Atlanta – Georgia is poised to introduce two literature classes on the Bible in public schools next year, a move analysts say would make the state the first to take an explicit stance endorsing – and funding – biblical teachings.
On a list of classes approved Thursday by the Georgia Board of Education are Literature and History of the Old Testament Era, and Literature and History of the New Testament Era. The classes, approved last year by the General Assembly, will not be required.
Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams, the Republican who sponsored the plan, said the Bible plays a major role in history and is important in understanding many classic literary works.
Charles Haynes of the First Amendment Center, a nonpartisan civil-liberties group, has said the Georgia policy is the nation’s first to endorse and fund Bible classes on a statewide level.
The bill was tailored to make it clear the courses would not stray into religious teaching, Williams said.
Critics say that while the language may pass constitutional muster, that could change in the classroom if instructors stray. Some teachers might seek to include their own beliefs or be pushed by students into conversations that include religious proselytizing, said Maggie Garrett, legislative counsel for the Georgia branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.
