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The Religious Right's "Project Blitz" is successfully pushing to expand Bible classes in public schools, reports @JulieZauzmer washingtonpost.com/local/social-i…
It's possible to teach about the Bible in public schools in a constitutionally permissible way, but it's not easy to do, especially if there's no will or effort to do so. It takes a commitment to select and train teachers and provide oversight.
Today's Washington Post story makes clear that how Bible classes in public schools are taught varies widely. As watchdog groups have repeatedly documented, such classes can end up teaching the Bible as historical truth or as part of a "Christian-nation" narrative
When People For the American Way Foundation got access to course materials used in Florida public school Bible classes, it was eye-opening. Sample lesson Q: “Who, according to Jesus, is the father of the Jews?” A: “The devil.”
PFAWF's 2000 report documented that schools had been violating the Constitution by "teaching the Bible from a religious perspective—often assuming teachers and students were Christian—or using the Bible as if it were a history textbook..."
More recently, an SMU religion professor looked at public school Bible classes in Texas and found them being taught from a fundamentalist Christian standpoint with materials “designed to evangelize rather than provide an objective study of the Bible’s influence.”
As I've noted at @RightWingWatch, if states expand Bible classes in public schools, there'll be a lot of work for parents, teachers, officials and the public to ensure that schools respect the Constitution & the rights of all students rightwingwatch.org/post/more-bibl…
