Just Another Text Book?
New state laws allows Georgia’s public schools to teach the Bible

By Sabrina Burnett/VOX Staff

First it was a sticker put on Cobb County School District’s high school biology textbooks to warn students that evolution was only a theory. (Funny how there were no stickers on physics books asking young minds to keep an open mind about gravity — after all, it’s just a theory, too.) Now the state of Georgia has passed an act allowing the Bible to be taught — as history and literature — in public schools statewide.

The move has received a mixed response from both educators and students. And it has raised serious concerns from the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, which worries such a class could breach the United States Constitution’s separation of church and state.

Formally known as Georgia Senate Bill 79, the legislation was passed in a 151 to 7 vote as part of the “Quality Basic Education Act” and signed by Governor Sonny Purdue on April 20. The law allows for public school systems to develop a curriculum by February 2007 focused on teaching “The History and Literature of the Old and New Testament Eras.”

It would be offered as an elective — not a mandatory class — to teach the Bible’s lasting effects on culture and history. The bill provides funds for class materials as well as identifying and assigning teachers qualified to teach the class. The law clearly states the class is intended to “be taught in a non-devotional manner with no attempt made to instruct students as to either the truth or falsity of biblical materials or text from other religious or cultural traditions.”

Some teens are excited about having the Bible as a textbook. “I would want to take the class to learn more about it,” said Larreshia Allen, 17, a senior at Stephenson High School. “They don’t teach you in church the history of the Bible. I think taking the class will help you comprehend everything that the Bible has to offer — especially if you’re on a spiritual journey and you want to get closer to God.”

Judging by such comments, it’s apparently easy to be confused about what the class would teach. Meanwhile, others are worried that bringing the Bible alone into public schools shows favoritism of one religion over another.

“I am totally against this class,” said Kanran Ahmed, 16, a junior at Roswell High School. “I think that a class that only teaches one religion is unfair to teens of other faiths. They should have a kind of class that teaches the background of [the major religions of] Christianity, Islam and Judaism.”

At least one educator is optimistic — if guarded — that a class on the Bible can be taught in Georgia public schools without cross the line.

“If there is an appropriate curriculum, the teaching of the class should not be a problem,” said Morcease Beasley, principal at Stephenson High School. “A comparative religion class may be a better course offering.”

Beasley said that he thought classes that teach the history and literature of the Bible and its impact on the world should be offered to students if there is ample interest. But similarly, he also believes schools should offer comparative classes about other religious works ranging from the Quran to Hindi texts to serve as a counterpoint.

“If the focus is on life-long learning as it should be — and not proselytizing — our students will be better informed to address and respond to issues that are directly and indirectly impacted by our beliefs or the beliefs of others,” Beasley said. “The current Middle East conflicts are foremost examples [of our need to understand] the impacts of religious beliefs.”

During State Congressional committee hearings that discussed the intent of the class before it was approved, State Representative Alisha Morgan wanted to amend the bill to allow the Quran, the Torah and other religious books to be used. However, her idea was flatly rejected.

Maggie Garrett, ACLU of Georgia legislative director and staff counsel, was present at those same hearings and also asked the state representatives to put precautions on the bill, but she was turned down, too. “We do have concerns about the class,” Garrett said. “Although the U.S. Supreme Court has stated that public schools may constitutionally teach about the Bible, it is extremely difficult to do so when the classes focus only on the Bible. Even if the bill has the ‘magic words’ from federal court case law, it is no guarantee that once the course is in the classroom it will be taught in a constitutional manner.”

Garrett said there has been significant litigation on the subject across the country, and the courts have almost always reached the conclusion that the classes have overstepped the bounds of the U.S. Constitution. “The bill could have been improved if the legislators would have included other religion’s texts into the curriculum rather than focusing only on the Bible,” Garrett said. “It also would have been better if they had not required that the Bible be the main text in the course and have put in proper guidelines for the hiring and training of teachers.”

In 2005, U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Cooper reversed Cobb County’s decision to put the evolution “warning” stickers on biology textbooks, stating that they were unconstitutional. The stickers had read: “This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.” There is a possibility that — if taken to the courts — a course on the Bible may not ever make it into Georgia public schools’ classrooms for the same reasons.

Meanwhile, many questions remain about the prospective class. Would it be taught by ordained ministers or history teachers? If so, how will they be monitored so there’s no chance of them preaching Christianity? What versions of the Bible would be used? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Sabrina is a senior at Stephenson High.