Washington – Seeking to defuse a central controversy of the culture wars, a Bible advocacy group will unveil a new textbook today that could open the door to widespread Bible courses in public high schools.
The textbook, titled “The Bible and Its Influence,” was written to thread a constitutional and legal needle by teaching, not preaching, about the Bible, its authors said.
The book comes as the country renews its centuries-old debate over the proper role of religion in public life and public schools. Courts are reviewing whether it is constitutional to include the phrase “One nation under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Others argue over whether the Ten Commandments should be displayed in public buildings.
Courts and school districts have wrestled for decades over how or whether to teach the Bible.
“This predates the evolution- versus-creationism debate,” said Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center, who has reviewed the book. “We’ve had so many conflicts, so many lawsuits, on this issue. This is finally something that most of us can recommend as an answer.”
Sheila Weber, a vice president of the Bible Literacy Project, a Virginia group that is publishing the 40-chapter book, said the Bible is a cultural touchstone that is crucial to young students. For example, she said, the works of Shakespeare include 1,300 biblical references. She also noted that 60 percent of the allusions in one advanced-placement literature course had biblical references such as “walking on water.”
The new book includes sections explaining the Bible’s influence on literature, art, music and history.
Many previous efforts to introduce the Bible to public schools have focused on a Christian interpretation promoted by what Weber called “right-wing” groups. Or they have been taught by teachers who often strayed too far into religion or too far from it.
The book, being published in time for school districts to consider for next year’s classes, was designed to follow a set of guidelines on how to teach about the Bible in public schools while not endorsing one religion’s view and not offending people of faith.
The guidelines were approved by such groups as the American Federation of Teachers, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Council on Islamic Education and the People for the American Way Foundation as well as the First Amendment Center.
Groups other than the First Amendment Center hadn’t seen the textbook Wednesday and couldn’t comment on it.
