The Bible, the holy book of Judaism and Christianity, is the most widely known book in the English speaking world...No one in the English speaking world can be considered literate without a basic knowledge of the Bible.
-The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy

This Book is worth all the books that ever were printed. 
-Patrick Henry, holding up his Bible

Over the past one hundred years, American culture has shifted to the point where we now allow a man to be considered educated even if he does not know the Bible. In recent days, Bible knowledge has continued to decline at an alarming rate. Exacerbating this problem is the fact that most public schools offer no Bible information to their students, believing it is unconstitutional to even mention the Bible.

There is no dispute that a well-rounded education should include some knowledge of the Bible’s role in history, art and literature. Indeed, many historical and current events cannot be properly understood without some Biblical knowledge. Take, for example, the imagery in this political speech: 

We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop . . . And I’ve seen the Promised Land.
—Martin Luther King, Jr., April 3, 1968

It takes some knowledge of the Bible to understand these references to the mountaintop and the Promised Land. It also takes some Biblical knowledge to understand many works of literature. Take, for example, A Tale of Two Cities. A student cannot fully understand Sidney Carton’s walk through the garden before he decides to give up his life unless the student knows something about Jesus Christ’s walk through the Garden of Gethsemane.

Renewed Interest

According to one university professor, history textbooks in American public schools actually give more space to the Watergate scandal than they give to all of religious history in the last 150 years! In 1963, the United States Supreme Court prohibited devotional Bible reading in public schools. Since 1963, most public school districts have been reluctant to provide any religious instruction for fear of breaking the law. 

In recent years, however, there has been some renewed interest in teaching religion objectively in public schools. For example, in one Virginia school district, about 450 students signed a petition asking their county school board to offer an elective Bible course. 

Today, most public schools at least mention religion in their social studies curriculum, albeit oftentimes superficially. Some school districts offer courses in comparative religions. One Bible curriculum provider reports that its curriculum has been used in twenty-five states. 

Reluctance to Offer 

Public schools are permitted to teach about religion as it relates to art, dance, history, law, literature, music, and/or politics. The federal Department of Education has said it; multiple courts have said it; and many state legislatures have said it. The same U.S. Supreme Court that banned devotional Bible readings in public schools even said it: “The Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historic qualities.”

To avoid lawsuits, public schools must be careful to teach religion in a neutral and objective manner. The Bible can only be taught academically as part of a secular program of education, according to the courts. Cases have held that there can be no devotional use of the Bible, no proselytizing, and no promotion of any one particular religious or anti-religious viewpoint over others.

Despite the renewed interest in religion classes and the apparent legal green light, many school districts are still reluctant to offer religion classes. This reluctance often represents a fear of crossing the line drawn between constitutional and unconstitutional courses. A constitutional course teaches about religion in a neutral and objective manner. An unconstitutional course promotes one particular religion or sectarian faith to the detriment of others.

Reverence for Islam in California

Recently California public schools have been in the news because they have not been reluctant to teach religion. But their emphasis has been on the Koran, not on the Bible. California seventh graders have been using a state-approved history/social science book to study Islam during the period of the Middle Ages. The students learn about the origins of Islam and about the life and teachings of Muhammad. They even study Muslim teachings about the connections between Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Students learn the significance of the Koran and the Sunna as the primary sources of Islamic belief, practice and law; and they learn about how these sources influence the daily life of Muslims.

Schools often attempt to justify teaching such material as a nonreligious curriculum merely intended to promote an understanding of Islamic culture. Not all parents agree, however. California schools may have crossed the constitutional line by teaching these courses. Parents have complained that these classes do not just teach students about Islamic culture; they actually promote the Islamic faith. 

In the seventh grade course on world religions, three entire weeks are dedicated to the study of Islam. Christianity and Judaism are brushed over. When Christianity is mentioned in the state-approved textbook, or referred to on recommended websites, it is with a critical tone. In contrast, the textbook has high praise for Islam. Indeed, Islam is presented as the true religion.

Students are taught the tenets of the Muslim religion, including the Five Pillars of Islam. Although there is some dispute as to whether students are taught to pray “in the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful,” there is no dispute that they do read from the Koran. Extra credit is even offered to students who memorize Koran verses.

Students also experience the faith tenets of Islam. For example, in some schools they are required to pretend they are Muslims. They are told to wear Muslim clothing, adopt a Muslim name, and play a dice game to engage in their own jihad.

Response of Christian Parents

Christian parents have been appalled to learn that these public schools are indoctrinating their children with Islamic beliefs. They are disappointed and frustrated when the Bible is distorted or criticized, but these parents are not without options.

