A school district in Utah, United States, has decided to remove the Bible from elementary and middle schools due to concerns about its content, which includes “vulgarity and violence.”
The decision was made following a complaint from a parent who believed that the King James Bible contained material unsuitable for children.
This move aligns with a law passed by Utah’s Republican government in 2022, which prohibits the presence of “pornographic or indecent” books in schools.
However, most of the banned books thus far have primarily focused on topics related to sexual orientation and identity.
The decision to ban the Bible is part of a broader effort by conservative groups in various states to prohibit teachings on controversial subjects such as LGBT rights and racial identity. Similar bans on offensive books have been implemented in Texas, Florida, Missouri, and South Carolina.
It is worth noting that certain liberal states have also banned books in certain schools and libraries, citing concerns about racially offensive content.
The Davis School District, located north of Salt Lake City, made the decision this week after a complaint was filed in December 2022. The district has already removed the few copies of the Bible that were present in their libraries, emphasizing that the text was never part of the students’ curriculum.
The committee responsible for the decision did not provide specific details about which passages were deemed to contain “vulgarity or violence.” According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the parent who filed the complaint argued that the King James Bible lacked “serious values for minors” and considered it pornographic based on the definition provided by the 2022 book-ban law.
The state lawmaker who authored the 2022 law initially dismissed the request to remove the Bible as a “mockery,” but later changed his stance, acknowledging that it might be challenging for younger children to comprehend.
He suggested that the Bible is best taught and understood within the context of family and home.
While the district concluded that the Bible’s content does not violate the 2022 law, they determined that it does contain elements of vulgarity and violence unsuitable for younger students. As a result, the Bible will continue to be available in local high schools.
Some parents, like Bob Johnson, whose child attends a primary school in the Davis School District, oppose the removal of the Bible. Johnson expressed his belief that there is no content in the Bible that would necessitate its exclusion, especially considering that it does not contain any illustrations.
“I can’t think of what’s in the Bible that you would have to take out of it. Its not like there’s pictures in it,” he said.
It’s important to note that the removal of the Bible from school libraries is not exclusive to Utah.
In the past, a Texas school district removed the Bible from library shelves following objections from members of the public who opposed conservative efforts to ban certain books. Similarly, students in Kansas recently requested the removal of the Bible from their school library.
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