Bible back as students school up on scripture

The Bible has virtually disappeared from most American classrooms since the US Supreme Court banned the promotion of religion in public schools in 1963.

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 non-sectarian, non-religious way as a central document that has influenced the literature, art, culture and politics of Western civilisation.

"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 being tested in a small number of schools, mainly on the West Coast.

Stetson knows he was stepping into a potential minefield.

However, he said polls had shown over two-thirds of Americans want the Bible taught in public schools while about only 8 per cent 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 areas require the approval of a local school board, while in some places the state itself would have to approve it.

Stetson hopes to see the book used by hundreds of school districts by the next academic year.

"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," said Charles Hayes, of the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Centre, a non-partisan foundation that monitors free speech.

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.

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.

"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.

Barry Lynn, of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said the book sanitised the effect of religion throughout history by minimising 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 who has worked as a consultant for the US 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.

But Joan Spence, a high school teacher in Battleground, Washington, said the students of her elective English class on the Bible appreciated it.

"Before I had this book, I had to do all the research myself to teach a class on the Bible as literature," she said.

"This book, with its many examples of art and literature, makes it easier to keep the class academic rather than religious."

- REUTERS