First, the parents can transfer their children to a Christian school that is free to teach the Bible as God’s inspired Word. If private school is not an option, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 may soon provide parents with a powerful new tool. New federal funding requirements may give parents the right to inspect instructional materials used by their students. Parents may also be more able to participate in the development of curriculum policies so they no longer need to be surprised by what their children are taught in public school, religious or otherwise.

When inspecting their children’s curriculum materials, parents should make sure that the materials conform to constitutional guidelines for teaching religion in public schools. If they do not conform, parents have several options. In the short term, they can request to opt their child out of the religion course on the basis that it violates their child’s First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. In the long term, parents can advocate with the school board to change the curriculum or to provide religion courses only as electives. In some extreme circumstances, legal remedies may be available.

RELIGION COURSE GUIDELINES

The following guidelines will help parents to evaluate the constitutionality of any religion courses taught in their public schools:

• The purpose of the course must be secular; and the curriculum must be purely academic.

Example: A course may not be introduced for a religious motive, such as to provide students with spiritual direction. 

• The course should be under the exclusive supervision and control of the school board.

Example 1: The Tennessee Department of Education rejected one proposed course because it taught the Bible as historical truth.

Example 2: A Pennsylvania statute provides that the Board of Education must approve all courses in Bible literature and other religious writings. 

• The school board, or some duly designated school staff member, should hire and fire religion teachers.

• No religious test or inquiry, profession of religious faith, or religious affiliation may be required in the selection of religion course teachers.

• Teachers should meet state eligibility and educational criteria for teaching in public schools.

Example: A Virginia Bible curriculum teacher, who took some Bible courses in college, will also serve as a full-time member of the social studies faculty. 

• Teachers may be required to have a minimum number of hours in Bible literature or history before qualifying to teach a Bible course.

Example: The State of Florida holds an annual summer institute to train educators in how to teach religion in public schools. 

• A teacher-training program should include a segment devoted to the freedom of religion clauses contained in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the relevant United States Supreme Court decisions interpreting those clauses.

Example: South Carolina’s Religion and Public Schools Act of 2000 calls for educators to be trained annually in how to recognize the constitutional distinctions between a protected individual free exercise of religion and a prohibited establishment of religion.

• The school board should prescribe the curriculum and select all teaching materials.

• Religion courses should be offered as electives; children who choose not to take the course should be offered a reasonable alternative.

Example to follow: Pennsylvania and Virginia statutes provide that religion courses shall be elective only and not required of any student. 

Example to avoid: In California, the 3-week Islam course is a required element of the history/social science course. 

• Each lesson must be capable of being taught objectively for its secular, literary, or historical worth; and teachers must avoid proselytizing or devotional instruction.

— There should be no assumption that students are believers. 

An unconstitutional question: “What is Jesus Christ’s relationship to God, to creation, and to you?”

— There should be no attempt to indoctrinate students with one particular form of religious faith, values, or lessons. 

Example 1: The parables of Jesus should be studied for their literary significance, not for their faith content.

Example 2: Activities should not refer students to a Muslim-generated website that promotes the religious value of making a Hajj (Pilgrimage) to Mecca. 

• The primary effect of the course must neither advance nor inhibit religion; thus, the course should be taught in an objective manner with no attempt to indoctrinate the children as to either the truth or falsity of the religious materials.

— The Bible cannot be taught as factual history. 

Examples: Accounts of Creation and the Flood must be studied as literature and not as the actual early history of man. However, teachers must also refrain from dismissing Biblical accounts such as the parting of the Red Sea as mere nonscientific myths.

— The Koran must be presented as literature and not as truth. 

Example 1: A state-approved textbook should not make unqualified statements such as: “The Q’uran is the final revelation, just as Muhammad is the final prophet.”

Example 2: School districts should not reference Islamic websites that say: “only the Quran, being the true word of God, is free of error.”

— One religion cannot be promoted over another. 

Example: Islam cannot be advanced by distorting Christianity. Teachers should not reference Islamic websites that criticize the Bible or the deity of Christ.

— Teachers cannot talk about their personal religious beliefs.

Note: Teachers should not bypass this restriction by bringing in outside speakers to promote one particular religion. In California, for example, one teacher brought in an Islamic guest to answer students’ questions about fasting—the third pillar of Islam—in order to promote the perspective of a spiritual observant of Ramadan. Outside adherents of various faiths might be used, however, to answer objective questions in a course on comparative religions.

— The school board may solicit private contributions with no strings attached for the purpose of funding any and all costs of a Bible course. 

Parents must remain alert and involved if they are to protect their children’s faith in the public school environment. Children are a sacred entrustment from the Lord; they can only be educated once. It is imperative that children learn about the Bible, otherwise, their education will be hopelessly incomplete.