang? 

In Oklahoma where State School Superintendent Ryan Walters recently ordered teaching the Bible in all classes for grades 5-12 effective this August, no specific book was listed. When pressed, he said “The one that is most historically accurate.” 

Everyone claims their book is the most accurate, so would it be up to each teacher’s own faith to decide which book? How confusing will that be for students? It is also noteworthy the Oklahoma directive does not say who will pay for the Bibles to be used in public schools. 

Public schools are not Sunday schools

Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, said recently that public schools are not Sunday schools, and that such moves by state governments rely on a false narrative with little understanding of civics or law. After all, the Bible at least 2,000 years old and does not incorporate modern legal issues. 

In an opinion for CNN, Eli Federman argued states requiring posting the Ten Commandments in schools harms religions as it undermines the sanctity of the faiths by demoting the sacred to a common historical document.  

It is the sacred that draws people to a faith; that special, unique element of mystery and wonder, not a historical document. 

It is no myth that America was founded on the ideals of freedom. The First Amendment includes establishment of or exercising one’s right to religious beliefs, along with the freedoms of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government.  

If, indeed, freedom of religion means just that — that people are allowed to worship or not as they please — then these new laws and mandates are nothing more than forms of religious oppression for thousands — if not millions — of American citizens.