Study of the New and Old Testament may be coming into public schools if the Arizona House Education Committee is able to convince the rest of the Legislature that The Bible and its Influence on Western Culture, will use Books of the Bible as part of literature and history courses.
Current Arizona law requires that all books, publications and papers of a sectarian, partisan or denominational character must be excluded from school libraries.
Members of the Committee that passed Arizona House Bill 2563 believe that study of the bible provides a background to help students understand everything from Shakespeare to the Bill of Rights. Opponents counter there would be unintended consequences of allowing this kind of class, whether required or optional, into the public school system.
The East Valley Tribune reported on January 30, 2012, that Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction, asked whether or not the Koran or Book of Mormons would also then become acceptable. However, Rep. Justin Pierce, R-Mesa made the case that the study of the bible can make a difference in the way people understand language. He used the story of Solomon in which the claim for a child was made by two women and the use of “tends to split the baby” in making his decision.
A representative of the American Civil Liberties Union said that the Bible can already be discussed in Arizona public schools as long it is done in an objective and neutral way. However, in case there are legal challenges by any group, the HB 2563 provides blanket immunity from both civil and disciplinary action against anyone providing the New and Old Testaments in an appropriate historical context.
Is this the beginning of a trend in response to secularism?
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